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Cascade City Council tables urban-chickens ordinance after debate over neighbor approval and fees
Summary
The Cascade City Council debated a proposed ordinance to allow urban chickens and did not advance the measure after a motion to approve the first reading with changes failed for lack of a second; the council agreed to return the item to a future agenda.
The Cascade City Council on March 24 tabled consideration of Ordinance No. 2-25, a proposed addition to Title 4 (Mental and Physical Health) to create a chapter on urban chickens, after council members debated permit fees and whether adjoining-property approval should be required.
Councilmembers spent much of the agenda item discussing draft permit requirements, the application fee and a provision that would require an applicant to submit an adjoining property owner approval form. City staff advised the council that the proposed ordinance is being added under Title 4 (animal control) as a new chapter and that plan-and-zoning approval is not required before council action on the ordinance.
The discussion focused on two recurring issues: whether neighbors should have to sign off on a permit and the level of the permit fee. One councilmember argued that adjoining-property approval would be unfair because a neighbor could block a resident from having chickens; another councilmember said some notice to nearby properties (for example, a fixed radius rather than only immediately adjoining properties) would be reasonable. Councilmembers proposed fee amounts ranging from $30 to $50 as alternatives to the fee shown in the draft ordinance.
A councilmember moved to approve the ordinance on first reading while removing subsection 4-2-2(e) (the adjoining-property approval requirement) and setting the annual permit fee at $30. That motion did not receive a second and therefore did not proceed. Following the failed motion, the council agreed to table the ordinance to the next meeting for further consideration and community input.
Council members also noted other provisions of the draft ordinance: it would allow only hens (the draft refers to egg-laying birds) and includes containment and sanitation requirements; the draft does not limit roosters in the text as read aloud during the meeting.
The council instructed staff to return the ordinance to a future agenda with clarifications on the adjoining-property/notice requirement and on the proposed fee structure so the council and members of the public can review a revised draft prior to a formal vote.
