HOA president trying to manipulate verbage to allow chickens.

These rules are strange. No more than two, including a goldfish? People in a house can't have a dog and a cat and a goldfish? I could have all those in a condo.

Seems like the new President is saying that what the county calls pets overrides what the rules call pets. Essentially, the owner was given a waiver?

Chickens are NOT pets!

Since this is already a brouhaha, I would suggest writing a formal letter to the Board. In it I would quote the specific language of the CCRs regarding pets.

Being me, I would also note that I was, in accordance with the CC&Rs and Bylaws, beginning a recall effort for any Board member who voted to violate the CCRs.

I might further note I was working with others to collect money for a lawsuit against anyone with chickens on their property, and that likely said lawsuit would involve any Director who voted to allow this.

This is a BIG DEAL - stop this now or you'll be overwhelmed with roosters at 4 am, others who believe chickens are pets will find out about them being allowed, smells, etc. Your neighborhood will decline in almost every way imaginable.

Chickens are NOT pets!

The current hoa dictator presidnet says in the SAME conversation.

"The county says chickens can be pets"

and then 5 min later says

the way our current pet rule reads does not say you can't have chicknes as livestock.

8.01 PETS
No pets shall he maintained or-kept on any portion of the
property. Including within any dualling unit, other-than common,
household pets such as cats, dogs, goldfish, tropical fish and
the like, and such birds as canaries and parakeets. Ho animals;'
including any of the above, may be kept, bred, w maintained for
any commercial use upon the property or within a building or
structure. In any event, no more than two (2) pets shall be main-
tained within the boundaries of any lot.

Does the way the above rules read, does the argument "the way our rules read does NOT prevent chickens"

NoahA, state again how big your HOA's lots are?

I imagine the county where you are is coming from the same place as the New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016:
~~~
We therefore disagree that Section 11 [of the covenants] disallows hens that can be and are treated as pets. And we disagree that to allow hens as household pets creates or opens up any likely circumstances of ruination as expressed by the association and the district court that warrants an interpretation that allowing the hens as pets could never have been intended at any time and under any circumstance. We are not persuaded that in permitting pet chickens "the sky will fall." Such a Chicken Little-esque view of possible results and calamity is not convincing.
...
Section 11 of the covenants cannot be enforced under the circumstances in this case to preclude the owners from keeping their hens as recognized household pets. We reverse the judgment of the district court.
~~~
Full opinion at https://www.leagle.com/decision/innmco20160329275

No further appeal was made. I think the parties agreed to limit the number of chickens allowed on the roughly 5-acre lots.

The section of the covenants that was in dispute reads:

"Household pets. No animals, birds[,] or poultry shall be kept or maintained on any lot, except recognized household pets which may be kept thereon in reasonable numbers as pets for the pleasure and use of the occupants but not for any commercial use or purpose. It is forbidden to permit dogs to run at large in Eldorado. At all times, dogs must be kept, restrained[,] and controlled by their owners in the manner described in the Santa Fe County Animal Control Ordinance. A maximum of two horses may be kept on any lot which has an area in excess of three acres and which has been properly designated, pursuant to these covenants, as a horse area on any recorded subdivision map or by majority vote of the Board of Directors. A stable for such horses may be erected upon such lot."

This is at least your third post on the same issue. I don't think asking the same question over and over again is going to change the answer. Your deed restrictions do not restrict chickens unless kept for commercial use. Move on.

If your HOA does not want to not allow Chickens then they potentially need to state that fact in their CCR’s. What you are running up against is potentially similar to my area where the City Government all of a sudden allowed Chickens. Potentially if your CCR’s in their governing documents do not disallow ... then you are potentially screwed. Get the majority of owners together to potentially change your CCR’s to disallow chickens if the majority of owners would agree. More and more Cities and Counties are allowing chickens due to it potentially helps lower income families with a food source .... a.k.a. Eggs and later the chickens.

Our Constitution & bylaws along with our deed restricitons do not have any word or phrase talking about grandfathering in.

I also pulled up the 720, and searched for the word GRAND and it seems to not appear.

How am I to find out where the FL statue is about what is the procedure to grandfather ?

I think that nationwide, the HOA law on 'grandfathering' derives from the case law on 'equitable servitudes.' For example, where I live, if a covenant violation has existed for about seven years and the HOA does nothing about it, but then decides to try to enforce the covenant, and the dispute ends up in court, the HOA will likely lose in court.

"Grandfathering" also refers to situations where, under the former set of rules, no violation existed, but under new rules, a violation does exist. Fairness requires that where the situation existed prior to the new rules being enacted, the situation not be found in violation. This concept often applies to revisions of municipal and county ordinances. Though I think the latter tend to be explicit about the year (and all preceding years) where grandfathering begins.

You might find a few states that have explicit HOA statutes that address long-time violations and what each side's rights are.

Here is some good general discussion on grandfather in HOAs: https://www.davis-stirling.com/HOME/Grandfather-Clause

Google on {grandfathering hoa} to turn up more guidance on this.

You won't find it in any statute. Here are a couple of articles that might help your understanding.

http://www.poliakoffoncondohoaliving.com/2011/04/enforcing-covenants-rules-and-regulations-in-condos-and-hoas-the-concepts-of-waiver-and-selective-enforcement/

https://www.jimersoncobb.com/blog/2014/10/avoiding-selective-enforcement-defense-enforcing-condominium-association-rules-regulations/

Both articles are on Florida law firm websites and both discuss "grandfathering".