Lower Allen commissioners table backyard-chicken ordinance after lengthy public hearing

Lower Allen Township’s Board of Commissioners voted 5–0 on Oct. 14 to table Ordinance 20242 — a proposed update to township rules on keeping backyard chickens — after a public hearing and more than an hour of discussion over possible numeric limits, permit options and enforcement triggers.

President Dean Vom, who opened the post‑hearing discussion, said he did not want the board to take final action that night and asked staff and the solicitor for options. “If I had it solely my choice right now, I would take this off the agenda,” Vom said, then asked for recommendations on whether to table, rewrite or return the ordinance with staff direction.

Resident Lauren Castlebury, who gave her address during public comment, described her own experience keeping birds and urged the board to adopt practical limits that allow families to obtain eggs while preventing nuisance conditions. “If I wanted to be nice I would say 15, but honestly 10,” Castlebury said when asked what number she thought appropriate for an R‑1 neighborhood.

Commissioners and staff discussed several policy approaches heard during the public hearing. Options included a modest number of birds allowed without a permit for casual keepers and a permit-plus‑checklist or inspection for larger flocks; basing enforcement on objective triggers such as accumulated manure, noise (especially roosters), or other measurable violations rather than subjective aesthetics; and tying allowable birds to lot size (for example, adding one bird per additional tenth‑acre).

Director Sweeney and Mr. Bennett (who addressed enforcement and checklist options) told the board they could draft ordinance language reflecting one or more of those tiered approaches. Commissioners suggested sample thresholds (for example, allowing up to five or six birds by right with a permit required above that number) and discussed permitting fees and complaint‑driven enforcement as practical tools to protect neighbors.

After discussion, Commissioner Joe Schwarz moved to table Ordinance 20242 for further work; Commissioner Chuck Brown seconded the motion. The motion carried 5–0. Commissioners asked staff to prepare draft ordinance language showing options (numeric caps, a permit path with checklist/inspection, and objective enforcement criteria) and to return the proposal for board consideration at a future meeting (staff proposed bringing a draft back in one to two meetings).

The tabling preserves the current regulatory status until the board receives revised language; no binding change to the township code was enacted at the Oct. 14 meeting.