Monroe may revise rules to allow chicken coops

Under current zoning code, chickens are classified as livestock and are not permitted to be raised in a residential district.

Siegler told council his neighbors have never made any complaints to him or to the city about the 16 chickens and one rooster living in what was described as a “chicken condo” on his Garver Road property.

Complete with landscaping, the chicken coop also gets decorated with lights and wreaths during the holiday season, said a neighbor who accompanied Siegler to Tuesday’s council meeting.

Another neighbor wants to make a sign for his chicken coop calling it a “chicken paradise,” Siegler said.

After getting the violation notice, 19 of Siegler’s neighbors signed a petition in support of his livestock, saying they had no objections to the chickens.

Siegler’s three-quarter acre lot is on the outskirts of the city. He also maintains an additional quarter-acre that backs up to farmland as well as land used for a pipeline and power line routes.

The chickens stay in his and another neighbor’s yard, he said, make little noise and are not as destructive as some pets. In addition, the chickens provide eggs for his family and some neighbors.

When Siegler passed around a photo of the chicken coop for council members to see, Councilman Dan Clark was impressed as were some other council members.

“It looks better than my house,” Clark said. “It’s the best chicken coop I’ve ever seen.”

Clark also said he had no problems with making an exception to allow chicken coops under certain conditions.

Vice Mayor Suzi Rubin, who said she lives in a section of the city that it is zoned agricultural, has raised chickens herself. She said many people would rather have chickens as pets “because they are not as destructive as dogs and cats can be.”

City Manager Bill Brock said that in the last zoning update, council took out the exception for chickens but said that it can be revisited.

Council unanimously approved suspending Siegler’s zoning violation until it can review the matter further.

Siegler also noted during the meeting that despite popular belief, “chickens don’t cross the road.”