Planning commission backs chicken changes

A public hearing to discuss allowing residents to raise chickens drew no public participation during Tuesday's Cloquet Planning Commission meeting and was passed unanimously by the commission. The change would require amending two different sections of the city code.

Planning commission members voted 5-0 to change the lot size from a staff suggestion of 11,000 square feet to 10,890 square feet, which is exactly a quarter-acre, for the language in Chapter 8.4.02 of the City Code, the city's ordinance regarding farm animals. Rather than prohibiting all farm animals except for lots in the agricultural district or at least 10 acres in size, the ordinance (as proposed) will now make an exception for "keeping chickens (laying hens) as an accessory use in all residential districts."

City planner and zoning administrator Al Cottingham said there was "no public discussion or interest in the topic, not even anybody listening to the discussion [online]."

The requirements for raising chickens will be outlined in Section 17.4.01 of the city code. Those include getting a license from the city to raise a maximum of five laying hens on lots that are a quarter-acre or larger. Some of the other proposed requirements - outlined when the question came up in 2012 - include no roosters, no free range, no slaughtering in a residential zone. The chickens must have a coop, and a pen with a certain amount of square footage. Property line setbacks must be met. And 75 percent of neighbors within 100 feet of the home would have to give written consent.

Cottingham said the commission also modified the consent requirement to make vacant lots (with no buildings) within 100 feet an automatic "yes" vote. They discussed eliminating the consent requirement all together, he said.

The proposed ordinance changes will go to the city council for approval at its Tuesday, Oct. 20 meeting.