Plan Commission to hold public hearing on proposed increase to backyard poultry limit
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
A resident asked the Village of Cross Plains Plan Commission to raise the backyard limit from six to 12 birds; commissioners favored a smaller increase (around 10), discussed enforcement and coop-size rules, and voted to schedule a public hearing before forwarding a recommendation to the Village Board.
A resident asked the Village of Cross Plains Plan Commission on Jan. 5 to raise the residential limit on chickens and ducks from six to a maximum of 12, prompting commissioners to agree to a public hearing and further draft revisions.
Hallie Mulford, who identified herself and gave her Ziegler Court address, said her household keeps five birds and that her flock has produced about "7 or 8 eggs a day," arguing that raising the cap would let residents meet their household food needs. "I'm proposing to increase the limit that's currently set at 6 chickens or ducks to a maximum of 12 chickens or ducks," Mulford said.
Commissioners and staff questioned whether a blanket increase to 12 would push household keeping toward production. An unidentified speaker (S2) said the commission must consider "what's best for the big picture" and warned, "I don't want to become an agricultural production." Other commissioners suggested a compromise number of 10 birds and discussed allowing case-by-case waivers instead of changing the ordinance for everyone.
The commission also debated minimum per-bird space and coop-size language to avoid conflicts with other village regulations. Commissioners discussed using a clear maximum enclosure size (examples cited in the discussion included a 100-square-foot maximum and a 36-square-foot minimum as an illustrative per-bird metric) and asked staff to align the draft with existing non-permit structure provisions.
No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting. The commission voted to schedule the required public hearing on the revised draft and will forward its recommendation to the Village Board; staff said they will notify the resident and update commissioners about hearing dates. The commission previously approved its Nov. 3, 2025 minutes and adjourned following the agenda items.
Next steps: staff will revise the draft ordinance language on coop size and per-bird space, the commission will hold a public hearing to receive formal public input, and any recommendation from the commission will be transmitted to the Village Board for final action.