ORDINANCE #2009-01 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND TITLE 17.00, ZONING, WITH THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 17.52, KEEPING LIMITED NUMBERS OF FOWL, SPECIFICALLY HEN CHICKENS FOR EGGS AND ESTABLISHING MAINTENANCE STANDARDS WHEREAS, the Moab City Council ( Council ) adopted Title 17.00.00, also known as The Zoning Ordinance of Moab City, Utah on May 19, 1954, in an effort to encourage and facilitate orderly growth and development, promote a more attractive and wholesome environment, and to protect the public health, safety and general welfare; and, WHEREAS, the City, from time to time, has found it necessary and desirable to amend the regulations and requirements of Title 17.00 to remain current with changing elements of society and contemporary planning; and, WHEREAS, the City has been approached to allow a limited numbers of chickens to be housed on properties located in residential areas to serve as a food source and to enhance efforts of local sustainability; and, WHEREAS, hens have provided food for consumption by property owners on a non-commercial basis in limited zoning districts of Moab for many years; and, WHEREAS, eggs that are locally raised for personal consumption are significantly more healthful and taste better than factory-farm raised eggs, and are a part of the sustainable lifestyle; and WHEREAS, backyard and urban chickens eat noxious weeds and insects; and WHEREAS, chicken fecal matter can be a rich source of fertilizer and a positive addition to soils and; WHEREAS, numerous other local jurisdictions have adopted regulations for the legalization of responsible raising of backyard hen chicken; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Moab value their desire and ability to sustain their families with food produced from their own property, gardens and fruit trees; and, WHEREAS, the City of Moab Planning Commission held a duly advertised public hearing on February 12, 2009, to hear and consider testimony in support and opposition of amending the text of the Code to allow the keeping of limited numbers of hen chickens in all residential zones and for residential uses in commercial zones; and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission, after consideration and review of the submitted testimony, favorably recommended that Council approve Ordinance #2009-01; and, Ordinance #2009 01 Page 1 of 6
WHEREAS, Council, in a regularly scheduled open meeting, considered the public testimony and the recommendations of the Planning Commission and City Staff in reviewing the keeping of chickens in limited numbers within Moab City Limits; and, WHEREAS, Council has determined that the keeping of chickens in limited numbers is an acceptable activity in residential zones and as a permitted activity for residential uses located in commercial zones and is in keeping with the objectives and characteristics of the General Plan and Council Sustainability Resolution No. 37-2008 adopted on December 9, 2008. NOW, THEREFORE, the Moab City Council hereby amends Title 17.00, Zoning, with the addition of language to read: Sections: 17.52.010 Intent Chapter 17.52 Keeping limited numbers of fowl for food production 17.52.020 General Conditions 17.52.030 Prohibited Uses 17.52.040 Standards for Containment 17.52.050 Standards for Maintenance 17.52.060 Application for Permit 17.52.070 Enforcement/revocation of permit 17.52.080 Permit revocation, grounds 17.52.090 Permit revocation procedure, right to cure. 17.52.010 Intent. This Chapter shall provide residents of the community the opportunity to maintain up to twelve (12) hen chickens as pets and for the purpose of producing eggs, subject to the described restrictions and regulations. The objective is to cultivate localized self- supporting and sustainable behavior for the betterment of the local, regional, and world community. 17.52.020 General Conditions. In all R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 residential zones and Planned Unit Developments in the RA Zone of the City of Moab, and only for those single-family residential uses in the commercial zones, up to and not exceeding more than twelve (12) hen chickens for egg production as family food, Ordinance #2009 01 Page 2 of 6
shall be allowed with the issuance of a permit from the city. This use is solely to allow hens per household as pets and for the purpose of producing eggs, subject to the following restrictions: 17.52.030 Prohibited uses. 1. No roosters shall be allowed in the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, any commercial zone or in Planned Unit Developments located in the RA-1 Zone. If chickens are purchased as chicks and any are determined at a later date to be roosters, they shall be removed immediately upon determination of gender; 2. Fighting chickens are not allowed as per Municipal Code Chapter 6.04.360. 3. Hen chickens shall not be raised for slaughter for commercial purposes; 17.52.040 Standards for containment Hens shall be securely fenced and confined to the property of the owner with the use of coops and yards, and not allowed to run at large; 1. Enclosures and coops shall be located at least fifteen (15) feet from neighboring residences, kept clean and with no odors emanating across property lines; 2. Chicken yards shall provide a minimum outside area of 10 square feet per hen; 3. Coop areas shall provide a minimum of 4 square feet of habitable area per laying hen. 17.52.050 Standards for maintenance 1. Removal of dead birds. a. The owner of any fowl that dies within city limits shall remove the carcass of such animal from city limits within ten hours after its death. 2. No coop cleanings shall be stockpiled within twenty (20) feet of any dwelling or any property line unless stored in a closed bin covered to prevent pest and insect infestation or kept in a properly maintained compost pile. 3. No coop shall be kept in an unsanitary or improperly ventilated condition by any coop owner, lessee or occupant of a property. 4. Diseased or sick birds shall be handled in such a manner as to not infect other members of the coop. 17.52.060 Application for Permit Ordinance #2009 01 Page 3 of 6
