The keeping of chickens in urban residential settings has been growing in popularity over the past few years and several residents have expressed the desire to raise chickens, mainly for egg production. The City’s Zoning Code currently only permits chickens on residential lots 10,000 square feet or larger which are mainly found in more rural areas of the City. Due to an increase in the number of requests, staff is proposing to remove the minimum lot size requirement for chicken keeping and allow chickens in urban areas. Included in the proposal are standards that require chickens to be contained, the placement of coops from property lines, and other standards to help protect neighborhoods from noise and odors. Some of the key changes are listed below and complete review of the draft proposal can be viewed here.
•Removal of the minimum lot size and allow urban chicken keeping on any size residential lot
•Chickens shall be contained in a coop or cage no less than five feet from any side/rear property line
Note: there are no proposed changes to the existing regulations that allow roosters to be kept only on lot sizes of 20,000 sf and larger