Proposed chicken law goes to hearing Oct. 10

With Town of Fredonia officials recommending approval of an ordinance that would allow chickens to be kept in residential areas,  the public will get a chance to weigh in at a public hearing scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10.

The town’s Plan Commission recently recommended that the ordinance be approved. The Town Board last week reviewed the proposed ordinance and scheduled the hearing before voting on it.

The need for an ordinance came to light recently after a Waubeka resident complained that a neighbor was keeping chickens in his yard and creating a nuisance.

When town officials investigated the matter, they discovered the town had no regulations over the practice.

Under the proposed ordinance, residents who currently have chickens will not be grandfathered in and will have to meet the ordinance’s restrictions and pay a fee to obtain a permit.

The town ordinance is primarily modeled after one enacted by the Village of Fredonia.

The ordinance would apply to areas zoned R2, mainly Waubeka and some subdivisions. They cannot be kept in mobile home parks, vacant lots or any property zoned as multifamily.

An annual permit will cost $15 and allows a homeowner to keep up to six hens, but no adult roosters, ducks, geese or other birds.  In addition, newly hatched chickens living in a brooder may be kept up to the age of three weeks. Neighbors must be notified.

Owners are not allowed to sell eggs or slaughter chickens on the property. Schools can keep chickens for educational purposes.

Violators can lose their permit and be fined up to $10 for every day the violation exists.

The permit also does not supersede homeowner association covenants.