Westerville explores chicken keeping
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 11:14 AM
By JENNIFER NESBITT
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Residents chirping for city approval of backyard chicken keeping could see some movement on the issue in the coming year.
Spurred by an increase in residents asking about legalizing chicken keeping, the Westerville planning department has constructed a draft ordinance that would allow for and regulate the backyard agricultural use.
Existing city code allows for chicken keeping and other agricultural uses on lots that are 3 acres or larger and that are within areas zoned rural residential.
Staff members presented the plan to city council during a June work session, and they continue to explore the issue by looking at other cities to see what ordinances have been established and whether cities that allow backyard chickens field complaints or face problems because of them, city planner Lisa LaMantia said.
The issue is not at the forefront of the planning staff's work, though, she said.
"It seemed like we were getting more and more calls, and currently, they're not permitted, so we felt like maybe this was something we need to look into," LaMantia said. "We've been picking up things as we go along, as we see other communities deal with this issue, kind of absorbing what their approach is, looking at news articles."
Urban and suburban chicken keeping has been in the local news recently, with Bexley's city council voting to allow chicken keeping in December and Reynoldsburg's city council rejecting the issue in June.
The draft code created by the planning department would require a permit, which would be issued following inspection of where the chickens would be kept. It also would limit chickens to five per household and prohibit keeping roosters.
The chickens would be required to be kept in an enclosure, and noise and smell would not be permitted to bother surrounding property owners. Owners would not be permitted to sell chicken meat or eggs.
LaMantia said staff members could present code language to council for approval within the next year, depending on what other work the department has to complete. "It really just depends on what other things come before us," she said.
LaMantia's staff report emphasizes that the city has heard only from residents eager to keep chickens and not from any opposition, making it difficult to gauge the majority opinion on the issue. Her report also said staff members don't recommend approval or disapproval of any ordinance regarding chicken keeping.
Regardless, supporters of backyard chicken keeping said they are happy to see that the issue is being considered.
"I thought it was a good sign, and it speaks well to our city council that they asked the planning department to look into this and do the research," said Mark Passerrello, founder of the Westerville Area Chicken Keepers Society.
The group has 25 members on Facebook and a core group of supporters who are working to raise awareness about backyard chicken keeping.
Although the group is small, Passerrello said, its members are working to inform residents about chicken keeping, pointing out that it doesn't take much space, it's allowed in similar communities without problems and it doesn't create nuisance noise or smell.
"A lot of people aren't familiar with this idea, of keeping a few chickens in your backyard," he said. "It takes up as much space as a backyard vegetable garden. You can think about it in the way of 'I'm growing eggs the same way I would grow tomatoes or sweet peppers.'"
Passerrello said he believes the majority of residents likely wouldn't care about the issue, providing it wouldn't affect them. Others, however, are eager to keep chickens in their backyards and would like to work with city staff and council to make that legal, he said.
"It's not Walmart; it's not development; it's not a big thing, but there are some families in Westerville that would like to have their own chickens," he said. "We want to work with council. We don't want to approach this in an adversarial way. É I'm hoping that they're not thinking that this would just fade away and they won't have to deal with it."
Spurred by an increase in residents asking about legalizing chicken keeping, the Westerville planning department has constructed a draft ordinance that would allow for and regulate the backyard agricultural use.
Existing city code allows for chicken keeping and other agricultural uses on lots that are 3 acres or larger and that are within areas zoned rural residential.
Staff members presented the plan to city council during a June work session, and they continue to explore the issue by looking at other cities to see what ordinances have been established and whether cities that allow backyard chickens field complaints or face problems because of them, city planner Lisa LaMantia said.
The issue is not at the forefront of the planning staff's work, though, she said.
"It seemed like we were getting more and more calls, and currently, they're not permitted, so we felt like maybe this was something we need to look into," LaMantia said. "We've been picking up things as we go along, as we see other communities deal with this issue, kind of absorbing what their approach is, looking at news articles."
Urban and suburban chicken keeping has been in the local news recently, with Bexley's city council voting to allow chicken keeping in December and Reynoldsburg's city council rejecting the issue in June.
The draft code created by the planning department would require a permit, which would be issued following inspection of where the chickens would be kept. It also would limit chickens to five per household and prohibit keeping roosters.
The chickens would be required to be kept in an enclosure, and noise and smell would not be permitted to bother surrounding property owners. Owners would not be permitted to sell chicken meat or eggs.
LaMantia said staff members could present code language to council for approval within the next year, depending on what other work the department has to complete. "It really just depends on what other things come before us," she said.
LaMantia's staff report emphasizes that the city has heard only from residents eager to keep chickens and not from any opposition, making it difficult to gauge the majority opinion on the issue. Her report also said staff members don't recommend approval or disapproval of any ordinance regarding chicken keeping.
Regardless, supporters of backyard chicken keeping said they are happy to see that the issue is being considered.
"I thought it was a good sign, and it speaks well to our city council that they asked the planning department to look into this and do the research," said Mark Passerrello, founder of the Westerville Area Chicken Keepers Society.
The group has 25 members on Facebook and a core group of supporters who are working to raise awareness about backyard chicken keeping.
Although the group is small, Passerrello said, its members are working to inform residents about chicken keeping, pointing out that it doesn't take much space, it's allowed in similar communities without problems and it doesn't create nuisance noise or smell.
"A lot of people aren't familiar with this idea, of keeping a few chickens in your backyard," he said. "It takes up as much space as a backyard vegetable garden. You can think about it in the way of 'I'm growing eggs the same way I would grow tomatoes or sweet peppers.'"
Passerrello said he believes the majority of residents likely wouldn't care about the issue, providing it wouldn't affect them. Others, however, are eager to keep chickens in their backyards and would like to work with city staff and council to make that legal, he said.
"It's not Walmart; it's not development; it's not a big thing, but there are some families in Westerville that would like to have their own chickens," he said. "We want to work with council. We don't want to approach this in an adversarial way. É I'm hoping that they're not thinking that this would just fade away and they won't have to deal with it."
No comments:
Post a Comment