City officials in Warrenton are mulling over a request to allow chickens within the city limits.After much discussion, the mayor and aldermen expressed an overall willingness to allow chickens if it could be done without disrupting neighbors or causing other nuisances such as smell, noise or messes.Alderwoman Karen Casserly, Ward 1, expressed the most reluctance. She was concerned that allowing chickens may add to the city’s problems with messy properties.A bill allowing chickens in town still needs to be drafted and approved by ordinance. Three residents spoke on the matter, all in favor of creating an ordinance to let residents keep chickens in town.Penny Lavy was the first speaker. She said, “I did not realize you couldn’t have chickens in town and I’ve had them for years. It can be done and it can be done without complaint and smells, and I’ve had support of my neighbors,” she said. “I want to gush about chickens. We want them as pets with benefits because they lay eggs.”She said keeping chickens is as natural as keeping a garden. They each provide homegrown food to keep and share.She had a system of care, feeding and cleaning that kept her chickens clean, healthy, cared for and her garden fertilized.Rich Taylor said he doesn’t own chickens now but he would like to. He told the board restrictions make sense, such as lot size, the number of hens, and no roosters.Lavy’s neighbor, Robert Wescott, also spoke. He said Lavy’s hens were not a problem when she had them. Rather, they were fun to see and, when they died, she grieved for them, like a pet owner.Lavy’s chickens were killed when a loose dog got into her yard when her chickens were not in their coop.City officials looked at ordinances on chicken ownership in other towns, including Brentwood, Frontenac, Ladue and Kirkwood.City Attorney Christopher Graville, who is familiar with such ordinances, said things to consider include: lot size or zoning restrictions, position of the coop on the lot being closer to the homeowner rather than neighbors, protection of the chickens and upkeep.“When they are not kept well, you will get more complaints than any other animal regulated by a city than I have ever seen,” Graville said. “When they are kept well, you hardly notice them.”Upkeep was a concern for Casserly.“I love the idea of chickens. I’d like to have chickens myself. But we’re in a situation in this town where we can’t get people to clean up their yards. We can’t get people to take care of their dogs,” she said. “I’m worried about opening up one more possible nuisance.”City officials have been discussing how to incentivize residents to clean up their properties where trash and excess belongings have laid for indiscriminate amounts of time.“There are a lot more of those homes that I would call trashy homes than homes that I would say (belong to) good, responsible chicken owners,” Casserly said. “I don’t think that’s fair to people who maintain their gardens and their yards and landscapes, just like it’s not fair to live next to people who don’t care about anything.”She said cleaning up the town has been challenging and a constant topic of conversation. She asked if it was a good idea to pass an ordinance that could add to the problem of messy properties.“You’re bringing up a good point, and we do talk every week about the people who won’t clean their yards, and that’s never going to stop, and the good citizens who do clean their yards and will take care of their chickens, shouldn’t be punished because of the others who don’t take care of their property,” said Alderman John Miller, Ward 3. “In reality, you’re right Karen, there’s no way we’re going to control the people who leave trash in their driveway. It’s never going to happen, not here or anywhere.”Casserly said she didn’t want to add to the staff’s work list. Rather, she said she wanted to add more staff to help with the work. Then she added, “I’m not against well-maintained chicken coops.”The city will draft a bill and then hold a public hearing before a final vote.Chickens