[Added 3-3-2008]
A. 
The purpose of this article is to provide standards for the keeping of fowl and poultry within the identified residential growth areas of the City of Westbrook. This article is intended to reduce the potential for conflicts between neighbors that may arise if the keeping of fowl or poultry creates a nuisance. A nuisance may be created when the keeping of fowl and poultry is not done in a way that maintains the health, safety and welfare of the community. This includes, but is not limited to, noise, odor, unsanitary animal living conditions, unsanitary waste storage and removal, the attraction of rodents and parasites/insects, and nonconfined animals leaving the owner's property.
B. 
It is the responsibility of all owners of these animals to maintain conditions that will improve, rather than detract from, the quality of life in the community's residential neighborhoods.
Structures erected for the housing of fowl and poultry shall be designed to reduce undue pollution, noise, odor or trespassing on either public or private property.
A. 
Structures shall either be enclosed on all sides or include individual pen doors that can be closed to mitigate noise during nighttime or early morning hours.
B. 
The types of roofing and siding must take into account existing conditions in the neighborhood.
A. 
Fencing shall be erected to confine animals to an established area of the property. The fencing shall be of a height that does not allow the animals to leave the fenced-in area without human assistance. Fencing shall take into account existing conditions in the neighborhood. Appropriate types of fencing include chicken wire, stockade, and picket. The use of chain-link fencing for the enclosure of fowl or poultry is prohibited in the City's defined residential growth areas.
B. 
Vegetative buffering must be used to completely screen the area from abutting properties when nonsolid fencing is used.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Provisions must be made for the storage and removal of fowl and poultry manure. To avoid the risk of odors, all stored manure shall be covered by a fully enclosed structure with a roof over the entire structure. Manure shall be covered and confined in such a manner as to not allow its spread onto abutting properties. All other manure not used for fertilizing shall be removed.
Lighting to protect fowl and poultry from predators and intruders shall be a ninety-degree cutoff luminaire. All lighting must be set to a motion detector so that the lighting is turned off when no motion is detected.
In cases where the fowl or poultry is kept on a property within 100 feet of a water body or drainageway, provisions must be made to control the runoff of pollution to the water body. To accomplish this goal, all manure must be kept within a roofed enclosure.
A. 
The property owner shall take necessary action to reduce the infestation of insects and parasites. Fowl and poultry found to be infested with insects and parasites that may result in unhealthy conditions to human habitation shall be removed by the Animal Control Officer. The Animal Control Officer may delay the removal of the animals through the establishment and completion of a plan of action.
B. 
The property owner shall take necessary action to prevent the entry of rodents and/or predators into the fowl or poultry living area. Fowl and poultry that are not housed in an environment that prevents the infestation of rodents may be removed by the Animal Control Officer.
It shall be unlawful to keep more than the following number of fowl or poultry on any parcel within the City, based upon the size of the parcel on which the animals are situated:
Lot Size
(square feet)
Number of Poultry/Fowl
10,000 to 19,999
6
20,000 to 39,999
12
40,999 to 79,999
50
80,000 and greater
No limit
If any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this article or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, void or invalid, the validity of the remaining portions of this article or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances shall not be affected thereby, it being the intent of the City Council in adopting this article that no portion hereof or provision or regulation contained herein shall become inoperative or fail by reason of any unconstitutionality, voidness or invalidity of any other portion hereof, and all provisions of this article are declared to be severable for the purpose.