[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. 3-2021]
Standards:
A. Prohibited unless otherwise permitted.
(1) No person shall breed, raise, harbor or maintain any bees, poultry,
chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or any other fowl, any swine, pigs,
horses, cows, mules, goats or any other animals or reptiles except
domesticated pets within the City unless specifically authorized in
any other provision of the Code of the City of Oneonta.
(2) Further prohibited will be any animal that is vicious, dangerous,
obnoxious, objectionable or offensive or that has, in the absence
of intentional provocation, repeatedly chased, menaced, attacked or
inflicted bodily injury to a person or domestic animal, excluding
birds, rodents and reptiles.
B. Chickens. Chickens may be kept and maintained under the following
circumstances:
(1) Permit required. A permit issued by the City of Oneonta in compliance with Subsection
D of this section.
(2) Number. No more than six hens shall be allowed for each taxable parcel,
whether single-family or a multiple dwelling. If chickens are kept
at a rental property, the owner of the chickens must maintain a current
written authorization for the keeping of chickens on the property
signed by the property owner or authorized agent.
(3) Setbacks. Coops or cages housing chickens must be at least 25 feet
from any door or window of any dwelling other than the owner's
dwelling. Coops and cages shall be located at least six feet from
both the rear and side yard lot lines. Coops and cages shall not be
located in the front yard.
Key
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Setback from windows and doors located on adjacent properties
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25-foot minimum
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A
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Setback from side and rear lot lines
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6-foot minimum
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B
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Figure 1. Nesting Box with Bedding.
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Figure 2. Chicken Roosts.
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Figure 3. Chicken Watering Can.
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(4) Coop. Hens shall be provided with a covered, predator-proof coop
or cages that are well ventilated and designed to be easily accessed
for cleaning. The coop shall allow at least two square feet per hen.
A nest box must be provided for every three birds. The nest box must
be located in a dark and secluded area, be weatherproof, be dry with
friable nesting material, provide ventilation, and allow the bird
to perch and alight.
(5) Open space. Hens shall have access to an outdoor enclosure that is
adequately fenced to contain the birds on the property and to prevent
predators from access to the birds. Outdoor enclosures shall be a
minimum of four square feet per hen. The enclosure area must be well
drained and clean at all times, offer access to living vegetation,
be resistant to erosion by activities of the birds, and provide access
to water, shelter, and feeding areas.
(6) Light. The birds must not be subjected to dim or continuous lighting
or kept in permanent darkness. In the daytime, the birds must be able
to see each other, their food and water sources, as well as their
surroundings clearly. Use of artificial light is permitted as long
as it does not exceed a maximum day-length of 16 hours and is distributed
evenly.
(7) Sanitation. The coop and outdoor enclosure must be kept in a sanitary
condition and free from offensive odors. The coop and outdoor enclosure
must be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent the accumulation of
waste. Bedding must be kept in a dry, mold-free, friable condition,
and replenished as necessary. Bedding from timber-based products sourced
from chemically-treated wood is not permitted.
(8) Chickens must be kept in coops from dusk to dawn.
(9) Slaughtering. Outdoor slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.
(10) Roosters. It is unlawful for any person to keep roosters in the City
of Oneonta.
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Figure 4. DIY Chicken Feeder.
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Figure 5. Chicken Enclosure.
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C. Bees. Bees may be kept and maintained under
the following circumstances:
(1) Permit required. A permit issued by the City of Oneonta in compliance
with this chapter.
(2) Colony densities. It shall be unlawful to keep more than the following
number of colonies on any tract within the city, based upon the size
or configuration of the tract on which the apiary is situated:
(a)
One-quarter acre or less tract size: two colonies.
(b)
More than 1/4 acre but less than 1/2 acre tract size: four colonies.
(c)
More than 1/2 acre but less than one-acre tract size: six colonies.
(d)
One acre or larger tract size: eight colonies.
(3) If bees are kept at a rental property, the beekeeper must maintain
a current written authorization for the keeping of bees on the property
signed by the property owner or authorized agent.
(4) Hive. All honeybee colonies must be kept in structures designed for
the purpose of keeping bees and shall be of a design commonly used
for the housing and keeping of bees. Hives shall not exceed 20 cubic
feet in volume.
(5) Location of hives must comply with the following criteria:
(a)
Hives shall not be located within 10 feet of any property line.
