Study Session August 14th, 2023

Concerning Chickens in City Limits

A study session was held Monday night with members from various boards and departments present. Ceagus Clark and Jena Nelms from the planning department were present. Mayor John Corbitt, (planning board), Alderman Spicer, Alderman Matthews, Alderman Silver, (board of zoning appeals), and Alderman Wall (board of zoning appeals) were all present. John Wilkinson and Matthew West of the board of zoning appeals were also in attendance. The planning board was represented by Dolly Peay, Addam McCormick, and Tim Murphy. The meeting was called to order.

Mayor Corbitt started the meeting with the fact that several citizens had reached out to him when the prices of eggs had gone up so high asking about chickens. Currently the regulation states that you must have an acre in order to have chickens. City Administrator Herman added that the members of the BOMA, planning commission, and the board of zoning appeals were all present since they would all need to have a say in the changes to the ordinances and codes. Corbitt asked if they could have public comment, even though it was not on the agenda. Public comment was opened.

Jerry Squire of Volunteer Drive read comments from Megan Suttle of Indian Ridge since she could not be in attendance.

Good afternoon! I wish I could be there tonight, but unfortunately I have a prior engagement that I can’t miss. I have compiled some resources for tonight that I would have loved to have brought and spoke on at the study session. Of course, I think chickens should be allowed in the city. First of all, all “science” and resources aside, they are, to many, pets, just like dogs/ cats. So, if ordinances are going to be placed on chickens and they are not allowed on less than an acre, then should that same ordinance not be applied to dogs/ cats? Of course, that would be considered overreach and absurd. So, why is it not considered the same with chickens? Some say roosters should not be allowed within city limits. If this is the case (due to the crowing), then shouldn’t dogs be required to have a bark collar due to barking? Of course, we would never require that. It would be absurd. So, why the double standard? Though I’d like to see no limit/ law on chickens, I understand that there is a need to prevent hoarders and factories. I do, however, think there is a way to do this without hindering people from providing for their families and neighbors. The limit could be high enough to allow for people to supply eggs for their neighbors and family, while still being low enough to prevent factories/ hoarding. One proposal i would have is requiring, like dogs, they be kept within a fence. This keeps the chickens from being a pest to neighbors.

Jerry added that someone on Lone Oak has chickens and they have less property than he does. He says, yes to chickens, he personally doesn’t care what someone does in their yard.

Sandra Mosely of Sage Road continued that chickens can be emotional support animals for children with autism. Her son is autistic and their chicken, Flyer, is the only way he will sit for a hair cut. Having chickens has helped him socially as he is now able to talk about his chickens and describe them to people he meets. They are not just pets, but also produce eggs. Chickens help to less waste in the trash as they will eat scraps. Chicken manure makes great fertilizer if you let it winter over on your garden. Her neighbors, who homeschool, love her chickens. They are also learning from the chickens. Most children today do not get the opportunity to see where their food comes from. Chickens are a great opportunity to educate children on just that.

John Currie of Portland Road says that his neighbors also has chickens. The city doesn’t currently limit the number of dogs, so he’s not sure why they would care about chickens. For him, the issue is enforcement. “Rules without enforcement are useless.” With more people in the city come more animals, and it is getting to be time for animal control.

Julianna Johnson says that her neighbors had chickens and she would like to have 3. She has .897 acres and added that the regulation should have a cap on the number of chickens you can own on less than an acre.

Sandra added again that chickens don’t have to free range. They can be contained and their feed supplemented. Most farmers keep their chickens contained to keep them safe from predators. They don’t need a large area, just food and water.

Megan Holloway stated that she moved here from Tulsa OK and had no idea that her neighbors had chickens until she was invited over to their house. They were harmless to her family. She lived on less than an acre and never heard or smelled the chickens. She has no issues with chickens as long as they are regulated.

Someone added that the HOA rules should still keep chickens out of many subdivision.

Alderman Silver asked who is going to enforce the regulations? Who will regulate the chickens? Will rules of care need to be established? Is it just the size of the land at issue? As she was going other cities, she found that most cities require 3 acres for chickens, and Nashville didn’t allow them at all. White House will need to make their own rules and a lot more will need to be decided. BZA West added that WH has a history of a farming community. Regulations will be needed, but he sees this as an animal control issue. Alderman Spicer added that she is unsure that everyone knows the difference between a hen and rooster. People bring them home and have no idea what they have. How do we know people have the ability to care for them? Farmers have chickens, not city residents.

Nelms from codes, chimed in. The codes office already gets calls. If the ordinance was more clear they would be able to enforce the rules and make sure that the property is being maintained. Mayor Corbitt added that animal control is for dog bites, not chicken maintenance issues. Clark from codes added that currently the BZA has to approve chickens.

According to #4, chickens have to be approved through the BZA process. Being that the city is short staffed and has been for some time, they respond mostly to complaints. If they know about chickens in city limits, they will cite them. Murphy asked if it was on a “don’t ask don’t tell basis.” (Lots of laughs from the citizens and board) Peay added that the city only knows if there is an issue when someone reports it. McCormick said that the ordinance is for ag use. It used to state 2 acres and it was dropped to 1. Corbitt pointed out that it doesn’t seem to prohibit chickens on less than an acre, the language needs to be cleaned up. Wall asked if it specifies chickens. Clark said that there is currently a home on Portland Road that was approved for horses 10 years ago and are now looking to add sheep. McCormick said that he lives near a horse farm that also has chickens, but not everyone likes that.

Murphy asked if anyone was against this. I added that while I don’t have a dog in this fight, chickens are an issue if they are allowed to range over your property as they poop on everything. The other concern I would have is that as more growth goes on in the city, more predators are finding their way into yards. However, 2-5 chickens really shouldn’t be an issue.

Around the room the comments were that chickens eat ticks and bugs and keep the garden clear of pests. Predators will still find their way in though.

Debbie Martin of Calista Road stated that with all of the new development there are more and more deer in her yard. With the deer comes more ticks. Tick bites can be dangerous. Her son has a tick borne illness. Chickens help to keep the tick population down. At some point she may want chickens in her yard.

The question was posed as to whether or not the BZA would still need to be involved. Corbitt said that it would not be necessary if the ordinance was changed. It was brought up that Gallatin had a “domestic hen” permit. Corbitt then added that there looks to be a lot of support for chickens and that it’s time for the city to dig in. Clark said that planning would get something together. Herman also added that there is currently no regulation for under an acre and that one needs to be created. However, the HOA rules would still supersede any city ordinance and they can still ban chickens. Clark said that they would draft something. Peay asked if they would need permits, and the answer was probably not. Herman said that some counties do have permits. That would at least inform the city as to who had chickens. Sandra piped up with the fact that there are collars for roosters that tone down the crow so that they sound like a hen. Roosters protect the hens from predators. Spicer responded that not everyone knows that much about chickens. Wall said that this is the difference between farm animals and dogs and cats. Nelms said that no one would know you had a rooster if it had a collar. Clark said that the complaints the city has received are over chicken noise, chicken smell, and “my neighbors have chickens.” Debbie added that the main opposition to roosters is the noise, but she prefers that to barking dogs. Clark said he will put something together for October that can be hashed out at BOMA.

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