Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council considers loosening chicken-coop rules, signals support to allow renters and keep smaller setbacks
Summary
City planners proposed reducing neighbor-setbacks for backyard chicken coops from 40 to 25 feet and adding enforcement to revoke permits after repeated violations; council asked staff to consider removing a single-family-only restriction and to keep the property-line setback at 3 feet rather than the planning commission’s recommended 10 feet.
City planners presented a proposed amendment to Chapter 8.13 on Nov. 18 to make backyard chicken keeping more accessible while adding enforcement safeguards.
Planner Emma told the City Council the proposal would lower the required setback from neighboring dwellings from 40 feet to 25 feet and would add an enforcement provision allowing the city to revoke a chicken permit after three verified ordinance violations within a 12‑month period. "We're proposing reducing the required setback for chicken coops to 25 feet from neighboring dwellings and also adding an enforcement provision that would enable the revocation of chicken permits after 3 ordinance violations," Emma said.
The planning commission forwarded the proposal with two changes: increasing the minimum distance from the coop to the property line from 3 feet to 10 feet and permitting staff to investigate violations based on observation as well as complaint. Several councilors questioned the 10‑foot-from-property-line change, noting it could force coops toward neighbors or into garden areas and therefore become a longer-term nuisance. Councilors also raised equity concerns about limiting coops to single‑family detached homes; staff said current code limits chickens to single‑family detached properties but indicated that renters of detached houses are allowed. Several councilors said they were sympathetic to allowing poultry for residents who can meet health and setback criteria regardless of housing tenure.
By discussion's end, staff reported council direction to explore removing the single‑family‑detached limitation and to revert the property‑line setback to 3 feet while retaining the 25‑foot setback from neighboring dwellings. The amendments would apply prospectively to new permits; existing, permitted coops would continue under the rules in place when they were authorized. Council asked staff to return with revised ordinance language for further action.
