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Council agrees to send chicken/animal-control rules back to Planning Commission for public review
Summary
After extensive public comment and council discussion, the Atherton Town Council directed staff to refer a review of Chapter 6.4 (animal control) — including setbacks, number of chickens, permit fees and enforcement approaches — back to the Planning Commission for a public process.
The Atherton Town Council on March 19 moved to send a review of animal-control regulations, specifically Chapter 6.4 dealing with chickens and coops, back to the Planning Commission for a public process that would examine setbacks, permitted flock sizes, permit fees and enforcement.
Nut graf: Council members and residents debated whether the town's existing limits (three chickens for smaller lots, higher counts for larger lots, and permitting rules adopted in 2016) remain appropriate. Several council members said the Planning Commission should take public input and make recommendations for any ordinance changes.
The staff report summarized the ordinance history: the Planning Commission developed a size-based recommendation in 2016 (no chickens under 21,780 sq ft in the draft; scaled allowances for larger lots) and the council adopted a modified version that limited lots smaller than 40,000 square feet to three chickens. Staff said the ordinance requires coops to be in the buildable area, outside setbacks, and that a permit and inspection process exists but has low compliance.
Public commenters included residents who said they use chickens for food and sustainability and warned the current rules and permit fees are onerous, and a feed-store owner who said many Peninsula communities have backyard poultry and that education and common-sense enforcement works best. Council members stressed different concerns: health, setbacks to neighbors, and the disproportion between other nearby jurisdictions' rules and Atherton's restrictions.
Council members asked staff to refer the matter to the Planning Commission for public outreach and for the commission to examine setbacks, number-of-chickens rules, permit fees or the option of registration rather than costly permits. Several council members also suggested aligning the town approach with county best practices while protecting neighbor setbacks and banning roosters.
Ending: The council provided direction to staff to initiate a Planning Commission review and public outreach; staff will return with the Planning Commission's recommendation. No formal ordinance change was adopted at this meeting.
