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Council postpones residential hen ordinance after residents ask for clarifications
Summary
Council postponed final action on Bill 52 (household hens) to Nov. 19 after public commenters requested clarifications about containment, sale of eggs and hens, and other requirements. Councilmembers said they want the bill maker to be present for a fuller discussion.
The Hawaii County Council voted to postpone final action on Bill 52 (draft 3), which would allow hens for household egg production in several residential zoning districts, until the Nov. 19 meeting to allow the bill's introducer to participate in final discussions and to address community concerns.
Multiple testifiers from both rural and residential areas addressed the council about the draft. Elizabeth Logsdon (Honomu resident) said she supports some ideas in the ordinance but asked that the council not finalize the measure that day and that language be clarified; she told the council "I don't think that 2 chickens in the yard are enough to feed a family," and asked for further consultation with staff. In Kona, Amy Koch, a 20‑year resident and backyard chicken owner, opposed the draft as written and asked that the ordinance allow hens to free‑range within a fenced area, saying that fenced free‑range hens experience better health and are a longstanding rural practice.
Elena O'Miley, who keeps a backyard flock, urged the council to remove a prohibition on selling hens and eggs and to permit fencing rather than mandatory enclosed coops. "Prohibiting this in a zoning bill is government overreach," O'Miley said of limits on sales. She and other testifiers asked the council to work with local chicken owners to fine‑tune the draft.
Councilmember Kerkowitz moved to postpone final reading to Nov. 19 so the bill maker could attend and to allow more public engagement. The motion passed with a majority of members present. Councilmembers on both sides noted misperceptions circulating on social media and clarified that the proposed ordinance would expand—rather than eliminate—opportunity for backyard chicken ownership in residential zones where it had previously been restricted; ag‑zoned properties remain allowed to keep poultry as an agricultural activity.
The postponement provides time for the introducer and staff to refine containment language (closed coop vs. fenced run), address questions about resale of hens and eggs, and incorporate stakeholder suggestions from backyard flock owners and animal‑care groups.
