Discussion on a possible chicken ordinance took place at the Missouri Valley City Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, lasting about 20 minutes with several members of the community speaking out before the council voted 3-2 against moving forward with the mayor’s proposal.
Mayor Shawn Kelly had the item put on the agenda due to several texts and emails from citizens wanting chickens in hopes of relieving themselves and the community from rising egg prices.
Kelly said he conducted some research and found that cities around Missouri Valley have a chicken ordinance, with restrictions on the number of chickens people can have and no allowance of roosters, ducks, or geese.
“Based on a lot of research, (other cities) are limiting to five or 10 chickens per property,” Kelly said. “They cannot be free range, so they would have to be in a coop.”
Mondamin, for example, gives out permits to those who read rules and regulations and sign paperwork in order to have chickens on their property. Fines are attached if someone is found in violation of the ordinance.
“If you attach something like that to (the ordinance), I think it will keep people pretty honest,” Kelly said. “They’re not going to want to have more than allowed, because they don’t want to pay $250 per chicken.”
Kelly likened the potential ordinance to the recent passing of four-wheelers and UTVs being allowed in city limits, with his belief being that people were greatly overestimating the amount and impact that it would have.
Council member Kevin Taylor raised the concern of who would police the chickens, and his fellow council member Sherman Struble said that the council and Missouri Valley already have a lot going on, and he doesn’t want to add to it.
A voice from the crowd said that neighbors should have to be notified, as well, in order to make sure they’re okay with it.
“If you don’t like your neighbor having chickens, as long as they’re following the rules that’s too bad,” Kelly said. “It’s their property.”
Similar to if someone doesn’t mow their lawn or has trash all over the place, there would be a process for reporting offenses of the chicken ordinance.
“A suggestion might be for the individuals who do have chickens to reduce their cost of eggs or poultry,” Jeannie Wortman said, clarifying that her comments were her personal opinion and not the views of the Chamber of Commerce. “Talk to a farmer and have them raise the chickens and put up a chicken house. Do it outside of city limits.”
After a comment was made about not wanting to live by a dirty chicken coop, another member of the community said that she grew up on a farm raising chickens, and so long as people take care of them they are clean animals.
This prompted someone else to stand up and agree, saying that those who don’t take care of animals are already doing that with the animals they presently own and those who take care of animals are already doing that, as well.
“I want you to also consider the environmental impact of allowing people to raise backyard flocks,” they said. “You can compost your manure, you can use it in gardens, and it’s easier to stop an outbreak of disease when you have smaller flocks as opposed to these big factory farms. They eat all the bugs, they can eat up your chicken scraps, and 28% of what goes to your landfill, you can give that to chickens.”
They also noted that, living in a rural area, it’s “crazy” that places like Omaha, Lincoln, Bellevue, Blair and Council Bluffs allow chickens in city limits but Missouri Valley doesn’t.
Taylor suggested that people looking into raising chickens could contact Christ Church, which is also the home of the Harrison County Food Pantry. Since they have available space, he believes something could be worked out where excess eggs could be donated to the food pantry.
“People want to be able to have them at their house,” Kelly responded. “It teaches good responsibility for children to maintain them, as well.”
Another community member stepped up and raised concerns about getting an extra insurance policy to cover chickens that are outside of city limits that could be on land the individual does not own, whereas a backyard coop could be added to homeowner’s insurance. On top of that, they raised concerns about spending extra money on gas to travel to and from the chickens.
“Sometimes you pick a battle and you win, or you lose, but if you start small like I was suggesting then you can work other things in as people get more used to the idea of having chickens in town,” Taylor said.
Kelly then explained his position further, noting that the Rand Center is never as full as it was that night and that the overwhelming majority of those who spoke on the issue were for the chicken ordinance.
“We talk about progression,” he said. “Huge metro cities allow chickens, with tighter spaces that people live in than we have… Allow us to come up with a new ordinance to present to you for your approval to see if you’re okay with it. If you allow us, we would like to put this ordinance together to be presented at the next meeting.”
Council member Patty Stueve said that there’s no point in going forward with it if they have three people of the five who are going to vote no no matter what, which prompted a vote at that time.
Eric Ford and Stueve maintained opposition, Aaron Tuttle and Taylor voted yes, and Struble was the deciding voice giving those who oppose the ordinance a 3-2 majority. The issue could be raised again in the future, but it is not a part of the council’s plans for the time being.
The next city council meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the Missouri Valley Public Library at 6 p.m.
