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Council confirms board of health prohibits backyard chickens under current rules
Summary
Council members discussed recurring public interest in allowing backyard chickens; the meeting record indicates the borough’s board of health does not permit chicken coops and raising chickens under current local health rules.
A topic raised late in the meeting: whether New Milford permits residents to keep chickens. Council members and staff said the issue has come up repeatedly in past years and that the borough’s Board of Health has jurisdiction over the matter.
Meeting statements recorded that the borough “doesn’t permit it” and that there are presently “no chicken coops, no raising the chickens, none whatsoever.” A councilmember recommended that anyone interested should review the Board of Health minutes because the board has discussed the topic in prior sessions.
Why it matters: Permitting backyard chickens would change local public-health and animal-control practice and could lead to noise, predator-attraction and disease concerns; conversely, proponents often cite local-food benefits. The council did not take any vote to change policy during this meeting.
Next steps: The council suggested referring interested residents to the Board of Health minutes and indicated that any change would require Board of Health consideration and a policy decision reported back to the council.
