City Hears Request To Allow Hens In City Limits
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
During Monday night’s Warsaw City Council meeting, Bausch made the request for the city to draft an ordinance to allow hens in the city limits. The proposal would exclude roosters.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the issue will need to go before Warsaw Plan Commission first and then back to the city council with a recommendation. Public input also would need to be sought before the city council would come up with an ordinance.
Bausch said he plans to take his proposal to the plan commission during its meeting Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
The city’s current ordinance states any domestic animal, excluding cats and dogs, is prohibited in the city limits including but not limited to cows, bulls, calves, chickens, hens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, goats, sheep and pigs.
Bausch said after World War II there was a movement for people to separate from the farmland, but there has been a cultural shift of people who want to garden and raise chickens that helps provide food.
Bausch said there are cities who have had chicken ordinances for a long time, but recently more cities are allowing chickens in city limits. New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Madison have specific chicken ordinances or allow chickens in the city limits.
In Indiana, Bloomington, Evansville, Fishers, Indianapolis, Muncie, Terre Haute and South Bend have passed ordinances allowing chickens in the city limits.
Bausch said raising hens assists in food production, and they can serve as pets similar to cats and dogs and teach children how to take care of hens.
Bausch said there is the Kosciusko County 4-H program and currently if a child wants to have a chicken in the city limits they have to go through an appeals process for that.
Bausch said he and a group of people who support allowing chickens in the city limits have had discussions with the city’s building and planning department, Purdue Extension office, and have talked to Mike Cox, animal control officer, and the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County regarding the topic.
He said one of the recommendations is that those who want chickens in the city limits will be required to attend a class with the Purdue Extension office educating them on the rules in order to obtain a permit.
Tim Dombrosky, assistant city planner, said if chickens are allowed in the city limits there would need to be zoning ordinance changes as well as code changes. City Council would need to approve or deny the changes.
Charlie Smith, councilman, said he had concern with creating an ordinance that would allow chickens in the city limits.
“To be honest, when I think of farm animals I think of chickens and I think they belong on the farm,” Smith said.
Diane Quance, council president, said she has concerns with code enforcement on who would monitor the rules for chickens in the city limits and that they would be followed.
Quance said she is concerned that chickens carry E. coli and said that the Kosciusko Lakes and Streams organization has worked to alleviate the E. coli problem caused by sea gulls. She had concerns with E. coli getting into the water stream.
Mike Klondaris, councilman, requested Bausch bring in chicken ordinances that other cities and towns have adopted.
Elaine Call, councilwoman, suggested the plan commission review the topic as they review issues with depth and provides the city council with recommendations.
Cindy Dobbins, council woman, asked how many chickens would be allowed.
Bausch said the proposal would be to allow a maximum of four chickens per property, but if there is an extra 2,500 square feet on a property another chicken would be allowed, up to a total of eight.
Bausch addressed the nuisance issue with sound and said he is not suggesting roosters be allowed in the city limits.
“You don’t have to have a rooster to have a healthy egg to be edible for your family to eat,” Bausch said.
“Hens don’t make much noise at all, they are actually very quite. The noise they make is when they have laid an egg and its about 25 decibels, which is about two people talking 25 feet away from each other,” Bausch said.
He discussed waste and odor issues and said a chicken on average per day will emit 1.5 ounces of waste and the average waste a medium dog emits is 12 ounces. He said chicken waste does not carry disease or attract rodents and is good for soil.
[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
During Monday night’s Warsaw City Council meeting, Bausch made the request for the city to draft an ordinance to allow hens in the city limits. The proposal would exclude roosters.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the issue will need to go before Warsaw Plan Commission first and then back to the city council with a recommendation. Public input also would need to be sought before the city council would come up with an ordinance.
Bausch said he plans to take his proposal to the plan commission during its meeting Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
The city’s current ordinance states any domestic animal, excluding cats and dogs, is prohibited in the city limits including but not limited to cows, bulls, calves, chickens, hens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, goats, sheep and pigs.
Bausch said after World War II there was a movement for people to separate from the farmland, but there has been a cultural shift of people who want to garden and raise chickens that helps provide food.
Bausch said there are cities who have had chicken ordinances for a long time, but recently more cities are allowing chickens in city limits. New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Madison have specific chicken ordinances or allow chickens in the city limits.
In Indiana, Bloomington, Evansville, Fishers, Indianapolis, Muncie, Terre Haute and South Bend have passed ordinances allowing chickens in the city limits.
Bausch said raising hens assists in food production, and they can serve as pets similar to cats and dogs and teach children how to take care of hens.
Bausch said there is the Kosciusko County 4-H program and currently if a child wants to have a chicken in the city limits they have to go through an appeals process for that.
Bausch said he and a group of people who support allowing chickens in the city limits have had discussions with the city’s building and planning department, Purdue Extension office, and have talked to Mike Cox, animal control officer, and the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County regarding the topic.
He said one of the recommendations is that those who want chickens in the city limits will be required to attend a class with the Purdue Extension office educating them on the rules in order to obtain a permit.
Tim Dombrosky, assistant city planner, said if chickens are allowed in the city limits there would need to be zoning ordinance changes as well as code changes. City Council would need to approve or deny the changes.
Charlie Smith, councilman, said he had concern with creating an ordinance that would allow chickens in the city limits.
“To be honest, when I think of farm animals I think of chickens and I think they belong on the farm,” Smith said.
Diane Quance, council president, said she has concerns with code enforcement on who would monitor the rules for chickens in the city limits and that they would be followed.
Quance said she is concerned that chickens carry E. coli and said that the Kosciusko Lakes and Streams organization has worked to alleviate the E. coli problem caused by sea gulls. She had concerns with E. coli getting into the water stream.
Mike Klondaris, councilman, requested Bausch bring in chicken ordinances that other cities and towns have adopted.
Elaine Call, councilwoman, suggested the plan commission review the topic as they review issues with depth and provides the city council with recommendations.
Cindy Dobbins, council woman, asked how many chickens would be allowed.
Bausch said the proposal would be to allow a maximum of four chickens per property, but if there is an extra 2,500 square feet on a property another chicken would be allowed, up to a total of eight.
Bausch addressed the nuisance issue with sound and said he is not suggesting roosters be allowed in the city limits.
“You don’t have to have a rooster to have a healthy egg to be edible for your family to eat,” Bausch said.
“Hens don’t make much noise at all, they are actually very quite. The noise they make is when they have laid an egg and its about 25 decibels, which is about two people talking 25 feet away from each other,” Bausch said.
He discussed waste and odor issues and said a chicken on average per day will emit 1.5 ounces of waste and the average waste a medium dog emits is 12 ounces. He said chicken waste does not carry disease or attract rodents and is good for soil.
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092