North Huntingdon set to vote on backyard chicken rules

The debate over what to do with backyard chickens could come to a head Wednesday when North Huntingdon officials are expected to vote on a proposal to allow hens, but not roosters, to be raised in certain neighborhoods.

The seven commissioners, who have been split over how to regulate backyard chickens, are to vote on a zoning ordinance amendment that would allow residents to raise the hens in areas zoned R-2, R-3 and R-4, if they obtain a conditional-use permit through the zoning hearing board. Chickens would not be permitted in neighborhoods zoned R-1.

Under the proposed revisions to an existing ordinance, someone wanting to raise chickens in a residential neighborhood would have to pay $590 for a hearing before the zoning board — $350 for advertising and $240 for a court reporter. That fee is less than the typical cost of about $750, township officials said.

Under the current ordinance, residents need to have at least 10 acres in a residential zone in order to keep chickens. The township last year cited two residents for allegedly violating that order.

The municipality did not prosecute the cases because commissioners were debating revisions to the ordinance, said Ryan Fonzi, township planning director. The issue was debated for more than six months last year, as the commissioners could not come to an agreement on the guidelines for backyard chickens.

The county planning department notified the township that it believed the $590 fee to hold a public hearing to obtain a permit might be discriminatory to low-income residents because of the cost, Fonzi said. County officials also believed that raising chickens in a residential neighborhood should be considered a “permitted use” in areas zoned R-2 with 20 acres of property; R-3 with 15 acres of property; and R-4 with 10 acres, Fonzi said.

Commissioner Virginia Stump had argued previously that the fee discriminated against residents who could not afford to pay that much.

Previous proposed changes included permitting chickens on property as small as a quarter acre. An attempt to scrap the idea of requiring residents to obtain a conditional-use permit to raise backyard chickens was rejected previously by the board majority.

Two residents opposed the raising of backyard chickens during a Feb. 11 public hearing the commissioners held.

Richard Keenan of Leger Road complained that the proposed amendment does not spell out standards for raising chickens, such as whether the coops should have heating in the winter and cooling fans in the summer.

“That is inhumane to the animals,” Keenan said.

Keenan questioned why the township should pay its code enforcement officers to inspect the chicken coops.

Trudy Morrison of Center Street said she was concerned about the odor, because “chickens stink.”

“It’s totally unacceptable in a residential neighborhood,” Morrison said.

No one testified in favor of the proposed amendment.