(b)
Hives shall not be located within a front yard.
(c)
Hives shall not be located within 50 feet of a preexisting swimming
pool or a preexisting kenneled animal.
(d)
Hives are not permitted within 10 feet of any adjacent buildings.
(e)
To the extent possible, hive entrances shall face away from
the closest neighboring property and in such a direction that the
bees fly across the beekeeper's property at sufficient distance
to gain a height of at least the six feet at the property line.
Key
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Distance from property line
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10-foot minimum
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A
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Distance from adjacent structures
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10-foot minimum
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B
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Swimming pool/kenneled animal
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50-foot minimum
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C
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Figure 8. Fence Style Flyway Barrier.
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(6) Flyway barrier. When an apiary is located within 25 feet of a lot
line, a flyway barrier of a minimum of six feet in height is required,
located within five feet of the apiary, and extending at least two
feet on either side of the apiary. The flyway barrier must be made
of a fence, hedge or dense vegetation to effectively prompt bees to
fly at an elevation at least six feet above ground level. A flyway
barrier shall not be required where neighboring parcels are undeveloped
land.
Key
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Flyway barrier required
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Hive less than 25 feet from property line
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A
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Flyway barrier height
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6-foot minimum
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B
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Distance from hive
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5-foot maximum
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C
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Distance extended past hive
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2-foot minimum
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D
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Figure 9. Bees Require Ready Access to Water.
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(7) Water required. A convenient on-site source of fresh water must be
readily available to bee colonies at all time.
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Figure 10. Frame With Comb Being Removed from a Hive.
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(8) No bee comb or other materials may be left exposed on the property.
Upon their removal from the hive, all materials must promptly be disposed
of in a sealed container or placed within a bee-proof enclosure.
(9) All colonies must be maintained with queens selected from stock bred
for gentleness and nonswarming characteristics. In any instance in
which a colony exhibits unusual aggressive characteristics by stinging
or attempting to sting without due provocation or exhibits an unusual
disposition toward swarming, the beekeeper must promptly re-queen
the colony with another queen.
D. A biennial permit for the keeping of bees
or chickens is required, which shall be issued by the City Clerk's
office, and which shall thereafter be filed and maintained in the
Code Enforcement Office. The fee for such permit shall be set from
time to time by resolution of the Common Council.
(1) The application for a permit must contain the following:
(a)
The name, working phone number, and address of the applicant.
(b)
Whether the property is rented or owner occupied; if rented,
a copy of a letter from the property owner consenting to the issuance
of a permit to keep chickens or bees.
(c)
Consent from the applicant for the inspection of the outdoor
premises of the property at reasonable times by the City or its agent
to confirm compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(d)
Acknowledgement of the receipt of an information packet from
the City which includes a copy of this statute, together with information
regarding the proper maintenance and handling of domestic chickens
or bees in a residential environment.
E. The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to inspect, or cause to
be inspected, annually any property to which a beekeeping or chicken
permit was issued to assure compliance with this Code. Any officer
or employee of the Code Enforcement Office, upon the showing of proper
credentials and in the discharge of his duties, may enter upon any
premises at any reasonable hour, and no person shall interfere with
or prevent such entry.
"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.
They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous,
and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests
by the most lasting bonds."
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— Thomas Jefferson
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No person owning, or having in charge, horses, cattle, sheep,
swine, fowl, domestic farm or wild animals held in captivity shall
permit the running at large of the same within the City.
The owner of any domestic farm animal or wild animal held in
captivity shall so restrict its running at large as to prevent such
animal from causing injury or damage to the property of any other
person.
No person shall harm or in any way molest any of the domestic
or wild birds or animals in the City, except duly authorized officers
of the City, a designated Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, a Humane Society, the Department of Environmental Conservation
or the duly trained and authorized agents of the aforementioned. Use
of any traps which kill or maim any protected animals, by any person
other than the aforementioned trained and authorized persons, or any
practices which cause any undue or prolonged suffering to any animal,
shall be considered a violation of this section.
It shall be unlawful for any person to fasten, tie or hitch
any animal to any shade or ornamental tree or to fasten or hitch any
animal so near such shade or ornamental tree, within the public domain,
as will permit such animal to injure, deface or mar any such tree.
No person shall feed a nuisance animal as determined by the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Law § 11-0523.
A violation of this article shall be punishable as prescribed in §
1-18 of this Code.