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Peachtree City council adopts backyard-chickens ordinance with compromise lot-size limit
Summary
After a public hearing with mixed testimony, council approved a revised ordinance permitting backyard chickens on lots of roughly 20,000 square feet or larger (with detailed coop/run rules), following the planning commission’s original recommendation for larger minimum lots.
Peachtree City adopted an ordinance to allow backyard chickens in single-family rear yards with detailed limits tied to lot size after a full public hearing that produced roughly equal numbers of supporters and opponents.
Staff presented the draft ordinance and noted the Planning Commission had recommended chickens only on very large lots (about 1 acre). The initial staff-modified proposal would have allowed chickens on lots as small as 10,000 square feet with a chart of maximum birds per lot. Supporters (including residents and a 4‑H coordinator cited by the council) said chickens provide local food access, pest control and youth 4‑H opportunities; opponents raised concerns about noise, free‑range chickens, water features attracting snakes and potential neighbor conflicts.
After debate, council amended the proposal on the floor: they changed the minimum lot-size threshold from the staff-proposed 10,000 square feet to a compromise of roughly 20,000 square feet (the mayor and several council members described this as a half‑acre compromise in discussion). Under the amended language, lots of approximately 20,000–42,999 square feet would be allowed up to eight chickens; ducks and roosters were excluded in the final text. The council voted to adopt the ordinance as amended (motion carried).
Key rules adopted by ordinance (as discussed in the meeting): coops only in rear yards, minimum setbacks (staff discussed 20 feet from property line in slides), 4 square feet per chicken in a coop, 10 square feet per bird in a run, and chickens must be kept in enclosed coops/runs; staff said enforcement would rely on complaint-driven inspections.
Why it matters: The change alters pet and accessory-use rules for many neighborhoods and balances public‑health and nuisance concerns with calls for local food access and educational benefits for youth organizations.
What’s next: Staff will publish the adopted ordinance and will respond to complaints and enforcement requests under existing code‑enforcement procedures; council said staff and legal will adjust ordinance text as necessary for clear implementation.
Attributions: Ordinance discussion and testimony drawn from council packet presentation and the public hearing recorded in the Nov. 24 meeting transcript.