Any person intending to raise up to a total of twelve (12) domesticated hen chickens shall apply for a permit to do so. The application form shall be provided by the Zoning Administrator and shall include at a minimum: a. Name and address of property owner and other contact information, b. Address of subject property, c. Name and contact information of occupant or renter if not the property owner, d. The applicant shall provide a narrative and a site plan of the subject property to adequately explain the location of the coop and other improvements on the lot. A nonrefundable fee as established by resolution of Council shall be submitted at the time of application. e. If the applicant is not the owner of the property on which the request for keeping chickens is located, a letter from the owner, signed and notarized agreeing to the use is required. All chicken permits shall be renewed with the Zoning Administrator every two (2) years. 17.52.070 Enforcement In the event that violations of this section occur, the complainant shall contact the Zoning Administrator and shall file a complaint outlining the nature of the infraction(s) and the time(s) that the violations(s) occurred. The property owner of the subject property shall be notified in accordance with code Title 17.78, Zoning Violations, Penalties, and the appropriate fines shall be in effect. All violations of this chapter are classified as Class B Misdemeanors, punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day of violation or noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense and may be prosecuted accordingly. 17.52.080 Permit revocation, grounds A permit to keep chickens may be revoked at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator if any of the following occurs: 1. Three complaints are submitted from a neighborhood within a period of one month where definite violations of the above described standards have occurred; 2. Failure to correct violations within an allowed time period not to exceed twentyone (21) days; 3. A rooster is kept on the premises in violation of the restrictions for roosters; 4. False, inaccurate, or misleading statements by the applicant in the application for a chicken permit, or any supporting documentation; Ordinance #2009 01 Page 4 of 6
5. The use of the permit for commercial sale of eggs or poultry meat products. 17.52.090 Permit revocation procedure, right to cure. A. Prior to revocation, the Zoning Administrator shall issue a written notice of violation, which notice shall describe the nature of the violation and permit the licensee a period of not less than twenty one (21) business days in which to correct or abate the violation. The abatement period may be extended by action of the City Manager upon a showing of good cause. The notice shall also inform the permitee that the permit will be revoked not less than twenty one business days from the date of notice if violation is not corrected within the period. B. The notice shall be personally served or delivered by certified mail or first-class mail to the last known address of the permit holder. The permit holder shall be entitled to request a hearing by delivering a written request to the Zoning Administrator any time prior to the effective date of the license revocation, as stated in the notice of violation. Failure to timely request a hearing shall be a waiver of the right to a hearing. Timely request for a hearing shall result in the revocation being stayed until completion of the hearing. C. Hearings shall be informal and presided over by the City Manager. The permit holder shall be allowed to offer evidence or testimony in support of his/her position. Should the testimony, documents, or other evidence establish a violation the permit shall be immediately revoked. If the infractions are corrected after revocation has taken place, a new application and fee shall be submitted by the former permit holder to the Zoning Administrator for review. D. Following an informal hearing before the city manager, a person aggrieved by a revocation may appeal the decision by delivering written notice of same within ten business days of the notice of decision. Timely notice of appeal will result in stay of the revocation pending the appeal hearing. Appeals shall be heard by the City Council no later than ten business days from the delivery of notice of appeal. The council may sustain or overturn the decision. E. Any person violating a revocation decision shall be subject to the remedies and penalties as described in Section 17.52.070. AND THAT, Council hereby repeals Item D. of Subsection 6.04.480, Barns and stables, that currently reads; D. No chicken coop, house, pen, or any other structure used for the containment of fowl, including pigeons, except for household pets, shall be kept or maintained at a distance closer than one hundred feet from the door or windows of any dwelling other than the dwelling of the animal owner or caretaker. Ordinance #2009 01 Page 5 of 6
AND, THAT, Council also amends the language of Chapter 17.06, Definitions, with the addition of the following definitions that shall read: Coop, chicken (also coop, henhouse, hen coop) a structure for housing poultry that provides shelter from the elements, rodents, hungry predators, theft, and injury and that consists of at least four (4) square feet of habitable area per laying hen. Coops may have an open front or may be draft free with ventilation openings such as windows. Fowl When applied to Code Chapter 17.52, specifically references a domesticated hen chicken that is used as food or for laying eggs but does not include any of the other various heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds of the order Galliformes, such as a duck, goose, turkey, or pheasant, that is used for food or hunted as game. *AND, FURTHERMORE, THAT, item G in Chapter 17.54.020, Use requirements for the RA-1 Zone would be amended to read: G. Barns, corrals, pens, coops, sheds and feed storage buildings for the keeping of animals and fowl and the storage of farm products; provided, however, that uses for the care and keeping of livestock and fowl are located at least one hundred feet distance from any existing dwelling and one hundred feet from the front property lines. In Residential Planned Unit Developments located in the RA-1 Zone, fowl kept for non-commercial egg production is allowed under the provisions of Chapter 17.52, Keeping limited numbers of fowl for food production PASSED AND APPROVED in open Council by a majority vote of the Governing Body of Moab City Council on, 2009. SIGNED: David L. Sakrison, Mayor ATTEST: Rachel Ellison, Recorder P:\2009\Ordinances\2009-01.doc Ordinance #2009 01 Page 6 of 6