DECISION MIGHT HAPPEN AT SEPT. 23 MEETING
The topic of allowing backyard chickens will be up for possible approval when the Platte City Board of Aldermen meets next week.
A suggested ordinance to allow backyard chickens was put forth as a starting point for discussion at a meeting of the city’s public safety subcommittee earlier this month. Discussion that night added a few suggestions to the initial draft of a proposed ordinance.
In the initial draft put forth by Bryan Richison, city administrator, the proposal calls for allowing up to six female chickens on a single-family residential district.
“The hens must be kept in a humane condition and provided a coop,” the proposal states.
Discussion at the public safety committee meeting included a suggestion by Alderman Vickie Atkins that the number six be removed when forwarding the matter to the full board of aldermen. There was some talk that six may not be enough for a healthy flock.
“There was nothing magic about the number six,” in the rough draft ordinance, Richison said, indicating the allowable number can be worked out via a discussion with the full board.
The chicken ordinance will be an action item on the agenda when aldermen meet the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 23.
“The board can discuss it, vote on it, or table it for a future meeting,” Richison said.
“The number of chickens allowed will be blank, as discussed at the public safety meeting. I will also be adding language requiring that the chickens are confined to the property, specifying that the chickens have to be in the rear yard, and specifying that nothing can be in the side yard or rear yard setbacks.” Richison told The Landmark this week.
Roosters are prohibited under the proposal.
Chicken feed and any items used for the keeping of the hens must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition to prevent the infestation of rats, mice and other rodents, according to the proposed ordinance.
Discussion at the meeting earlier this month included suggestions that the owner be required to keep the chickens restricted to the owner’s property, and not allow the chickens to roam to neighbors.
Alderman Scott Poague suggested that the city consider requiring the chickens to be kept a certain distance from the property line.
It was also encouraged that the city should stipulate the chickens are to be “backyard” chickens and not in the front or on the side.
Under the proposal, the keeping of other kinds of fowl is prohibited with the following exceptions:
*Properties zoned agricultural or otherwise designated by the city as agricultural or mixed use where livestock and fowl are permitted by ordinance.
*Educational, public or civic properties where the temporary keeping of fowl is authorized by permit for instructional or exhibition purposes.
*The keeping or ornamental birds (such as parrots, canaries, or similar species) kept indoors as household pets.
Previously, city code has only allowed the keeping of chickens in residential districts on properties that are at least two acres in size. This has amounted to a de facto ban on chickens since basically zero properties in the city qualify under that restriction.
After a city codes enforcement sweep of the city revealed that a number of people were keeping chickens in violation of the city code, the board of aldermen implemented a moratorium on enforcement to allow time to gather public input on the issue and to consider the options.
In the meantime, the existing chicken regulations were deleted from the zoning section of the city code and moved to the animal regulations section.
“This makes the process for any future changes more streamlined because any changes to the zoning section of the city code must first be reviewed by the planning and zoning commission, which adds an extra step. The wording of the regulations was also changed to clearly state that the keeping of chickens was prohibited,” Richison pointed out.
