If you want to raise backyard chickens in Palm Coast, you’ll have to abide by its official set of new rules.
The City Council on Tuesday morning, Dec. 16, adopted an ordinance regulating the number of chickens residents can have in their backyards, coop sizes, and other rules.
The board also voted to establish a $50 permit fee for chicken owners, which drew some pushback from residents.
Regulating backyard chickens through a city ordinance was the ultimate goal when the pilot program was launched in May.
“People have been raising chickens in Palm Coast for a long time, so I think it’s going to be interesting to see how, with the fee, it works out,” Councilman David Sullivan said about the number of residents who might apply for permits.
According to Barbara Grossman, Palm Coast’s code enforcement manager, there have been 23 permits issued so far.
While the pilot program was in place, the city had decided to limit the number of permits to 50 during its six-month duration. The new ordinance expanded the number of issuable permits to 100.
Councilman Ty Miller said he heard from some chicken owners in the city that they were “hesitant” to begin the process without an official set of rules, given the high costs for materials, tools and all that is necessary to raise chickens at home.
“So I anticipate more people jumping in,” Miller said.
What are the new rules for raising backyard chickens in Palm Coast?
The newly adopted ordinance establishes a few rules for chicken owners. Some of those include:
According to the ordinance, the permit fee cost “may be amended from time to time.”
Chicken coops cannot exceed 100 square feet and 6 feet in height, and “shall be located behind the front and side street building facades of the principal structure.” Coops must be in place before chickens are allowed in the home.
Coops “must be cleaned regularly and kept free of rodents and excessive insects,” the ordinance says.
“Odors from chickens, chicken manure, or other nuisances associated with the keeping of chickens must not be perceptible at the property boundaries. Chickens must not be permitted to become a nuisance by creating excess noise, attracting pests, or contributing to the creation of any other nuisance condition.”
Some residents spoke against the ordinance, criticizing the adopted permit fee cost. Some residents also argued that the regulations are unnecessary because chickens are hardly a nuisance to others in the neighborhood.
Mayor Mike Norris said that the fee allows the city to cover the costs of enforcing the rules.
Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri agreed, adding that the city’s goal is to be “cost recovery.”
“There is a cost to have animals, there is a cost to have chickens,” Pontieri said. “We can’t subsidize other people having chickens. If there is a permit process and we have to pay staff to make sure there is certain compliance, because we are still in platted neighborhoods and we want to be respectful of neighbors, there is a cost to that.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast officially adopts new rules for raising backyard chickens
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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