It shall be unlawful for any person within the corporate limits of the city to harbor any chickens unless done so in the following manner.
(A) The harboring of any chicken flocks must be maintained so as to not constitute a public nuisance or disturb neighboring residents due to noise, odor or property damage;
(B) Any person harboring chickens shall operate in a manner so as to not pose a threat to public health. Individuals harboring chickens shall isolate any chickens which are sick or diseased so as to not endanger the health and well-being of other animals and/or humans. When necessary for the protection of the public health and safety, the City Code Enforcement Officer may require any chicken to be kept or confined to a secured enclosure and the City Code Enforcement Officer shall make this determination in his or her absolute discretion as he or she deems necessary to protect the welfare of the citizens of the city. This provision is subordinate to any local, state or federal code governing the treatment of chickens in the event of a threat to human health;
(C) No individual harboring chickens shall slaughter chickens on the harborer’s property;
(D) Any individual harboring chickens shall keep all chickens completely and securely enclosed and under the control of the harborer of the harborer’s property at all times;
(E) Individual harborer’s must provide a chicken coop and attached chicken run that affords a combined 12 square feet per chicken and is clean, dry, odor-free and maintained in a sanitary condition and provides adequate shelter from the elements;
(F) Individual harborer’s must provide a chicken coop and attached chicken run that, combined, provide adequate ventilation and adequate sun and shade and that are both impermeable to rodents, wild birds, and predators, including, but not limited to dogs;
(G) Individuals harborer’s must provide chickens with access to feed and clean water at all times and shall maintain the feed and water in a manner that is unavailable to rodents, wild birds and predators;
(H) Individual harborer’s must provide adequate safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to the chickens by members of the general public;
(I) Individual harborer’s shall keep the chicken coop, chicken run and surrounding area free from trash and accumulated droppings. The harborer shall dispose of chicken waste and uneaten feed in a timely and sanitary manner; and
(J) The chicken coop and chicken run:
(a) Provide a sight fence or shrub screening of at least four feet in height around both coop and run if visible to occupants of neighboring lots;
(b) The chicken coop and chicken run must be located at least 20 feet from any building used for human housing and not owned by the chicken harborer and must be located at least 12 feet from the property line of any neighboring lot; and
(c) All chicken coops and chicken runs shall remain in a constant state of good repair.
(K) Penalties. The penalty for violating this section shall be a civil penalty or fines as determined pursuant to the penalty schedule set forth in § 2-128. The City Code Enforcement Officer or any officer of the Police Department shall have the authority to issue citations for the purpose of enforcing this section. Any issues of dispute arising as a result of the issuance of a civil citation for violation of this section shall be referred to and/or appealable to the Code Enforcement and Nuisance Board pursuant to the rules and regulations adopted by it and/or the City Commission.
(1977 Code, § 5-13) (Ord. passed 3-5-1914; Ord. 2013-08, passed 5-28-2013)