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Resident asks commission to consider allowing backyard chickens; commission asks for materials
Summary
Troy resident Annie Shoemaker requested that City Council be asked to permit residents to keep backyard chickens, citing pest control, food education, and examples from other municipalities. The Planning Commission asked Shoemaker to submit documentation for staff review and did not act on the request.
Annie Shoemaker, a Troy resident, asked the Planning Commission March 26 to recommend that City Council permit residents to keep backyard chickens within the city.
Shoemaker told commissioners she has worked in veterinary clinics since she was 16 and participated in 4-H as a child. "Chickens are great bug eaters," she said. "They consume a variety of insects such as beetles and grubs. They eat termites, ticks, slugs, snails, maggots and mosquitoes." She cited a Belgian study she summarized and said a local online poll she conducted showed 422 people in favor and 86 opposed.
Shoemaker reviewed common concerns and practices: roosters are not required for egg production; winter heat lamps are not necessary with proper bedding and coop protection; noise from laying lasts minutes; and small flocks cleaned weekly do not create odor problems comparable to dogs. She recommended limiting permits to residents with privacy fences and suggested that permit fees might discourage impulse purchases.
Shoemaker said she had brought printed materials summarizing policies other cities adopted: "I know Piccola just passed it," she told the commission, and later listed "Piccola, Chip City, and New Carlisle" as cities that allow chickens. She offered to provide the printed materials to commission staff. The commission asked her to submit those documents for further review.
A commissioner asked whether the materials she referenced covered avian influenza (bird flu) identification and response; Shoemaker said she had not researched federal or state disease-response protocols in depth and would consult Ohio State Extension resources.
No motion or policy change was made; commissioners directed staff to accept the submitted materials and to review the issue with the planning department for possible future discussion or referral to City Council.
