Council ‘bawks’ at allowing more backyard chickens

Residents remain limited to four birds

Posted 5/4/23

Powell City Council members are not eggs-actly excited about allowing more backyard chickens.

On Monday, council members rejected a citizen’s request to increase the current four-chicken per …

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Council ‘bawks’ at allowing more backyard chickens

Residents remain limited to four birds

Posted

Powell City Council members are not eggs-actly excited about allowing more backyard chickens.

On Monday, council members rejected a citizen’s request to increase the current four-chicken per lot cap to somewhere between six and 10 birds.

The city allowed in-town chickens in 2014 and councilors were wary of reopening the debate.

“There was a battle to get them in,” recalled Council President Tim Sapp, adding, “I sure don’t want to go over that battle again, myself.”

Eliana Rothleutner — one of about a dozen Powell residents currently permitted to raise chickens in the city — asked the council to reconsider the limits after avian bird flu decimated chicken populations and sent egg prices skyrocketing. She said boosting the limit on backyard chickens and, in turn, the amount of eggs they produce, could make it more beneficial to keep the birds. For example, Rothleutner said she doesn’t get enough eggs from her four chickens during their annual molt.

She proposed an increase “that is realistic and … would not cause a disturbance” to neighbors. While saying she could accommodate 10 birds on her property, Rothleutner acknowledged that might not be feasible on all lots. At Monday night’s council meeting, she suggested even a two-bird increase would be helpful, “to at least allow owners to have a half-dozen eggs a day.”

“I don’t see the big issue with raising it by two,” said Councilman Geoff Hovivian, offering that “we don’t get any complaints” on the current chickens in town.

However, Hovivian stood alone among the flock of council members.

Like Sapp, Councilwoman Lesli Spencer remembered the long debate that preceded the adoption of the current chicken rules. Both she and Councilman Zane Logan expressed fears that increasing the limit and drawing more attention to the issue could create problems and perhaps spawn a push to ban the birds altogether.

“Is it worth that battle that could happen?” Spencer said. “It’s all coulda, woulda, who knows, but it’s not broke right now and it’s scary to open that door.”

Logan agreed that the current rules seem to be working and “it’s good that we have that option.”

“But to increase it from four, then pretty soon you’ve got somebody who wants to raise, well, pot-bellied pigs or dwarf goats or something,” Logan said. “I think pretty soon you’re living in the country.”

Councilman Steve Lensegrav, who’d prefer no chickens in town, also didn’t want to up the limit.

“If you go to six, then to eight and 10 and it keeps on rolling, where do you stop?” he said. “And then you have a full-on small farm next to you.”

Noting that only a handful of people are raising backyard chickens, Councilman Sapp said he wasn’t sure the city needed to make an exception for them. As a result, residents will remain limited to four hens per lot (noisier roosters are banned).

Powell city code also requires owners to provide a covered, clean and “predator-proof” enclosure for their flock. It must be at least 25 feet away from any neighboring houses or apartments and 10 feet from neighbors’ patios and decks. Birds must also be fenced in and kept in the backyard.

Feed and other items that could attract rodents must be stored in weather-resistant containers while chicken waste must be stored in fly-proof containers and emptied at least once a week.

City Administrator Zack Thorington noted the requirements are not actively enforced.

“We’re not having staff knock on the door and say, ‘Hey, I’m making sure you’re emptying [the waste] every seven days,’” Thorington said. He expressed concern that adding more chickens per lot could create more unpleasant smells and prompt neighbor complaints.

In an interview, Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt said his department received some complaints about messes and coops being too close to neighbors when backyard chickens were first allowed. Former Powell Police Officer Kade Richmond, who happened to be in attendance at Monday’s meeting, recalled chasing a couple chickens during his time on the force.

However, Eckerdt said that lately, the department hasn’t had a lot of complaints.

To raise backyard chickens, residents must submit a “chicken request form” to the police department and pay a $5 fee each year. There are 13 current permit holders, police said, up from six in 2020.

Powell has the most stringent requirements for raising poultry within Park County. The Town of Meeteetse requires chickens to be fenced, but has no cap or other rules in place. The City of Cody doesn’t have a cap, either, only regulating backyard chickens if they become a nuisance.

Park County has no poultry-specific regulations, but feedlot regulations kick in if someone raises 3,000 or more chickens with the intent of slaughtering them.

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