The Columbia, Missouri, City Council approved an ordinance that allows residents to raise chickens within city limits. In passing its urban-chicken ordinance, Columbia joins Springfield, Independence, St. Louis, Kirksville and Kansas City, Missouri.
Here in Kansas City, property owners are allowed to have 15 chickens or 50 chicks (under the age of four months) as long as they are not within 25 feet of the property line or 100 feet of a neighbor's house. Roosters that crow must be at least 300 feet from a neighbor's home. In addition, the coop or enclosure must not create an "offensive, disagreeable or noxious smell or odor" that would cause "injury, annoyance or inconvenience of any inhabitants
of the neighborhood."
The Columbia ordinance allows for up to six hens on a property -- but prohibits roosters, in order to prevent breeding. The hens must be kept in enclosed pens in the backyard of homes in residential neighborhoods. The eggs produced by the chickens can't be sold.
According to the Columbia Daily Tribune, the City Council passed the ordinance by a vote of 4-3 before a packed chamber. The main issues covered during the two-hour discussion were concerns over falling property values, chickens getting loose and code enforcement. Those who spoke in support of the ordinance talked about the values of self-sufficiency, the educational aspects of raising chickens and why chickens don't pose a public health threat.
A potential ordinance was discussed as early as last summer in Columbia, around the same time the urban chicken debate started flaring up in the Kansas City area -- and got a bit of national attention after a fierce debate over David Krupper's mission to raise chickens in Overland Park.
If you're considering raising chickens, you can find out more about what it entails at BackyardChickens.com. KC Geek also talks about some of the practical aspects of raising chickens in an urban setting.
[Image via Flickr: Green Garden Girl]
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