The fate of the backyard poultry supporters is in the hands of Pinellas County Commissioners who will decide Dec. 20 whether to allow hens in residential areas.
The measure would apply only to unincorporated areas of the county. Backyard chickens are currently allowed in Belleair, Dunedin, Gulfport, Largo and St. Petersburg.
Liz Freeman with Pinellas County’s Planning Department outlined the proposed ordinance at the first public hearing on Dec. 6. She said currently residents were allowed to keep chickens for personal use only in areas zoned Agriculture Estate, Estate and Residential Rural.
The proposed ordinance would allow residents living in residential zoning districts R-1 through R-6 to have backyard chickens as well. Chickens would not be allowed in multi-family districts.
Residents’ flocks would be limited to four – and all have to be hens (females), which aren’t as noisy as the males – roosters. The hens must be kept in a coop in the backyard at all times. The coop must be enclosed and screened from the view of neighbors. Onsite slaughtering is not allowed.
The Local Planning Agency reviewed the proposed ordinance Nov. 10 and recommended its approval.
Freeman said staff is confident limiting the number of hens to four, as well as other requirements for backyard poultry growers would address concerns about odors, noise and accumulated waste.
Commissioner Karen Seel asked whom residents would call if chickens got loose. Code enforcement was the answer. Violators of the chicken ordinance could be fined from $125 to $500.
Commissioner John Morroni also worried approval of the ordinance would put a greater burden on code enforcement, already stretched thin due to budget cuts.
“I’m really concerned about staff time,” Morroni said.
Commissioner Nancy Bostock complained about how the ordinance was written.
“Why passive,” she asked. “It’s very poorly worded.”
“You know I’m a city boy,” Commissioner Ken Welch before asking the question, “Roosters make noise right?”
Commission Chair Susan Latvala suggested the ordinance be renamed to hen ordinance to clear up any confusion. She said 30 percent of the county’s population currently was allowed to keep backyard chickens.
Welch said until this ordinance came up he didn’t know St. Petersburg, where he lives, allows chickens.
“I now know they are in my neighborhood,Examining the options for UK webmasters looking for third partymerchantaccount for credit card processing.” he said.
Warren said the only problems she’d heard about from the cities was from Gulfport where people had let their chickens go free when they got tired of them.
Lisa McBride, local 4H leader and organizer of Pinellas Citizens 4 Backyard Poultry let some of her students tell commissioners about the benefits of raising chickens. One 10-year-old boy told commissioners “chickens were pets with benefits.”
Hens produce eggs that can feed local families.With Payflowpaymentgateway, They reduce the need for pesticides by eating insects. Their manure can be used to fertilize gardens.
McBride said hens were quiet and only made noise – cackled – when they laid eggs or were frightened. She said smell is no problem as long as the number of hens is limited to four.Find the best achickencoopplans plans with our chicken coop plans review page， She said the hens would produce fewer droppings in a day than a mid-size dog.
She said allowing backyard chickens in more areas should not increase the workload for code enforcement. She said Animal Services would probably deal with chicken problems. She said unwanted chickens now were taken to the Seabird Sanctuary, the Humane Society or SPCA.The temporomandibular joint is the joint of the jaw and is frequently referred to as tmj.
“They can be adopted or placed easily if people don’t want them,” she said.
McBride addressed other concerns, saying backyard chickens should not worsen the coyote problem and would not spread disease. She also said homegrown eggs were less likely to carry Salmonella.
“It’s our constitutional right to defend ourselves,Save on hydraulichose and fittings, but not feed ourselves,” she said.
The measure would apply only to unincorporated areas of the county. Backyard chickens are currently allowed in Belleair, Dunedin, Gulfport, Largo and St. Petersburg.
Liz Freeman with Pinellas County’s Planning Department outlined the proposed ordinance at the first public hearing on Dec. 6. She said currently residents were allowed to keep chickens for personal use only in areas zoned Agriculture Estate, Estate and Residential Rural.
The proposed ordinance would allow residents living in residential zoning districts R-1 through R-6 to have backyard chickens as well. Chickens would not be allowed in multi-family districts.
Residents’ flocks would be limited to four – and all have to be hens (females), which aren’t as noisy as the males – roosters. The hens must be kept in a coop in the backyard at all times. The coop must be enclosed and screened from the view of neighbors. Onsite slaughtering is not allowed.
The Local Planning Agency reviewed the proposed ordinance Nov. 10 and recommended its approval.
Freeman said staff is confident limiting the number of hens to four, as well as other requirements for backyard poultry growers would address concerns about odors, noise and accumulated waste.
Commissioner Karen Seel asked whom residents would call if chickens got loose. Code enforcement was the answer. Violators of the chicken ordinance could be fined from $125 to $500.
Commissioner John Morroni also worried approval of the ordinance would put a greater burden on code enforcement, already stretched thin due to budget cuts.
“I’m really concerned about staff time,” Morroni said.
Commissioner Nancy Bostock complained about how the ordinance was written.
“Why passive,” she asked. “It’s very poorly worded.”
“You know I’m a city boy,” Commissioner Ken Welch before asking the question, “Roosters make noise right?”
Commission Chair Susan Latvala suggested the ordinance be renamed to hen ordinance to clear up any confusion. She said 30 percent of the county’s population currently was allowed to keep backyard chickens.
Welch said until this ordinance came up he didn’t know St. Petersburg, where he lives, allows chickens.
“I now know they are in my neighborhood,Examining the options for UK webmasters looking for third partymerchantaccount for credit card processing.” he said.
Warren said the only problems she’d heard about from the cities was from Gulfport where people had let their chickens go free when they got tired of them.
Lisa McBride, local 4H leader and organizer of Pinellas Citizens 4 Backyard Poultry let some of her students tell commissioners about the benefits of raising chickens. One 10-year-old boy told commissioners “chickens were pets with benefits.”
Hens produce eggs that can feed local families.With Payflowpaymentgateway, They reduce the need for pesticides by eating insects. Their manure can be used to fertilize gardens.
McBride said hens were quiet and only made noise – cackled – when they laid eggs or were frightened. She said smell is no problem as long as the number of hens is limited to four.Find the best achickencoopplans plans with our chicken coop plans review page， She said the hens would produce fewer droppings in a day than a mid-size dog.
She said allowing backyard chickens in more areas should not increase the workload for code enforcement. She said Animal Services would probably deal with chicken problems. She said unwanted chickens now were taken to the Seabird Sanctuary, the Humane Society or SPCA.The temporomandibular joint is the joint of the jaw and is frequently referred to as tmj.
“They can be adopted or placed easily if people don’t want them,” she said.
McBride addressed other concerns, saying backyard chickens should not worsen the coyote problem and would not spread disease. She also said homegrown eggs were less likely to carry Salmonella.
“It’s our constitutional right to defend ourselves,Save on hydraulichose and fittings, but not feed ourselves,” she said.
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