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Planning Commission refers proposed amendment to allow quail, revise coop definitions to City Council
Summary
The commission voted to refer proposed changes to the city’s residential animal rules — adding quail, broadening coop definitions, and directing staff to research appropriate minimum lot sizes — to the Trenton City Council.
On May 27, 2025, the Trenton Planning Commission voted to refer to the Trenton City Council a proposed ordinance amendment that would add quail to the city’s residential-animal rules, change references to "chicken coop" so the definition applies more broadly, and prompt staff to research whether the existing minimum lot-size requirement should be adjusted.
The proposal would insert quail alongside chickens in the ordinance’s text and remove the word "chicken" from terms such as "chicken coop" and related definitions so the rules apply to both chickens and quail. Staff said the draft replaces legacy references (for example, citations shown as 620O10203 and 6.8401 definitions b and e in the packet) to add quail definitions and to clean up capitalization and terminology.
Commission discussion focused on the ordinance’s minimum-lot-size rule. The existing language requires residential parcels in the referenced zoning district (R E 12, as stated in the packet) to contain a minimum of 10,000 square feet to keep chickens; commissioners and staff noted quail are smaller birds that may be appropriate on smaller lots. Commissioners raised that the 10,000-square-foot requirement excludes many older lots in town and suggested lower thresholds — examples discussed included 8,000 or 7,000 square feet — but no final numeric change was decided at the meeting.
Staff told commissioners they would research parcel-size data and present a recommended minimum lot size to the City Council; that follow-up research is the primary substantive next step identified by the commission. The commission then moved to refer the ordinance amendment to the Trenton City Council for further consideration. The motion to refer was made by Miss Harris and seconded by Mister Leacher; a roll call was taken and the item was referred to council.
The change, if adopted by the City Council, would broaden the city’s residential-animal regulations to explicitly cover quail and would adjust terminology so definitions apply to multiple bird types. Any change to minimum lot size would also change which existing properties are eligible to apply for permits to keep birds under the city code.
