Chickens could come home to roost

City zoning allows livestock, but some say permits are too expensive and restrictive

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The issue of allowing Whitefish residents to raise chickens was raised once again by the city council on Aug. 4.

Councilor Shirley Jacobson said she's received several calls from people who want to raise chickens but were concerned about administrative costs. Former councilor Velvet Phillips-Sullivan in the past had asked about chickens and goats.

"Personally, I hate chickens," Jacobson said, "but I favor allowing people to have them."

Councilor Nancy Woodruff said she wouldn't mind hens but would draw the line on roosters, while councilor Turner Askew expressed concern about establishing a "slippery slope," especially with pigs.

Councilor Nick Palmer said he had as many as 25 chickens at a time at his former home in Redmond, Wash. He said he raised them for meat more so than eggs.

"This is America," he said. "Why do we charge people to have chickens?"

City code allows limited livestock-use by right in larger-lot residential zones, city planning director David Taylor said, but some residents in the WR-2 zones have complained about the $360 administrative conditional-use permit needed for a couple chickens.

As spelled out in the code, the maximum density for livestock per acre is 50 chickens, 50 fowl, two calves, two cattle, five goats, five sheep, seven llamas or two swine, among others.

Animal waste must be disposed of daily to avoid the spread of odors, insect pests and "objectionable surface drainage." If facilities are not sound-proofed, then enclosures must be 100 feet from the property line.

Residents who want to exceed those densities must address impacts to neighborhood character, adjacent land uses, animal management abilities of the applicant, noise, odor and runoff, and an animal-waste disposal plan.

Livestock in the WCR through WR-1 zones are only allowed for domestic use or consumption and not commercial purposes.

The code also requires chicken coops, barns or stables to be at least 50 feet from the nearest property line, but many lots in the WR-2 zone are only 50 feet wide.

Kendra Hope, who lives on Somers Avenue, said she'd like to raise chickens. Besides eating kitchen scraps and bugs on the garden that runs across her backyard onto her sister's backyard next-door, Hope's children could watch the chicks grow up.

"I think it would be kind of neat for them to watch the whole process," she said.

But that might mean the chickens would end up as pets and not food, she pointed out.

"We would definitely eat the eggs," she said.

Hope has done a little research and found that many large cities in the U.S. allow people to have chickens.

"It's legal in New York, Los Angeles, Spokane and Denver," she said. "Missoula recently allowed them. And permits typically range from $6 to $15. The largest I've seen is $50 for an initial fee. Some cities encourage people to have chickens."

Pam Gerwe, who runs the Purple Frog Gardens farm just outside of Whitefish, points out the need for locally-grown food. She said the average food item travels 1,500 miles and is handled 33 times before it reaches the consumer.

"The Victory Gardens during World War II provided 40 percent of the nations fruits and vegetables," she said. "This is a Homeland Security issue. If we had another major terrorist attack like 9/11, it could affect our food-delivery system."

The council directed planning staff to find a way to allow people in the WR-2 zone to have up to three hens without a conditional-use permit, and to see about letting single-family uses in the higher-density WR-3 and WR-4 zones.