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Council approves first reading to loosen backyard-chicken rules
Summary
Planning staff presented an ordinance to allow backyard chickens by right, remove building-permit/course requirements and adopt a sliding scale for flock size; the council approved first reading 6-0 and scheduled second reading for September.
Carol McFarland, Planning and Development Services director, summarized the proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 72 and ease backyard-chicken permitting. "One of the things that it does is allow backyard chickens by right instead of a special conditional use permit," McFarland said, explaining the proposal removes building-permit and IFAS-course requirements, eliminates lot-size thresholds and transitions from a flat limit of five chickens to a sliding scale tied to lot area while keeping roosters prohibited.
Vice Chair Matt Reinhardt, who had supported the change previously, moved approval. The council approved first reading 6-0; staff said the ordinance will return for final adoption in September and that UF extension resources remain available to residents for training and best practices.
