Paul and Kamiwan Oliver live with their three kids in a single-story home on about a quarter acre in the city of Calais.
The family has a flock of 19 hens they raise for eggs and meat. The chickens live in a coop on the side of the house made out of a repurposed shed. Kamiwan said it’s the family’s “attempt to have a small amount of responsibility” in sourcing their own food.
“It’s a huge weight off our shoulders to be able to always have food accessible for us,” she said. “And they’re a joy to have, too. They’re hilarious, and they give you a routine you need to follow.”
But in June of 2024, Calais passed an ordinance on domestic livestock that restricts what chicken coops are built out of, where they’re positioned and the number of chickens a household can own.
The Olivers say it’s effectively a ban on backyard chickens.
They filed a lawsuit in Washington County this week that alleges the ordinance violates the “right to food” amendment of the Maine Constitution that was ratified in 2021.
What is ‘right to food’?
In 2021, Maine voters passed the first-of-its-kind constitutional amendment that said Mainers have a right to “grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume food of their own choosing.”
Supporters of the amendment said it would support efforts to create small, hobby farms and raise livestock to localize food systems. It saw some opposition from corporate farms and the Maine Farm Bureau, the largest farming advocacy group in the state.
Nick DeBenedetto is an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a nationwide nonprofit firm, who represents the Olivers.
He said since “right to food” was ratified, there have been few court decisions regarding the limits government can place on the right.
“‘Right to food’ has yet to be well defined in Maine,” DeBenedetto said. “To date, the court has only heard one case that raised a claim under the ‘right to food,’ and as a result, we are still waiting on a clear standard, which we hope to help the court construct.”
Additionally in May 2025, Gov. Janet Mills signed a law that prevented a county or municipality from adopting a regulation or ordinance that, “prohibits a person from keeping chickens on that person’s residential property.”
But DeBenedetto said it still left room for municipalities to “reasonably regulate” the ability to keep chickens.
“That’s where the mischief lies,” he said. “In this case, you have a series of regulations that on their face do not ban chickens explicitly, but when taken together and when you look at the practical effect, they amount to a ban for Calais residents.”
What’s in the Calais ordinance?
According to the ordinance for domesticated animals posted on the city’s website, it “enables residents of single-family homes to keep a small number of domesticated farm animals on appropriately sized lots while limiting the potential adverse impacts on the surrounding neighborhood.”
A section regarding domesticated fowl says a building permit is required for enclosures and that the minimum lot size required to build an enclosure is a half-acre.
Enclosures need to be 20 feet away from abutting property owners and cannot be seen from the street.
The Olivers’ lawsuit says the city also has restrictions on what materials should be used to build a coop and bans more than six chickens per household.
The couple said cutting their flock from 19 to six wouldn’t provide enough eggs for their family.
“We live in fear that, since we do not and sometimes cannot comply with the many limitations of the ordinance, that we will lose one of our main sources of food,” Kamiwan Oliver said at a press conference Wednesday.
Calais City Manager Michael Ellis said the city would not comment on the pending litigation. DeBenedetto said the city has 21 days to respond to the Olivers’ complaint in court.
As plaintiffs, the Olivers are seeking an injunction that prevents Calais from enforcing its livestock ordinance.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
