Chickens ruled the roost at last night’s Medford Township council meeting.
Council is looking at possible changes with an ordinance prohibiting residents from keeping agricultural animals on their property if they own five or fewer acres of land.
The discussion arose after a Fairview Road resident filed a complaint. Township manager Chris Schultz said the complaint was the first he heard regarding backyard chickens in Medford.
While the chicken discussion at last night’s meeting resulted in a number of jokes and some chuckles from the audience, there was some serious discussion among council members regarding chickens and whether homeowners should be permitted to keep them on their property.
Councilman Randy Pace said the topic of backyard chickens has come up in many places across the country as more residents have opted to keep animals on their property. However, he also admitted he didn’t know enough about the topic to take a stand.
“I’m asking for the public to give their input on this,” Pace said.
Mayor Chris Buoni showed concern for the current ordinance, as he called it a property rights issue. He was also unsure of how serious some of the problems of noise and disease were regarding chickens. While he acknowledged the dangers chickens could present if not taken care of in a healthy manner, he said the same thing can be said of pets and other animals.
“For every case you make about a chicken, you can make a case that dogs should be banned,” Buoni said.
Councilman Jeff Beenstock echoed many of his fellow council members statements. While he said there were definitely health issues to consider, he is open to reviewing changes to the existing ordinance.
“My initial reaction was that we should look to loosen the restrictions,” he said.
Members of council agreed there are likely a number of residents who keep chickens in their yards and are in violation of the ordinance. However, the township has not enforced the law recently since no one complained.
In addition, it is unknown whether the chicken issue is one affecting a large number of people. Pace was particularly unsure of how many Medford residents would even be affected by a change in the ordinance. He estimated only 30 residential units in the township would be affected by such an ordinance.
Buoni added some homes in Medford may not be allowed to have chickens even if a new ordinance is passed. Homeowners association’s can still prohibit chickens if they choose to do so. Buoni said there are also homes in Medford where the deed specifically prohibits agricultural animals.
It is unlikely the chicken question will be answered soon. Council is looking for additional feedback from the public and agreed they would like to review a potential draft ordinance before moving forward with possible legislation.
