Minutes - Council Work Session - 05/11/2021

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Councilmember Specht stated that he liked the idea of expanding this, with the general intent to be allow unless there is a reason not to. He stated that he understands the noise level of roosters and perhaps larger lot sizes could be specified for that use. He stated that he would also support allowing additional animals regulated to lot size. He stated that he would prefer staff have the ability to approve or disapprove a request, such as goats, without coming to the Council unless there is an issue of escalation. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill noted that there would need to be specific language as to what would cause an escalation. He stated that the process would also need to be clear as it would not be appropriate for staff to approve something and then have the Council question why it was approved. He stated that the process has evolved over the years to streamline it. He noted that a public comment period would still be recommended, and if there are no comments and the request meets the criteria perhaps it could be approved by staff but if there are comments against the request, it should still follow the path to the Council. Councilmember Musgrove commented that she advocated for a resident that lives on five acres of land who was informed that he could not have a rooster, but that was not clearly defined within City Code. She believed that this language would clarify the confusion. She stated that she would advocate to allow roosters on properties of five acres or more, perhaps through the CUP process. She stated that if this does move to an administrative approval process, she would want language included that allows a resident to request appeal to the Council. She recognized that a rooster makes noise, but so do vehicles and other things within the community. Councilmember Heineman agreed that five acres would be a reasonable benchmark for roosters. He commented that roosters can be seen as a nuisance and therefore would not support the keeping of roosters on lots under five acres. He asked if there would be a reasonable limit on the number of roosters that could be kept. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill commented that he is not a rooster expert and therefore staff would need to look into that. He stated that sometimes there is good intention when drafting an ordinance but there is then difficulty in enforcement and implementation. He stated that perhaps the language is kept at one rooster to begin with for parcels five acres or larger. Councilmember Woestehoff commented that he believes that a request for roosters should include where the rooster will be located in order to minimize impacts to adjacent properties. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she reviewed the ordinance used by Nowthen related to the keeping of chickens and roosters and read portions aloud. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill commented that it seems there is majority consensus to allow roosters on parcels of five acres or more with additional language specifying location of the rooster enclosure on the lot. Councilmember Howell commented that she would like to see ducks, geese, goats, and pigs allowed one per half acre for lots three acres or larger. City Council Work Session / May 11, 2021 Page 4 of 10