by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Monday, the Garretson City Council took a new look at allowing chickens back in city limits, and residents made a solid case for why the animals should be allowed under city ordinance.
New resident Erica Dellman had requested a fresh look during October's council meeting, and in the month between, had gathered with others who also wanted chickens within city limits. She had done some research and due diligence, and presented those results to the council.
Among those results were code enforcement and how that is accomplished in other small communities.
In 2016, when the animal ordinance was passed, the council had been deadlocked on whether chickens should be allowed in city limits. After an impassioned plea from community member Neal Albers at the first reading, the animals had been written into the ordinance as allowed. Albers, nor any other residents who were in favor of the ordinance passing as newly amended, had been unable to make the second reading and subsequent vote. Since the amendment had been added to the ordinance, Albers had been reasonably assured that the amendment was not in trouble.
Two motions at that second meeting to pass the ordinance failed, with half the council solidly for and half the council (and Mayor Tim Mullin) solidly anti-ordinance as amended with chickens allowed.
At the time, the stated reasoning was due to attraction of wild animals and enforcement. Without a code enforcement officer or a local police department, Mayor Mullin stated he was concerned that too many people would attempt to surpass any limits that were placed.
However, at the same time, the ordinance was amended to limit the number of pets to five per household.
In order to move the measure forward, councilor Richelle Hofer had motioned to remove chickens as allowed, and that passed with a 4-1 vote. The ordinance had then passed without argument, also 4-1.
At Monday's meeting, councilor Bill Hoskins queried why the council should be reconsidering the ordinance. Hoskins, along with Dave Bonte and Greg Beaner, had been on that council in 2016 and had made the first failed motion and had seconded the next failed motion. However, he pointed out they had spent considerable time already on the animal ordinance.
Council member Jodi Gloe responded that it was a new council. That meant different decisions could be made. Carrie Moritz of the Garretson Gazette stated she had covered that meeting, and noted that the rejection of chickens in the ordinance in 2016 had seemed like an afterthought. Albers, also in attendance on Monday, stated he felt much of the council at that time had not been well-educated on the care and keeping of chickens.
Dellman, who had called to other communities and asked how they enforced their ordinances with chickens, stated most did not have any issues with the animals. She pointed out that having provisions such as required square footage per chicken, a maximum number allowed, and a required permit ensured that few violations occurred.
Albers worked with Dellman to educate the council on what is required if chickens are desired by a resident, including consistent care and cleaning of the coop and chicken run.
"There is a job and you have a responsibility to your neighbors" to clean up after them, Albers said.
Dellman stated she was more than willing to do an educational workshop for those who are looking into owning chickens.
The council appeared to be amenable to the discussion, and determined that one way to prevent issues would to have a "one strike you're out" provision in the ordinance. This means that anyone who has a single nuisance violation in the past year would not be allowed to own chickens.
When asked about the potential of loose dogs, both Albers and Dellman pointed out that responsibility should fall to the dog owner, who should have the dogs leashed or contained per city ordinance, and the chicken owner, who should have the chickens contained in a run. If one or the other was not the case, then the owner of the offending animal would be the one responsible. If it was a wild animal, that would just have to be an accepted liability of owning the chickens.
Council member Greg Franka asked Dellman what maximum number of chickens might be the best. Dellman expressed a preference for 8 as she had a larger plot of land. Later, councilor Dave Bonte suggested delineating between land size, with up to one acre a maximum of 6, and an acre or more a maximum of eight chickens.
City Finance Officer Anna Uhl stated that she, too, had done some checking with nearby communities as to maximum numbers and whether permits were required.
Nine communities out of the 14 that responded allowed the animals, with five of the nine allowing a maximum of six chickens. Cost of a permit leaned toward $5 per license (with only one required for the maximum number of chickens). Residents in attendance found the cost reasonable. Uhl noted that building a coop and fence would require a building permit, too.
As a final point, Dellman pointed out that Garretson has the potential to draw several people to the community because it is semi-rural and can provide a self-sustaining lifestyle.
"I know the last meeting talked about growth and getting new people in, and [a self-sustainable lifestyle] was just something that was appealing to us," said Dellman.
New Garretson resident Abigail Lexen, also in attendance, stated the belief they could have more sustainable food sources (including chickens) had been the reason they moved to town. Another new resident, Grace Horiuchi, pointed out how supply chain disruptions had been causing empty shelves at markets around the United States, and wondered when it would affect Garretson personally. She stated later that she also intended to have a large garden.
Mayor Beaner pointed out that as this was the first reading of the amended ordinance, no decisions could be made that evening. However, he invited all in attendance to come to December's meeting so they could answer any questions the council has during the second reading. At that time, they will vote on the amended ordinance to take chickens off the list as livestock and add a section to the current animal ordinance that pertains directly to fowl.
The meeting will be held on Monday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion Dugout.
