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Planning board recommends against forwarding proposed chicken-keeping text amendment to commission
Summary
After extensive public and board discussion, the Planning and Development Board voted to recommend denial of a citywide zoning text amendment that would allow up to six hens per single‑family lot, citing enforcement concerns, lot-size limits, neighborhood compatibility and past nuisance issues.
The Hollywood Planning and Development Board voted to recommend that the City Commission not adopt a zoning text amendment that would allow limited keeping of hens on residential property.
Staff presented a text amendment requested by the commission that would amend Articles 2 and 4 of the zoning code to permit up to six female chickens at occupied single‑family properties (no roosters), require one henhouse per property and set structure setbacks and run-size requirements. Staff included a jurisdictional scan of other Florida municipalities that permit chickens and noted companion updates to the city’s animal code would be needed to address sanitary disposal, noise standards, animals at large and other enforcement mechanisms.
Board members raised several concerns during the discussion: enforcement capacity and practicality, the small lot sizes that characterize many Hollywood neighborhoods, documented nuisance and safety incidents tied to free‑roaming poultry in parts of the city, and the lack of a licensing or permitting program in the proposed text. Some members also cited cultural practices and the possibility of disparate impact across neighborhoods.
Several commissioners and board members recounted prior experience with roosters and free‑roaming poultry causing persistent noise and nuisance problems in parts of the city; one board member described past incidents in which multiple birds roamed streets and escalated neighborhood disputes. Staff reiterated that the proposed text would prohibit roosters citywide and would not authorize violations of private restrictive covenants or homeowners‑association rules; it would also require that dwelling occupants maintain henhouses in required setbacks and provide a minimum of six square feet per bird in a covered, pervious run.
After discussion, the board voted 5–1–1 to recommend denial of the text amendment (roll-call: Kenneth Crawford — yes to deny; Joseph Stadlin — yes to deny; Richard Blattner — yes to deny; Steven Morales — no; Bob Glickman — yes to deny; Diana Pitarelli — yes to deny; Mena Morgan — abstain). The board’s recommendation will be transmitted to the City Commission, which will consider the item alongside the companion animal‑code updates if it elects to schedule the text amendment.
Staff told the board that, if the commission wishes to pursue changes, options to address board concerns could include size or lot‑area thresholds to limit eligibility, a permit or registration program, or more prescriptive standards on coop design and enforcement procedures. The board’s recommendation is advisory to the City Commission.
