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Council hears complaints about loose chickens and animal-control capacity; staff to pursue code updates
Summary
After an ordinance allowing chickens, council members and staff said they are seeing complaints about loose chickens and dog attacks and that the city will pursue code amendments and coordinate with county animal control.
Council members raised concerns about loose backyard chickens, roosters and concurrent dog-control problems during the May 19 meeting and discussed pursuing code amendments to address public-safety and nuisance complaints.
A speaker identified in the meeting as Peg (speaker name in the transcript) said that when the council allowed chickens earlier it did not adopt specific regulations and that chickens running loose had become a problem in some neighborhoods. ‘‘They will put the dog down if it kills livestock, and chickens are considered livestock,’’ she said, urging the council to adopt regulations.
City staff and council members acknowledged a recent uptick in both chicken-related complaints and dog-related incidents. The city manager said he had spoken with local law enforcement and the animal warden and recommended a ‘‘holistic approach’’ that would address both dog control and chicken regulations as part of the broader code codification and review process currently underway with a consultant.
Council members asked code enforcement to investigate specific properties raised by residents, and the police sergeant present said staff would follow up. Council members noted that some animal-control responsibilities fall to the county and that the county shelter’s capacity and staffing can affect enforcement outcomes.
Council did not adopt new regulations at the meeting; staff said they will include animal-control and small-livestock rules in upcoming code amendments and will report back to council with recommended language.
