“We have no regulations to keep track of who has chickens, who doesn’t have chickens, and the necessary rules and regulations which they should fall under,” said Mayor Bill Cook. “I think this ordinance needs to be revisited and there needs to be some kind of legislation. If we don’t have legislation, then where are we?”
City officials said as of now, the specific rules approved by voters in the Nov. 5 election will take effect five days after certification of the election results. That certification was completed Monday, Nov. 18, according to the Clark County Board of Elections.
Step-by-step process
City council passed the initial ordinance to allow chickens in June. The ordinance includes:
- Roosters are prohibited due to potential noise disturbances.
- Chickens must be kept in rear yards only and are not permitted in front or side yards.
- The slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.
- The keeping of chickens is allowed at single-family dwellings only.
- A maximum of six chickens can be kept for residential properties that are smaller than one acre.
- A minimum of three chickens can be kept for any residential property with chickens.
- Chickens must be kept in a coop, combined coop and run, or chicken tractor in a nonpermanent structure, and each coop must have a fence, vegetation or privacy screen so it’s not visible to neighbors.
- The city will not require a permit to keep chickens on any residential property.
Once council passed the ordinance in June, the issue went back for further discussion to decide if other rules and regulations would be added on the keeping of chickens.
However, with several residents speaking at meetings in favor of and opposed to allowing chickens in the city, former mayor Mike Lowry turned in a petition to council and then to the Clark County Board of Elections, who approved the measure to be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
That action paused the June ordinance to allow chickens, as well as the proposed amendments, until residents could vote on it.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
In the Nov. 5 election, residents in New Carlisle approved an ordinance that allows the keeping of hens (female chickens) at residential properties within city limits, with 55.6% voting yes and 44.4% voting no.
Then at last week’s Nov. 12 city council meeting, the amended ordinance with additional restrictions on the chicken rules was reintroduced. The proposed extra rules included:
- A maximum of 12 chickens can be kept at residential properties that is bigger than one-acre.
- The breeding of chickens is prohibited.
- Chicken coops, runs and tractors must be maintained to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the chickens, and must be regularly cleaned to control dust, odor, vermin and waste.
- Coops, combined coops and runs or chicken tractors must be considered an accessory building and be subject to city rules and regulations that pertain to those structures.
- People keeping chickens must register with and apply to the city for a permit and pay an application fee, and permits must be renewed each year.
City council shot down those added restrictions, voting 5-2 to reject both the additional restrictions and the registration/fee requirement.
Several residents and council members who spoke at the Nov. 12 meeting opposed the added rules.
Residents called the city’s proposal “overregulation” and “overreach.” One man suggested that unless the city would force people to pay or get an accessory building permit for a doghouse, they shouldn’t do it for chickens and coops.
Another resident in opposition called the entire process a learning experience, as she asked the city “to be reasonable on what your expectations are.”
Councilwoman Kathy Wright said she agrees with some residents who spoke, saying “the whole thing seems pretty silly” and to “give it a shot before putting it in a little box and keep it all tight.”
Councilwoman Karriane Grow said the proposed added restrictions are “not what the people voted on” and is “a slap in the face to the citizens who voted on this with the facts they were given for the ordinance that was already passed by council.”
“I think the citizens have spoke and consequently whatever happens will happen at this point until council can come together and look at these ordinances again,” Cook said.
To watch past New Carlisle city council meetings, visit www.youtube.com/@cityofnewcarlisle.
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