Resident asks city to consider allowing back yard chickens


Pipestone resident Danielle Thompson has officially asked the Pipestone City Council to consider amending its current code to allow backyard chickens within city limits.

“I am requesting this change because as a rural community, I believe it should be allowed that residents [can] have up to eight chickens at their residence,” Thompson wrote in a letter to the city. “There are many large cities that allow this, including Boston, Mass. and Puyallup, Wash., just to name a couple.”

Thompson’s request was on the council’s Aug. 5 agenda as an information item, not an agenda item for action.

“I wanted to give the council a chance first to read through that request, then take directive from you whether you want to place that on your agenda for future consideration,” said Jeff Jones, city administrator.

Under current city code (Chapter 14, Animal Regulations), residents within city limits cannot keep non-domestic animals. The only exceptions are those who live in an agricultural district, or residents who already had non-domestic animals when the ordinance was adopted.

Non-domestic animals within the ordinance are defined as “livestock and poultry commonly kept for productive purposes on a farm” — cattle, swine, horses, sheep, goats and chickens are specifically mentioned, though all “similar animals” are covered.

If the council decided to amend its ordinance, Thompson suggested some control measures be attached, such as only allowing females and not roosters and penning the chickens with appropriate housing or fencing. For those who want to free-range their chickens, she suggested it be done within an appropriately fenced yard and the owners be required to clip the chickens’ wings “to prevent them from flying away or being a nuisance to others.”

She also suggested that residents who keep chickens must register their home with the city as being a chicken housing site, with perhaps a $10 fee and annual renewal required.

With the ball left in the council’s court, it remains to be seen if anyone will ask for a discussion on the request.

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