Council Favors Three-Year Chicken Permit Period

Chickens are again on the agenda of the City Council.

The council is meeting for its third work session on the subject beginning at 6:30 p.m. It will reconvene at 7:30 p.m. to consider and to consider reappointing former .

A closed session is planned on legal issues; leasing, purchase or the sale of real estate; hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a government employee; and documents related to a negotiated contract.

The following is a look at highlights from the meeting as it happened. Learn more about your council representative and download the agenda on the city's website.

REGULAR MEETING

8:01 P.M.: The council has approved a resolution reappointing Betty Humphrey to the city's planning and zoning commission. The council is preparing to enter closed session.

7:59 P.M.: The council has approved a map updating the city's district boundaries. The law will go into effect immediately upon approval of the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners.

7:57 P.M.: Beck suggested that the council hold a workshop to discuss the size of the body.

"It's one of those things where we can let it be voted on by the people and give them a voice in it," Beck said. "They can choose."

7:56 P.M.: Heinz told the council that the personal contact Jones and Thomson have had with District 2 residents amid difficult development decisions over the last five years has been well worth the money with which the city compensated them.

He said he spoke as a resident of the city.

"I think it would have been horrendous if people didn't feel like they were being heard" Heinz said. He said the city was able to rely on the personal contact of the council members, as opposed to hiring a public relations person at between $80,000 and $100,000.

He also pointed out that populations can fluctuate with the economy and that tens of thousands of people come through the city every day. He said that in the late 1980s, the city's charter commission thought having five representatives wouldn't be broad enough to represent the city.

7:49 P.M.: Beck is speaking with another resident who addressed the council. He said the issue being discussed is whether the city should reduce the number of districts from four to three. Each district would still have two representatives, he said.

7:46 P.M.: Lore said he thinks the council would operate more efficiently with a smaller body. He also said it might lead to more competitive elections.

"It does make you get out and see the public and let the public know what's going on in the city," Lore said about competitive elections. "There's better discourse with the residents when there are contested races."

7:44 P.M.: City resident Tim Gallagher said it's time to consider how large the council needs to be. He spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

7:40 P.M.: The will install smoke alarms and provide batteries for several categories of residents, including those who are 65 and older and those who cannot afford them, Chief Kerry Hogan told the council.

Thomson thanked the for purchasing and installing a monument for veterans.

7:35 P.M.: The regular meeting has begun. Beck is reading a proclamation in honor of Fire Prevention Week.

WORK SESSION: BACKYARD CHICKENS

7:34 P.M.: The work session has ended. The regular meeting will begin momentarily.

7:32 P.M.: The council is considering whether to include a sunset clause that would bring the issue up for review before the council but not lead to the expiration of the law.

Mitten said she would like to see the language of the bill before it is approved.

Beck said the same goes for the variance and grandfather clause language.

7:25 P.M.: Casey asked whether the ordinance can clarify who at City Hall gets to decide whether a permit should be revoked.

It appears that the city manager or someone appointed by the manager would be able to make that decision.

Casey joked that District 1 Councilman Paul Lore could become the city's chicken manager after his council term expires in April.

Heinz said the city used to have a smoke commissioner.

7:19 P.M.: Notter and District 4 Councilwoman Camille Greenwald have arrived at the meeting.

7:18 P.M.: Reary said that from an administrative perspective, a complaint system would give chicken owners an incentive to keep their property good shape.

The council have agreed to update the proposed ordinance so that chicken owners would get a $25 permit each year for three years. After that, if there have been no complaints, the owners would not have to get a permit unless complaints arise.

7:12 P.M.: Beck on inspections of backyard chicken areas: "I think this is going to cost us quite a bit of money."

Casey said he doesn't foresee cost being a problem because he doesn't see many residents having coops.

7:11 P.M.: The council appears to be in favor of a variance procedure for residents who already own chickens. They would need to have letters from affected neighbors.

Beck is in favor of a yearly fee to help offset inspection costs for the city. Other council members have suggested a three-year permit period, provided there are no complaints, after which a permit renewal would be needed. 

7:05 P.M.: "It has the potential to create hard feelings," Heinz said of the ordinance as it relates to setbacks.

7:03 P.M.: Heinz said the city could choose to review chicken ownership when a change of occupancy occurs or by letting a new property owner have the option to revoke the permit.

6:58 P.M.: Mitten said a variance procedure that would take into account the thoughts of neighbors whose setback would be limited by a coop if it were, for example, placed in the back corner of a yard.

The alternative would be to get input from all surrounding neighbors.

6:54 P.M.: District 1 Councilman Matt Casey said the proposed ordinance, as written, likely would result in many coops being placed in the middle of a yard. That might make them more visible to neighbors, causing concern. The proposal contains a formula for the distance the coops must be placed from surrounding property.

6:49 P.M.: Heinz said prospective chicken owners coming in could look at the city's ordinance and decide whether to invest resources, whereas those who already have spent money on their chicken yards could be presented with an economic hardship if asked to change according to the new ordinance.

District 2 Councilman Mike Jones asked whether it would be possible to add a clause allowing neighbors who don't want to see the chickens to get a variance for a fence that's 8 feet tall, above the 6 feet the city allows.

Dave Reary, the city's building and zoning commissioner, said the law could be changed to permit 8 foot fences as opposed to granting such fences under certain circumstances.

6:46 P.M.: District 3 Councilwoman Gina Mitten said she supports the idea of a variance procedure both for grandfathering in chicken owners and also for setbacks.

6:44 P.M.: City Attorney Kenneth Heinz is going over updates to a proposed ordinance on chicken ownership. Among the changes: Owners would acknowledge, upon receiving a permit, that they are responsible for taking health precautions when raising chickens. Owners also would have to acknowledge that the law can be amended or repealed.

Owners who already possess chickens could perhaps go through a variance procedure in the event that their backyard setup doesn't comply with the new ordinance.

6:37 P.M.: The session has begun. Mayor James Beck said District 3 Councilman Edward Notter will not be able to attend until the regular meeting at 7:30.

6:25 P.M.: The meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.