Seward council passes ordinance easing chicken permits on lots larger than 2.5 acres

The Seward City Council on a unanimous vote approved an ordinance amending permit rules for keeping chickens on residential lots larger than 2.5 acres, modifying notification and objection requirements for adjacent property owners.

The change narrows the group of neighbors who must approve a chicken permit on large parcels by requiring the applicant to show there are no objections from owners or residents of any adjacent property where any structure is within 75 feet of the proposed coop or covered enclosure. City staff said the measurement is taken from the location of the covered enclosure.

Greg, a city staff member who presented the proposal, told the council staff had reviewed ordinances from other towns and used GIS to test how the 75-foot measurement would apply across Seward’s larger residential parcels. "If the applicant for chickens lives on a parcel of more than 2.5 acres, then they must provide proof that there are no objections from the property owners or residents of any adjacent property of which any structure is within 75 feet of the location of the covered enclosure or coop," Greg said in explaining the draft amendment. He said staff measured typical coop locations across affected lots and concluded most would not reach another structure under the new rule.

During public comment, Dylan Snyder, a resident at 1015 South Columbia Avenue, said a neighbor who originally approved his coop later changed his mind and that the existing ordinance left him constrained. "Why does he get a say in it? If my building is gonna be a minimum of 45 feet away from the next structure, he'll never see it or notice it," Snyder said, adding that his household consumes roughly "10 dozen a week" of eggs.

Council members discussed the proposal as a narrowly targeted change affecting mostly semi-rural parcels on the city's edge and noted staff had sought to avoid setting an arbitrary limit on flock size. The ordinance was read by title as ordinance number 2025-12, a motion was made to dispense with the statutory rule, and the council moved to pass and adopt the ordinance as read.

The adopted language applies only to residential lots over 2.5 acres and focuses on distance from the coop to adjacent structures rather than a percentage-of-neighbors rule or an across-the-board numerical cap on the number of birds. The ordinance replaces the previously codified provisions referenced in the reading (the title and section numbers were listed during the meeting as part of ordinance 2025-12).