July 22, 2024 |
Photo – Chicken with eggs – Bigfoot99 file photo
Saratoga residents may now keep egg-laying chickens in their yards without running afoul of the law.
The Saratoga town council voted to formally adopt Ordinance 24-870, a resolution amending the town’s livestock codes on the third and final reading.
Back in March, former Saratoga councilman Jon Nelson asked the sitting council to consider letting residents keep hens in town. The current livestock ordinance, which groups chickens in with other barnyard animals such as horses and goats, needed to be changed.
The Saratoga Planning Commission brought the chicken ordinance up for discussion and received support from the community. Changing an existing ordinance requires the amendment to be read three times during three separate public hearings. Tuesday was the third and final time the ordinance needed to be read before it could be passed.
At Tuesday’s Saratoga town council meeting, Clerk Jennifer Anderson read the resolution to amend the livestock ordinance.
The resolution defines “poultry” as small fowl of under 12 pounds that are kept primarily for their eggs, including chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, and quails. Roosters will remain illegal to possess within town limits.
To keep chickens in their yards, residents must have a suitable coop to house the birds. Clerk Anderson read the section of the ordinance that defines what the town considers to be a coop.
Coops must also have a fully fenced in run to allow the birds outside. The amended town ordinance states that the run must be large enough to permit a minimum of 10 square feet per chicken or 16 square feet per duck. Different breeds of egg laying fowl may share a single run.
Town Treasurer Corina Daley continued reading where Clerk Anderson left off. Daley said residents may keep between two and 12 fowl on their property. The ordinance forbids selling or eating the birds.
For clarification, Treasurer Daley misread the ordinance. Guinea pigs are not considered poultry. However, guinea fowl are.
The ordinance allows poultry outside of the fenced in run during the day only if their wings are clipped and they are confined to the back yard of a lot that is surrounded with at least a six-foot tall fence. The birds must be locked inside the coop from sunset to sunrise.
Daley continued to read the amended ordinance. The treasurer said residents who wish to keep chickens must procure a building permit from the town hall listing the dimensions of their proposed coop and the number of fowl they intend to keep.
Chicken feed must be properly stored to prevent rodents and the coop must be kept clean, said Daley.
The amended ordinance gives in-town residents with existing poultry coops six months to comply with the new regulations.
The Saratoga town council unanimously voted to approve the amended livestock ordinance upon the third reading.
