Walworth, Rock county communities debating backyard chickens
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Mark Abel stands by the empty chicken coop in the backyard of his Delavan home. He raised chickens for two years, unaware that he was violating a city ordinance. Abel was ordered to remove the chickens when a building inspector visited his house for an unrelated project. He is now working to enact an ordinance allowing chickens in the city of Delavan.
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DELAVAN — Mark Abel of Delavan wants to be able to own chickens again -- this time legally. About two years ago, Abel’s wife bought two chickens at the Walworth County Fairgrounds and brought them home.
(Read all of this week's stories from Walworth County Sunday HERE. )
“I didn’t know it was against the municipal code. I built a chicken coop and a chicken run. The neighbors didn’t complain,” Abel said. “One day, the building inspector came by and said it was against the law to own them in Delavan. We had to get rid of them, because I didn’t know they were against the law.”
Recently, Abel presented a proposal to the city council to develop an ordinance allowing residents to raise chickens in residential areas in Delavan.
It’s a trend gaining popularity around the country where communities are considering ordinance changes that would allow residents to raise chickens within city limits.
Supporters say they raise them for fresh eggs and food and as pets. Opponents worry about noise, sanitation and unintended consequences.
“Ironically, the week we had to get rid of them, there was a law passed in Milwaukee to allow for backyard chickens,” Abel said. “That’s why I proposed for them to be legal in Delavan. I figured if it could be allowed in places like Milwaukee and Chicago, it should be allowed in Delavan, as well.”
City Administrator Denise Pieroni said members of the city council’s general operations committee are discussing the issue.
“It’s a three-person committee. Two of the members are mostly in support of it. I think the other member wants to see a draft ordinance before he supports it,” Pieroni said. “I think they plan to present a draft ordinance in July. I think they want to discuss the draft ordinance before moving it forward to the entire city council.”
Pieroni said city officials have met with other communities that have adopted a backyard chicken ordinance to determine what regulations they have been put in place.
“We’ve done a lot of research to see what other communities have done,” Pieroni said. “We want to limit it to egg production. We do not want to allow slaughtering. We want to draft legislation that addresses those concerns. We also are looking at doing it on a permit basis. If we are dealing with the residential areas, we want to be able to address it if someone is not taking care of their chickens.”
Abel said city officials seem to be in support of the proposal.
The consensus is they don’t seem to be against it,” Abel said. “It’s something they are considering. They just want to find a way to regulate it if someone is in violation.”
For the complete story, see the June 17 print or e-edition of Walworth County Sunday.
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Jun 26, 2012 at 10:33 a.m.
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The data from other cities that presently allow chickens suggests otherwise. There has been very few of these speculated problems in reality. In the event that someone is found to be in violation of the ordinance, they will simply lose their right to continue keeping them.
Jun 24, 2012 at 4:36 p.m.
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Two chickens and ZERO roosters per property sounds reasonable. And not anywhere near a lot line. Problem is that so many people who are irresponsible will do this and then it will be one more thing that the cops will need to deal with. Don't know if that's worth it.
Jun 18, 2012 at 2:02 p.m.
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Wow, facedwithreality. Thanks, I see your good at drawing conclusions based on minimal information. The case you mentioned was dropped, but I really don't see what that has to do with chickens anyway. Thanks again for smearing the name of someone you've never even met. I'm actually a really nice guy, ask anyone?
Also, chickens don't attract mice, improper storage of chicken food can attract them, but stipulations as to how the feed is stored can easily be written into the municipal code. Thanks for your input.
As for diseases, you should look up the diseases that cats carry, or other types of birds that they permit to live inside with people such as parrots and such. By that thinking which you refer to as evolution, we could regulate ourselves out of the picture as well. I tend to think of it more as devolving than evolving. It not like we are going back to the days of throwing our wastes out the window, we are talking about two birds living in an enclosed environment with regulations in place that dictate how that environment needs to be maintained. It's really not as scary as you might think, but thanks for your input.
Jun 18, 2012 at 12:28 p.m.
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Had a young couple down the street bring in a few chickens last year. The wife and I thought that was a really neat idea. Until we found out that Roosters crow at sun up, all morning, all afternoon, all evening and all night long. I was sure they never stopped to eat, drink or take care of their lady friends! We never formally complained but were thrilled when our feathered new neighbors were asked to move along.
Jun 18, 2012 at 10:10 a.m.
Jun 17, 2012 at 11:16 p.m.
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It has been proven to have chickens that close to a residential structure to be unsafe...thru history,that is why there are ordinances against this issue!
in my humble opinion if you want chickens live in a rural area.
If you want fresh eggs there are many farms advertising these at a very reasonable price as I have stopped and bought them for many years.
To adopt this policy sends us back many decades and exposes the population to many diseases that where the reason for the ordinence against livestock in populated residential areas.chickens are tasty and eggs are wonderful but they smell,urine would make you gag and most of all we live in a city surrounded by farms.
What would be next? pigs...sheep or goats to stop cutting the lawm...We have evolved into a city with a master plan that addresses the expansion of and control of such issues.
Farm and agriculture belong there and population also belongs where it is platted... in short chickens belong on the farm not in the backyard!
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