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Ocean Shores residents debate allowing backyard chickens and pigs at town hall
Summary
City officials held a town hall in Ocean Shores to gather public input on whether to permit backyard livestock. Speakers raised environmental, nuisance, public‑health and legal questions, and council took no action, saying it was listening to residents.
Ocean Shores residents and city officials met at a town hall meeting to discuss whether the city should allow backyard livestock, including chickens and pigs. City Council members said they were collecting public input and would not make decisions at the session.
The discussion centered on neighborhood impacts, enforcement and legal limits. Pam Moser, a resident, told the meeting that Ocean Shores’ shoreline rules restrict agriculture and that the city’s shoreline master program "specifically says in 5.02 0.01, it prohibits the following uses within the city's shoreline jurisdiction, agriculture and forest practices," and that any change would require state-level updates. Multiple residents also raised concerns about odor, noise, rodents, predators such as coyotes and bears, shallow groundwater and the cost of enforcement.
A City Council member who opened the meeting said, "We're just here we're here to listen. It's recorded," and that the mayor and council would review the comments. The councilmember also explained that the item had been discussed at previous council meetings and that council had earlier given it a "hard no," but that members were hearing from enough residents to warrant a public forum.
Speakers who opposed allowing livestock described several specific worries: one resident repeatedly said, "No roosters," citing early‑morning noise; others warned of increased rats and flies, and of raccoons and coyotes taking chickens. Pam Moser cited local environmental risks, saying chicken and pig manure contains nitrogen, phosphorus and pathogens that could affect the community’s shallow water table. One speaker recounted that chickens can produce "5 and a half to 7 pounds of poop per month wet weight," and another said a medium‑sized pig can produce "over 4 pounds of waste per day."
Supporters argued the city could regulate livestock and limit problems through permits, coop standards and quantity limits tied to lot size. One resident pointed to other Washington cities that allow chickens with limits on roosters and coop construction and suggested a pilot program to collect data before making permanent rule changes.
Several residents noted private property covenants as a constraint: a longtime resident said covenants recorded at platting must be changed through a process that requires signatures within a division and that voting on a city ballot would not override private covenants. Code‑enforcement capacity was highlighted repeatedly as a practical hurdle if the city were to allow livestock.
City staff provided an impromptu written survey at the town hall and recorded comments for council review. No ordinance, ballot measure or code change was proposed or adopted at the meeting; council members said they would review the feedback and did not announce next steps.
The town hall collected a range of viewpoints but produced no formal action. Residents who want national or state policy context clarified that Washington state rules on service animals differ from claims made at the meeting and that emotional support animals are governed differently than service animals. Participants were urged to submit written comments via the city's survey for follow‑up from staff.
