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Planning commission hears draft rules for backyard hens; staff to draft ordinance and memo for council review
Summary
A subcommittee presented recommended rules for backyard hens — four-hen limit, setbacks, predator-proof coops, waste handling and registration — and the commission directed staff to draft an ordinance and an accompanying memo for Town Council, with a planned return in August.
The Planning and Zoning Commission heard a presentation May 28 from a subcommittee on draft rules to allow backyard hens in parts of Chesapeake Beach and directed staff to prepare an ordinance and memo for Town Council review.
A subcommittee representative told the commission its recommendations included a maximum of four hens per single dwelling, coops and runs sited in side or rear yards (not front yards), an eight-foot setback from property lines with additional distance from neighboring dwellings to address proximity concerns, and predator-proof, ventilated coops and covered runs. "Four hens produce about the same waste as one dog," the presenter said during the discussion to contextualize waste-management concerns.
The draft also suggested on-site composting or disposal of waste as yard waste, prohibiting on-site slaughter, and requiring registration with the town (a modest registration fee was discussed) while limiting proactive inspections to complaint-driven enforcement. The subcommittee noted movable coops and regular cleaning as recommended best practices; towns cited in the discussion varied widely on setbacks and other technical requirements.
Commissioners raised enforcement, odor and neighborhood-notification concerns. Some commissioners recommended stronger enforcement penalties for repeat violations; others said neighbor notification should be a courtesy rather than a mandatory approval. Planner Sarah Franklin suggested the commission could forward the draft ordinance text to Town Council along with a memo identifying enforcement items that are outside the zoning code so council can consider additional animal- or health-code language.
The commission did not adopt ordinance text at the meeting. Instead commissioners directed Franklin to prepare a formal ordinance and a memo explaining enforcement and non-zoning issues and return the item in August for further review; the commission agreed to pause further action until staff returns with a draft because several commissioners indicated they would be absent in June and July.
