Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animal Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hoyt Lakes considers permitting backyard chickens; council to gather public input
Summary
The council discussed two draft ordinances to allow backyard chickens and remove chickens from a prohibited-animals chapter, reviewed neighboring-city rules, and asked staff to seek public input through a forum and survey before any ordinance is adopted.
Hoyt Lakes — Council members and staff on Oct. 28 discussed draft ordinances to allow backyard chickens in Hoyt Lakes, including one draft that would remove chickens from a prohibited-animals chapter and a second that would set permitting and siting rules.
Staff presented examples from neighboring jurisdictions and explained potential limits: acreage or lot-size minimums, maximum numbers of chickens, regulations on distance from neighboring dwellings, and a revised proposal to require consent from properties within 100 feet rather than the prior draft’s 75% adjacent-owner threshold. Staff noted that under some neighboring-city rules, a lot-size minimum (five acres in one town) would make no city residential properties eligible, while other municipalities limit chickens by square-foot lot size and allow a small number of birds.
Councilors said the issue warrants public input. Staff suggested using a public forum to invite discussion and a follow-up online or in-person survey to obtain broader resident feedback; statutory cities cannot hold binding referendums, staff noted, so the council would rely on public comment and surveys rather than a ballot measure.
No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff said they will finalize a draft for a public forum and may circulate a survey with several topics to capture broader resident sentiment before bringing an ordinance back for formal consideration.
