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Committee presses staff to tailor chicken‑keeping rules after state law limits municipal bans
Summary
City staff told the committee a recent state law prevents municipal bans on keeping chickens in residential zones but allows nuisance guardrails. Staff proposed a minimum lot size to control rodent concerns; councilors favored guardrails, coop‑size standards, complaint‑driven inspections and asked staff to consult Auburn and Portland before returning with revised language.
Colette, the city's land officer, told the committee that a new state law limits municipalities' ability to prohibit chickens in residential zones but permits them to set nuisance‑focused guardrails such as setbacks and rodent‑control requirements. "The official staff recommendation is to do the minimum lot size just to address the concerns with rats, but we wanna put that question to you," Colette said, and she outlined proposed coop standards (4 sq ft per chicken inside the coop and 10 sq ft in an outdoor run) plus a certificate‑of‑occupancy inspection by animal control or code enforcement.
Councilors expressed concern that a one‑acre minimum would effectively ban chickens in most urban neighborhoods and asked staff to pursue an alternative patterned on Auburn and Portland that limits hen counts by lot size and emphasizes setbacks and nuisance enforcement. Councilor Dean raised animal‑welfare concerns for small coops and asked for clear coop‑size standards; councilors also asked staff to confirm enforcement capacity with animal control and to clarify how multiunit/tenant situations (landlord permissions) will be handled. Staff said they will consult other municipalities and return with revised language for the land‑use code and suggested updates to the animals ordinance.
