[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
Any person desiring to keep or maintain any chickens and related
improvements and facilities within any residential area of the City
must apply for a permit on a form approved by the City. All chicken
permits shall be issued for a period not to exceed one (1) year and
such permits shall be renewed annually on July 1 of each year. The
cost of each permit shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00) and the
cost of the annual renewal shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
Each application for a chicken permit shall be signed by both the
property owner and the tenant or occupant of the property where the
chicken(s) are proposed to be kept and shall contain a detailed site
plan showing all improvements and facilities, including fences, for
the keeping of chickens. The Mayor shall appoint an ad hoc committee
consisting of two (2) City Aldermen and one (1) private citizen to
review each permit application and site plan and make a recommendation
to the full Board as to approval or disapproval.
[Ord. No. 1020, 7-15-2019]
B.
No person shall keep any chickens or operate or maintain any coop
or other improvement or facility for chickens unless a permit has
first been obtained from the City. No person shall keep any chickens
or operate or maintain any coop or other improvement or facility for
chickens in violation of any of the provisions in this Article. Any
person keeping chickens or maintaining any improvements for chickens
without a permit or in violation of the regulations set forth in this
Article are subject to the penalties for violation of this Section
as set forth in this Code.
C.
No permit shall be issued unless the proposed improvements and facilities
for the keeping of chickens comply with all provisions and regulations
of this Article and all applicable fees have been paid. Permits may
not be transferred to a new owner.
D.
Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, each property
owner or tenant harboring chickens which exists before the effective
date of this Section on March 20, 2017, shall comply with the provisions
of this Section and obtain a permit within one hundred twenty (120)
days after the effective date of this Section (July 20, 2017).
[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
No person shall have more than seven (7) hens on a lot ten thousand
(10,000) square feet or less. The keeping of roosters is prohibited.
B.
Any existing or prospective permit holder who houses more than seven
(7) chickens on their property may keep the same number of chickens,
but may not replace any chicken that expires or that is otherwise
permanently removed from their property until the limit of seven (7)
is reached.
[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
The keeping of chickens and all improvements and animal facilities,
including houses, buildings, pens and coops, shall comply with the
following requirements:
1.
Chickens and all facilities for chickens shall only be kept in the rear yard of the applicant's property. Coops and enclosed areas shall be screened through the proper use of fencing, walls, berms, or densely planted vegetation, or any combination thereof, as a buffer. A property owner may utilize the "privacy structure" provisions of the fence regulations in Section 405.230 of this Code for the coop itself and incorporate vegetation or other allowable fencing to create the buffer.
2.
No chickens are allowed to be kept within the side yard of the
property. No improvements or facilities for chickens shall be constructed
or installed within the side yard and rear yard setbacks.
3.
All facilities for chickens shall be located on the applicant's
property so as to be at least thirty (30) feet from any building used
or capable of being used for human habitation, not including the applicant's
own dwelling.
4.
All improvements and facilities must comply with the City's
building code and must be consistent with the requirements of any
applicable zoning code, condition of approval of a land use decision
or other land use regulation.[1]
5.
The improvements and facilities shall be considered as accessory
structures and shall not violate the lot coverage regulations set
forth in this Code and shall not exceed the size and numerical limitations
applicable to accessory structures.
6.
The appearance of the coop and enclosure and the materials used
to construct coop and enclosure shall resemble backyard coops, which
are sold in the commercial marketplace. The coop and enclosed area
shall appear professional in design and workmanship. It shall be constructed
with proportional dimensions. Plastic tarp roofs, junk and materials
not commercially used for coops and enclosures are not allowed.
7.
All improvements and facilities shall be maintained in good
repair, in a clean and in a sanitary condition, and free of vermin,
obnoxious smells and substances.
8.
The facility or the conditions created by the facility will
not create a nuisance or disturb neighboring residents due to noise,
odor, damage or threats to public health.
9.
The facility will reasonably prevent the chickens from roaming
at large.
[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
In addition to the regulations set forth in this Section, the Board
of Aldermen may place other permit conditions on the applicant which
the Board deems necessary to mitigate adverse impacts on adjoining
property given the location, size, topography and layout of the applicant's
property, to preserve the public health, safety and welfare and to
prevent nuisances.
