The community organization, Asheville City Chickens, is working to change the City of Asheville's Animal Control Ordinance making it easier for people to keep backyard chickens. In addition, Asheville City Chickens teaches responsible practices for raising hens in an urban setting with an emphasis on positive neighbor and community relations. We the undersigned ask that Asheville City Council not only support the revisions to the Animal Control Ordinance, but that City Council support Asheville City Chicken's request that the following changes be included in the revised ordinance: 1. Distance requirements City residents may maintain a chicken coop that is at least 25’ from any adjacent residence or at least 10’ from a coop owner’s property line. 2. Confinement The chickens shall be provided with a covered enclosure and must be kept in the covered enclosure or on the owner’s property at all times. 3. Permitting To minimize any costs associated with these ordinance changes, owners will apply in person to receive a permit for the keeping of chickens and pay a reasonable permit fee (whether one-time or annual). An on-site inspection prior to permitting is not necessary and is an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer monies. 4. Inspections The City may inspect a property at any time that a reasonable suspicion of a permit violation exists. 5. Public Concerns To address any potential concerns related to noise and odor, we recommend that roosters be prohibited, flocks be kept small relative to property size, and that coops be maintained in a sanitary manner consistent with existing city ordinances.

Sponsor