North Huntingdon backyard chicken permit will cost $590

After months of wrangling and, at times, heated debate, North Huntingdon Commissioners this week took a step toward requiring residents who want chickens in their backyard to get approval from the township’s zoning hearing board.

Commissioners Jason Atwood, Brian Blasko, Zachary Haigis and Ronald Zona voted to authorize township planning staff to amend the current ordinance to allow residents to raise chickens in backyards in those areas zoned R-2, R-3 and R-4.

Residents living in neighborhoods with that zoning classification would have to obtain approval for a conditional use permit from the zoning hearing board. To obtain the permit, residents would have to plead their case before the zoning board, a process that would cost them $590 — $350 for the legal notice advertising the public hearing and $240 for a court reporter to record testimony at their hearing.

For the proposed regulation to be in place, the commissioners need to vote on the amended ordinance, which may occur in December.

The existing ordinance requires residents to have 10 acres to raise chickens on a residential property and the coop must be 40 feet from a neighbor’s house and 20 feet from the property line.

Commissioner Virginia Stump opposed going the route of requiring residents to go through a costly hearing to raise four chickens. Stump previously proposed adopting an ordinance that would allow the chickens on about one-quarter acre, if they obtained a permit that would cost $50,

“The policy is discriminatory against lower-income individuals,” because of the cost, Stump said.

Had the board favored an ordinance, it would have been less burdensome on the township staff, Stump said. The ordinance sets conditions for the location of a chicken coop in a backyard and how it is constructed.

“I don’t see anyone paying $590 for (backyard) chickens,” Stump said.

Commissioner Fran Bevan also said the proposed conditional use permit makes it cost-prohibitive for families. Commissioner Eric Gass, who had favored adopting an ordinance for the backyard chickens, also voted against the conditional permit.