Kearney planning commission backs ordinance to allow up to 6 backyard chickens on quarter-acre lots

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 through an annual permit program.

Resident Emily Porter, who said she moved to Kearney in November, told the commission she and her family picked a larger lot so their children could learn to care for animals. “We specifically picked a larger lot so we could have a few chickens, and then we have little kids, so we think it’s a great learning opportunity for them to take care of something and kind of take ownership of that,” Porter said.

The commission also placed an email from resident Sean Warfield into the record opposing chickens in city limits. Warfield wrote, “I would like to share that I’m strongly against having chickens in the city limits. I don’t want the smell, the noise, or the predators that chickens will bring.”

Commission discussion focused on enforcement and neighbor conflicts if the ordinance allows chickens without a permitting system. Several commissioners said enforcing a permit program would strain staff resources; others said permits help ensure compliance. One commissioner asked staff to present the nuisance/enforcement approach to the Board of Aldermen. The commission requested a legal opinion about how nuisance and barking complaints would be handled before the aldermen take final action.

Members also debated an appropriate bird limit. Several speakers, including one commissioner who said they had recent experience caring for 10 birds, argued that three hens would produce too few eggs for a typical family and recommended four to six birds. The commission’s motion amended the draft to allow up to six hens per qualifying lot and to require a minimum lot size of 0.25 acres.

The draft also reduces required side and rear setbacks for chicken enclosures to 15 feet to reflect the newly adopted R-1B zoning minimum lot widths, staff said. Staff noted existing complaints about chickens have been limited to reports of presence rather than documented nuisances; one staff speaker said a recent call reported only that chickens existed on a property rather than complaints about odor or vermin.

Commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the panel’s action is a recommendation; the Board of Aldermen may adopt, modify or reject the ordinance. David confirmed the Board of Aldermen will consider the ordinance at an upcoming meeting and that the commission asked the city attorney to provide clarity on nuisance enforcement and how complaints that involve neighbor pets would be handled.

The Commission vote to forward the amended draft was recorded as “ayes carried” and reported as 4–2 in favor. The item will next be considered by the Board of Aldermen; commissioners requested the city attorney’s guidance be shared with aldermen prior to that meeting.