(A) Kennels.
(1) No person shall maintain domestic animals in greater numbers than provided for in Chapter 90 of the city code unless it is part of a permitted kennel.
(2) Every kennel or shelter shall be enclosed or fenced in such manner as to prevent the running at large or escape of animals confined therein.
(3) Provisions shall be made to control animal noise.
(4) Kennels shall be open for inspection by the city authorities at any time.
(5) The kennel must be allowed within the zoning district.
(B) Farm animals. Except as may be otherwise specified in this chapter, farm animals shall not be kept in the city except the UR District subject to the following terms:
(1) The subject site shall be at least four acres in size; and
(2) Animal density shall not exceed one animal unit, as defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, per acre.
(C) Limited keeping of chickens. The limited keeping of chickens may be permitted as an accessory use to a legally established single-family residence subject to the following:
(1) The property shall be occupied with a single-family home. The owner of the chickens shall live in the dwelling on the property;
(2) The property shall be at least 20,000 square feet in area;
(3) No person shall keep more than five total hen chickens. Chickens kept under this chapter shall be considered to be domestic animals only in terms of the number of animals kept;
(4) No person shall keep roosters or adult male chickens;
(5) Chickens shall be kept within a separate enclosed accessory building and/or fenced outdoor containment area subject to the following:
(a) The accessory building shall be less than 120 square feet in size and not exceed six feet in height;
(b) The accessory building shall comply with all setbacks and other standards for accessory buildings, unless otherwise stated herein;
(c) Any outdoor containment areas shall be screened from view from all neighboring properties and rights-of-way. Outdoor containment areas shall not exceed 20 feet per bird and shall not have a fenced enclosure greater than six feet in height;
(d) Any accessory building or containment area shall be located in the rear yard only and shall be at least 50 feet from adjacent habitable structures on neighboring properties;
(e) Fencing used to contain chickens shall comply with applicable conditions of the city code;
(f) Chickens shall not be kept within the dwelling unit;
(g) The accessory building and/or containment area shall be maintained in good repair, in a clean and sanitary manner, free of vermin, and free of objectionable odors;
(h) Chickens shall remain in the accessory building and/or containment area at all times and shall not run at large;
(i) Chickens shall remain in the accessory building from sunset to sunrise each day to prevent nuisance noise and the attraction of vermin and predators; and
(j) Accessory buildings for the purpose of this section shall not count towards the number of accessory building permitted or the size limitations;
(6) The slaughter of chickens on site is prohibited;
(7) The raising of chickens for breeding purposes is prohibited;
(8) The sale of eggs or other commercial activity on the premises is prohibited;
(9) Feces and discarded feed shall be regularly collected and only stored temporarily on site in a leak-proof container with a tight-fitting cover to prevent nuisance odors and the attraction of vermin. Such waste shall not be composted on site;
(10) Chicken feed shall be stored in leak-proof containers with a tight-fitting cover to prevent attracting vermin; and
(11) Any person seeking to keep chickens under this section shall receive a license from the city.
(D) Limited keeping of bees. It is the intent and purpose of this section to set standards for the limited keeping of honeybees in urban settings as a non-commercial hobby.
(1) Definitions.
(a) BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT. Anything used in the operation of keeping honeybees, such as hive bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards and extractors.
(b) COLONY. An aggregate of honeybees consisting principally of workers, but having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs, and honey.
(c) HIVE. The receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured for that purpose.
(d) HONEYBEE. All life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera species of European origin.
(e) NUCLEUS COLONY. A small quantity of honeybees with a queen housed in a smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose.
(2) Conditions. The limited keeping of honeybees may be permitted as an accessory use to a single-family residence subject to the following:
(a) The property shall be occupied with a single-family home. The owner of the honeybees shall live in the dwelling on the property. The property owner shall be in receipt of a license as required by this chapter;
(b) Honeybees shall be kept in hives with removable frames, which shall be kept in sound and usable condition;
(c) A convenient source of water shall be available to the colony prior to and so long as colonies remain active outside of the hive;
(d) No wax comb or other material that might encourage robbing by other bees shall be left upon the property. Such materials once removed from the site shall be handled and stored in sealed containers or placed within a building or other insect-proof container;
(e) For each colony, there may also be maintained upon the same lot, one nucleus colony in a hive structure not to exceed one standard 9 inch depth ten-frame hive body with no supers;
(f) Beekeeping equipment shall be maintained in good condition including keeping the hives painted and securing unused equipment from weather, potential theft or vandalism and occupancy by swarms. It shall be a violation of this section for any unused equipment to attract a swarm, even if the property owner is not intentionally keeping honeybees;
(g) All hives shall be enclosed with a latching fence;
(h) Hives shall be located not less than ten feet from the property line and located only in the rear yard. In each instance where a colony is kept less than 25 feet from a property line of the lot upon which the apiary is located, as measured from the nearest point on the hive to the property line, and any entrances to the hive faces the property line, there shall be established and maintained a flyway barrier at least six feet in height. The flyway barrier may consist of a wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination thereof, such that honeybees will fly over rather than through the material to reach the colony. If a flyway barrier of dense vegetation is used, the initial planting may be four feet in height, so long as the vegetation normally reaches six feet in height or higher. The flyway barrier must continue parallel to the apiary lot line for ten feet in either direction from the hive. All other sides of the area encompassing the colonies shall consist of fencing, a wall, dense vegetation or combination thereof at least four-feet tall. The area encompassing the colonies need not entail the entire property; and
(i) No more than two colonies shall be permitted per property.
(3) License required. A license is required for any person seeking to keep honeybees as allowed by this section. Any applicant shall complete an application form provided by the city. Any amendment to an existing license shall constitute a new application and fee. The application shall include, but not be limited to the following information:
(a) Site plan showing the location and size of the premises and the location, size and type of all structures, colonies, hives, flyaway barriers, fences, storage containers, and any other item related to the beekeeping operation;
(b) An agreement by the applicant that the premises may be inspected by the city at all reasonable times to ensure compliance with all applicable conditions; and
(c) Applicant must document 16 hours of beekeeping training in the form of a certificate from the University of Minnesota. Other similar training may be substituted if found to be acceptable by the City Administrator.
(4) Duration of license and fee.
(a) Each license issued hereunder shall expire on December 31 in the year of issuance unless sooner revoked. A license shall be renewed annually to continue the limited keeping of honeybees.
(b) The annual fee for a license shall be in such amount as set forth in Chapter 42, which shall be paid at the time of the making of the application.
(5) Right of entry for inspections. The animal control officer or City Administrator's designee may enter and inspect any property licensed for the keeping of honeybees at any reasonable time for the purpose of investigating an actual or suspected violation to ascertain compliance or non-compliance with this section.
(6) Violation and penalties. When a violation is found to have occurred, the officer or agent of the city shall give written notice thereof to the owner. If said violation is not remedied within ten days, the city may issue a citation to appear in district court to answer the charges stated thereon. Any owner found violating any of the provisions of this section shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine. Any conviction shall result in the revocation of the permit by the city.
(Ord. 583, passed 8-26-2019)