Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animals Chickens topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Township weighs allowing backyard chickens after hundreds of public comments
Summary
Middletown Township staff presented two draft approaches to allow backyard chickens — a cautious half‑acre permit model and a tiered option for smaller lots — and heard extensive public testimony, with supporters stressing sustainability and opponents raising enforcement and nuisance concerns.
Township staff presented draft options to allow residential backyard chickens and invited public feedback at the May Middletown Township Board of Supervisors meeting. Planner/staff member Mister Ennis said a recent outreach campaign produced 23,476 video views, 165 public comments and a social‑media poll in which 78% of respondents favored allowing backyard chickens.
Ennis described two approaches: a cautious model that would allow hens on lots of at least one‑half acre in RA zoning districts with a low‑cost permit and strict coop and sanitation requirements, and a tiered model that would permit chickens on lots as small as about 7,000 square feet (roughly 0.16 acre) with an initial minimum of three hens and the option to add one hen per additional 5,000 square feet. He said no roosters would be allowed, permits would require basic coop design and feed/storage plans, and routine code enforcement or targeted outreach would follow any nuisance complaints.
The issue drew substantial public testimony. Dozens of residents described personal experience keeping chickens, saying properly kept backyard flocks provide fresh eggs, pest control and educational benefits for children. Several residents recounted prior enforcement actions that removed poultry from properties and urged the board to allow an affordable permitting process so families can legally keep hens. One speaker, Dr. James Robinson, described raising poultry during the pandemic and said taking chickens away had been personally traumatic. Another resident noted that nearby municipalities (including boroughs and neighboring townships) allow chickens and urged parity.
Critics and some board members pressed staff on enforcement and equity. Questions included whether inspections would be routine or complaint‑driven, whether permit fees would be revenue‑neutral, and whether the township has staff capacity to track and inspect permits. Ennis said permit fees would be modest and that enforcement would rely on existing animal control and zoning processes, with education and voluntary compliance emphasized before penalties. Board members and staff noted the proposed zoning change would also require review by the planning commission and the Bucks County Planning Commission before any ordinance was returned to the supervisors for final action.
Mister Ennis said the planning commission is scheduled to consider the draft on June 3 at 7:00 p.m.; if the commission issues a recommendation that would be followed by county review and then a return to the supervisors, possibly for an August meeting. The board did not adopt any ordinance at the May meeting; members asked staff to proceed to planning commission review and to continue outreach to address enforcement concerns and ensure the permit program would be affordable and clear.
The board emphasized that a final change would be a zoning ordinance amendment (not an administrative policy), which requires planning commission review and Bucks County Planning Commission comment. The supervisors did not set a final date for adoption and made no immediate policy changes at the meeting.