B.
To assist the Board of Aldermen in determining appropriate conditions
which will mitigate adverse impacts on adjoining property, the City
will send a copy of the permit application to the adjoining property
owners within five (5) days of its receipt and will provide the adjoining
property owner with an opportunity to submit written comments within
five (5) days of the date of such notice. The Board may consider such
comments in determining appropriate conditions for the permit.
C.
The additional permit conditions may include further limitations
on the number of chickens allowed to be kept and additional requirements
for the improvements and facilities.
[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
Any permit may be suspended or revoked in accordance with the process
outlined in this Section if the keeping of any animal or improvement
or facility is found to endanger the health, safety or welfare of
the public or the animals themselves, creates a nuisance or is in
violation of State law or regulation or City ordinance.
B.
If an inspection reveals that any provision in this Article is violated,
the City's inspector shall mail written notice to the property owner
at the owner's last known address of record or to the keeper or other
responsible person, specifying the violation and requiring that the
violation be corrected within forty-eight (48) hours. If the violation
is not corrected within the period specified, the permit shall be
subject to suspension or revocation and the following procedure shall
be followed:
1.
Upon notification of non-compliance from the City's inspector,
the Mayor or his/her designee shall set a hearing to consider the
question of suspension or revocation.
2.
At least five (5) business days prior to such hearing, written
notice shall be mailed to the permittee at his/her or its known address
as shown in the records of the County or the City advising the permittee
of the time and place of the hearing and of the reason for considering
the suspension or revocation of the permit.
3.
During the pendency of this hearing, the licensee shall be permitted
to continue the keeping of the allowable number of chickens under
this Section; provided, however, that the pendency of such hearing
shall not preclude prosecution for violation of the ordinances of
the City occurring during such period.
4.
At the hearing, the hearing officer, who shall be the Mayor
or his/her designee, shall hear all relevant evidence justifying the
suspension or revocation of the permit and all relevant evidence justifying
the retention of the permit.
5.
The Mayor or his/her designee shall notify the permittee of
the results of the hearing in writing. If the permit is suspended
or revoked, the Mayor shall state in his/her order the date by which
all chickens and/or facilities and improvements shall be removed from
the property.
6.
In the event that a permittee whose permit has been suspended
or revoked pursuant to this Section, or a related entity of a permittee
whose permit has been revoked pursuant to this Section, shall thereafter
apply for a substantially similar permit, the City may take into account
the act(s) and circumstances which lead to the suspension or revocation
in considering the new application.
7.
Any person aggrieved by the determination of the hearing officer
aforesaid may seek review of such decision by the Board of Aldermen.
A written request for review must be submitted by the aggrieved party
within five (5) business days of the date of the letter notifying
the permit holder of the determination for which review is sought.
The written request for review shall, at minimum, set forth all reasons
known to the applicant as to wherein and why the administrative determination
is in error and the evidence which supports such assertions.
8.
The filing of a request for review shall not stay the outcome
of the administrative determination unless the Mayor shall suspend
the effect of the determination upon request of the aggrieved party.
9.
The Board of Aldermen may, at its option, review the determination
on the basis of the City's files and the record of the prior proceedings
or may hold an additional hearing thereon. The Board shall reduce
the results of its review to writing and give notice thereof to all
parties.
10.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Aldermen
may seek judicial review by filing a petition for same with the Circuit
Court of St. Louis County within fifteen (15) days of the date of
the Board's decision.
C.
Following suspension or revocation of a permit, before operation
of the facility resumes or any chicken is located or placed upon the
property, submission of a new application for a permit accompanied
by payment of the permit fees shall be required, and the facility
shall not be allowed to operate and chickens shall not be allowed
to be kept on the property until an appropriate permit is approved
and issued.
[Ord. No. 972 § 4, 3-20-2017]
A.
No person shall allow any chickens in their possession to roam at
large, in or upon the public streets, open lots or private properties
of the City, other than the rear yard of the owner in an enclosed
rear yard run that has been approved in the permit process. No side
yard runs are allowed.
B.
When any such animal is found running at large within the City and
the owner fails to claim such animal, or if the owner cannot be found,
the animal shall be turned over to the Humane Society of Missouri
or other such agency.
