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West Burlington council debates chicken rules; amendment to backyard-exemption passes first reading
Summary
Council members debated regulations for keeping backyard chickens; a second-reading attempt on one version failed for lack of a second, then the council approved a revised first reading with a new rear-yard exception for corner lots and directed staff to bring the ordinance forward as amended.
The West Burlington City Council debated changes to the city code on allowing chickens in residential yards and approved a first reading of an amended ordinance that adds Chapter 55H to regulate keeping chickens.
The dispute began when a second reading of an earlier ordinance on chickens failed for lack of a second, meaning the original proposed language did not advance. Chair (S1) said the motion "dies for lack of 2nd," and the council moved on to other business before returning to the subject later in the meeting.
At the later first-reading discussion, Councilmember (S2) objected that the draft would effectively bar residents on many corner lots from keeping chickens, saying she had "drove around West Burlington, and there's, like, a couple of handfuls of lots that will not support chickens" and asked staff to add a rear-yard exception. S2 said the draft's 20-foot backyard criterion would exclude some properties with only side yards. S2 moved an amendment to include a new section for rear-yard exceptions; the amendment was supported and passed on a roll-call vote. The full ordinance as amended then passed its first reading on roll call.
City administrator (S4) confirmed that the amendment applied to the ordinance before the council and advised that the amendment addressed the specific concern about corner lots. The council did not finalize an effective date or provide an exact schedule for subsequent readings; by council practice, additional readings and formal adoption must follow the statutory process before the ordinance takes effect.
Actions and next steps: the council recorded two formal outcomes related to this subject: (a) the earlier second-reading attempt of the initial ordinance failed for lack of a second and thus did not pass, and (b) the later first reading of the revised ordinance (Chapter 55H) passed as amended; staff were directed to prepare the ordinance text consistent with the amendment for future readings. The meeting then proceeded to other agenda items and later entered closed session.
The council did not publish a final vote tally for the initial failed motion beyond stating it lacked a second; the roll-call for the successful first reading and amendment was conducted and the chair announced the motion "carries." No effective date or final ordinance number was provided at the meeting.
