SACO — City councilors are considering a new ordinance that would allow domestic ownership of chickens.
The proposed ordinance would allow the ownership of up to six chickens in a backyard hen house or pen, and no roosters. Chickens would be kept in a hen house or pen on a one acre property or on any property, as long as the hen house or pen had a 50 foot setback from all property lines. All eggs would be used for the homeowner only and the slaughtering of chickens would be prohibited.
Currently, commercial chicken ownership is allowed on lots that are at least five acres. Domestic ownership is not currently addressed in the city ordinance.
A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held June 29.
In discussions Monday, Councilor Margaret Mills asked what chicken owners should do if the chicken stopped producing eggs. Eventually, she said, the chickens will die.
“What do you do with a dead chicken? You can’t eat it and you can’t put it in the rubbish,” said Mills.
Councilor Leslie Smith also took issue with the no slaughtering provision.
“Are we going to have to take our downtown chickens to Ward 2 to dismantle?” said Smith.
City Planner Bob Hamblen said that he grew up on a farm, and “when a hen passes a certain age, all it’s good for is a stock pot on a Saturday night.”
However, he said, that was a much more rural setting. Similar ordinances from surrounding communities have also failed to deal with the issue, he said. If a chicken is dying, he suggested the owner could do what a pet owner would do and take it to a veterinarian.
Smith also said that he thought the $25 a year permit cost was a “might pricey” for a small number of non-commercial chickens.
Councilor Arthur Tardif agreed, and suggested that chicken owners should only have to pay a fee the first year.
“Twenty five dollars a year to keep chickens is kind of high,” he said.
Hamblen said that both Portland and South Portland require a $25 a year permit fee, and Westbrook does not.
Mayor Roland “Ron” Michaud said that he believes that while some chicken owners may do an excellent job maintaining their fowl, others might not. The ordinance will generate some impacts and costs to the city, he said.
—Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
