Residents urge Easley to allow backyard hens; cite neighboring cities' codes

Several residents used the public-comment period to ask the council to reconsider Easley City Code Chapter 90.35, which classifies chickens as farm animals and prohibits backyard hens inside city limits.

Speaker Rebecca Salentamo, who described herself as a Chinese immigrant and Easley resident, told the council she and other residents assumed backyard hens would be permitted given Easley’s rural character and the practice in neighboring jurisdictions. She cited surrounding municipalities that allow hens with varying limits and conditions, naming Greer, Simpsonville, Anderson, Clemson and others as permitting backyard hens with different flock-size or fencing rules.

Salentamo asked the council to “reconsider the current ordinance” and suggested that regulations could include flock-size limits, enclosure and noise or nuisance rules that balance urban living with residents’ interest in keeping hens. Another public speaker, John Wallace, voiced support for permitting backyard chickens and said his daughter kept hens in Chicago.

The council did not take action on the request at the meeting. No staff report or draft ordinance to change Chapter 90.35 was presented during the public-comment period; councilmembers invited commenters to continue engagement through the normal legislative process.