The sounds of clucking might soon be heard in more Stuart backyards thanks in part to a proposed ordinance that went before the City Commission June 8. But that ordinance might violate the city’s comprehensive growth management plan.
“We simply cannot do this according to the comp plan,” Commissioner Campbell Rich said, because it would “adversely affect the quantity or quality of recharge entering the city’s aquifers or within the city’s watershed basins.”
Doing so is prohibited, he said.
No survey has been done of homes too close to water bodies like Frazier and Poppleton creeks, he said, which manure could pollute. The city might get a grant to clean up Poppleton Creek, but what’s the point if manure is polluting it, he said.
City commissioners voted 3-1 ― with Rich dissenting ― to move the ordinance forward to a second and final hearing June 22.
“This ordinance is premature and should not be considered at this time unless we pay much closer attention to our responsibility (for) not polluting our own waters,” Rich added.
Valid concerns
“Those are valid concerns he’s making,” Stuart Environmental Attorney Ruth Holmes told the City Commission.
“But also, the state of Florida has developed very sophisticated stormwater rules over the years,” Holmes added. “And a lot of these types of … industrial polluters or commercial polluters are required to keep their stormwater on site. And there could be some ways that we could apply those types of principles to this type of ordinance.”
She suggested looking at what other communities have done.
“Sometimes we don’t have to create the wheel ourselves,” she said. “But we definitely don’t want it to affect the waterways.”
Details of the ordinance
If the ordinance passes at a second hearing, residents in single-family, detached homes and duplexes can have up to four chickens in their backyards.
The city might charge an annual fee initially to keep chickens and a $10 annual renewal fee. Commissioners failed to say June 8 what the annual fee would be.
Already some Stuart homeowners like Community Redevelopment Board member Bonnie Moser, raise chickens, despite its prohibition. Stuart permitted backyard chickens for two weeks in 2017, until a commissioner backtracked on his vote. The deal had passed 3-2.
Common sense
City employees recommended commissioners move the item to second reading, which Rich failed to understand.
“I’m very discouraged that the staff made no recognition of the obligation of this city to protect its water,” Rich said. I don’t understand how that happened.”
Ten chicken coops might be too much of a load for a body of water, he said, calling for an assessment and a more comprehensive analysis by the city. Rats too will be a problem, Rich said.
“The way that this is being presented seems like everybody and their grandmother’s going to have chickens … and I don’t understand that,” said Jensen Beach resident Brent McAhren during public comment. “It’s not going to be 400 chickens.”
Mayor Sean Reed is putting his faith “homeowners to take care of their own property. My job’s not to police law-abiding citizens that can follow common sense rules.”
Keith Burbank is a watchdog reporter for TCPalm, usually covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida city weighs backyard chickens and potential pollution
Reporting by Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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By Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
