08-10-2023 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION AUGUST 10, 2023 6 to generate this type of discussion and they will build from here. He stated that all the comments tonight are focused on chickens exclusively whereas the ordinance contains fowl, noting that other types of fowl could generate other issues. Ms. Simon replied that her friend has chickens and ducks and ducks are much messier. She suggested that they limit to only chickens as most people desire those for egg production. Chair Johnson stated that perhaps that is a recommendation from this conversation, that they begin with just chickens at this time and if there is a desire to open to more types of fowl, they could consider that in the future. Commissioner Masrud commented that he agrees with the comments of the residents. He referenced the Roseville situation which does not have any regulation and noted that he has not heard about any issues that have resulted from that and therefore would support the absolute minimum requirements. He commented that chickens are easy animals and did not believe neighbor consent should be required. He did not believe there should be an application fee if an application is even required. He commented that a setback of 20 feet seems very far into someone’s yard and believed that five feet would be more reasonable. He stated that the restrictions related to animal welfare seem to make more sense. He also agreed that roosters should not be allowed. He stated that slaughtering could go either way and there are fishers and hunters that kill animals in the city all the time. He believed that this level of restriction would continue to keep the City behind the times. Commissioner Lum referenced the neighbor consent and asked if 80 percent would mean that 80 percent of your neighbors would have to agree to you having chickens. Mr. Riemer provided additional details on that concept, stating that if there are four surrounding neighbors, three or more would need to approve. He stated that the proposed ordinance was based on the best practices of the other cities they reviewed, and nothing is set in stone, they are simply gathering input before drafting an ordinance to consider. Commissioner Lum stated that she is not familiar with chickens and asked some problems that would require neighbor consent. She stated that there are a lot of dogs that live on her cul-de- sac, and they cause a lot of noise. Mr. Riemer commented that based off the research, the other cities did not comment on why that was required in the code. He acknowledged that it would be a setback from someone getting their application approved and perhaps some cities are using that to deter people from keeping chickens. Commissioner Kulousek asked if staff checked with White Bear Lake or Vadnais Heights, as those communities allow chickens.