Old Town planning board recommends ordinance amendment to allow backyard chickens in specified residential zones

The Old Town Planning Board voted on Nov. 12, 2025 to recommend that the City Council adopt amendments to Section 113 of the zoning ordinance to align local rules on keeping backyard chickens with Maine state law HP1096-LD1655 (case number 1568). A board member moved the recommendation and a board member identified as Travis seconded; the board voted in favor and the recommendation will be submitted to the council.

The board acted after staff presented both a marked-up draft and a clean copy showing revisions made to comply with the state law. The board opened the matter for public comment but no members of the public spoke. During discussion, members clarified that the amendment applies to residential zones and that R3 and R3A (farming and agriculture) are not affected. Members confirmed that R2 generally inherits permitted uses from R1 under the zoning code, so R2 was discussed in that context but the board asked staff to explicitly list R1, R4 and R5 in the ordinance language before sending it to council.

Board members asked whether adopting Section 113 alone would capture all affected zones; staff indicated the ordinance body addresses zones but agreed to add explicit zone listings to the version forwarded to council. "What I can do is, if you want to make a recommendation to pass it with the addition of the listing of those ordinances, I will make those changes and that will be in the version that will go to the city council," said Dave (staff member).

Following that clarification, a board member moved an amendment to the motion to include the explicit listing of R1, R4 and R5; Travis seconded and the chair said the motion carried. The transcript records the board chair calling for those in favor and stating, "And none opposed? The motion carries and the recommendation will be submitted to the council." The record does not include a numerical roll-call tally.

Members also discussed enforcement language. One board member said the revised draft "tightened up" the ordinance so staff would have enforceable measures that the original draft did not provide. Another member criticized the state law in passing, saying the state "in its infinite wisdom doesn't care about how much money we're spending on pest control," a comment presented as a speaker opinion rather than a factual finding.

The board had no other business; members discussed scheduling and confirmed continuing to meet on the second Tuesday of the month in the coming term. The recommendation and the revised ordinance text listing the specified zones will be submitted to City Council for consideration.