The Truesdale, Missouri, board of aldermen approved an ordinance allowing residents to purchase a permit to have up to six chickens on their property.
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Truesdale residents can now get a permit to own six chickens at their residence, provided chickens are not prohibited by their subdivision’s bylaws.
The board of aldermen approved the measure 3-1 during the Aug. 23 meeting. Alderwoman Kari Hartley opposed the measure.
Residents can now obtain the required permit for $25 from City Hall at 109 Pinckney Street.
The new ordinance prohibits residents from owning roosters, and requires that chickens “must be sufficiently contained to prevent them from running at large or co-mingling with other domesticated flocks of wild birds and have appropriate housing in the form of a coop that is reasonably sized, well-maintained, and absent of any rotting boards, peeling paint, or missing roof material.”
City Attorney Katie Joyce told aldermen that there was a slight change from the draft discussed during the Aug. 9 meeting.
“This does not specifically include or require a fence,” she said. “It just has language over the required chickens to be kept on property. So it would require them to be sufficiently contained. It does still notify residents that all relevant permits, ordinances, and property covenants apply including fencing.”
She also told aldermen that the language about co-mingling chickens was added “just in case it became really popular.”
Board of Aldermen president hesitated before voting yes to pass the final bill.
“Just for the record, I lost more sleep over chickens than I did the new subdivision,” he told aldermen after the vote.
In an interview after the meeting, Hartley explained why she voted against the bill.
“I feel like we’re creating more work for the city workers that is not needed,” she said.
“There are animals that are considered farm animals that I personally don’t feel belong within the city.”
She also said the ordinance felt like it was being changed for just the small number of residents who had approached the city.
“Two of the big subdivisions in town have covenants that say you can’t have them,” Hartley said. “We’re changing the ordinance for a very small amount of the town and I just don’t feel that it’s needed.”
