Sudbury ZBA approves one-year permit for chickens and ducks at 158 Pantry Road

Zoning Board of Appeals · Meeting of August 3, 2026

Sudbury ZBA grants one-year permit for chickens and ducks on Pantry Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-0 Monday to approve a special permit for April and Owen Winder at 158 Pantry Road, authorizing up to 12 birds — starting with six chickens and three ducks — under Chapter 40A, Section 9 and local bylaw Sections 2313 and 6200. Associate member Sumeet Keswani recused himself as an abutter.

Owen Winder described a raised two-story coop inside a fenced 30-by-80 orchard covered with bird netting, with a smaller predator-proof section for overnight. A board member said the board typically issues one-year permits for novel arrangements: "we typically issue a one-year permit for the first year." A board member cautioned that female ducks can be louder than males and urged breed research before purchase.

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Source: the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of August 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Correction (Nov. 3, 2026): An earlier version of this story called Frank Riepe the chair (the minutes list him as clerk), said Riepe moved to adjourn (it was Sumeet Keswani) and described the orchard's netting as hawk netting rather than bird netting. It also credited several remarks to members the recording does not identify; those remarks are now unattributed.