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Kearney planning commission backs ordinance to allow up to 6 backyard chickens on quarter-acre lots
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4–2 on May 12 to recommend that the Board of Aldermen approve an ordinance to allow backyard hens, raise the limit to six birds and set a 0.25-acre minimum lot size; the draft moves regulation into the city’s animal code and removes a permit requirement, prompting debate about nuisance enforcement.
The Kearney Planning and Zoning Commission on May 12 recommended that the Board of Aldermen approve an ordinance allowing backyard chickens in city limits, raising the proposed limit from three to six and setting a minimum lot size of 0.25 acres.
The recommendation, made during a public hearing, stems from a draft that moves chicken rules from the zoning ordinance into the city’s animal regulation code, removes a permit requirement and shortens setback requirements from 20 feet to 15 feet. The commission voted 4–2 to forward the amended proposal to the Board of Aldermen.
City staff member David told the commission the revised draft removes the permit requirement and the earlier half-acre minimum lot-size because few lots met that threshold. “We removed the need for a permit requirement,” David said, and the draft treats violations as nuisance or code-enforcement issues rather than…
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