Model urban chicken ordinance for Monona (WI)

Monona Doug has a great post up over on his blog explaining the why and the what of his proposed zoning amendment that would allow the keeping of up to five chickens in Monona, Wisconsin (pop ~8,000; map).

Why's his post so good? He logically lays out what he's seeking in the ordinance, his review of existing ordinances and provides a bit of background as to why people are interested in urban chicken farming (reasons given: locavorism, energy costs and food safety).

Doug then provides both the lay-person's reading of the ordinance and the technical reading of the ordinance.

For us lay folk, here's the proposed ordinance:

• Allows chicken keeping as a permitted use in single-family and two-family zoning districts.
• Allows up to five domestic fowl allowed per household in a single-family or two-family district.
• Prohibits roosters.
• Prohibits slaughtering outdoors on the residential premises.
• Requires that poultry shall be kept within a secure and clean hen house or enclosure at all times and not allowed to run free.
• Requires that the hen houses and enclosures shall be located no closer than 20' from nearest neighbor's residence.
• A $10 permit is required (per household), to be renewed annually.

(you can read the wonky, technical bits in his post)

Nicely done, Doug! You've certainly done your homework and provided a great template for others to use to convince their cities to make change.

Here's hoping you're successful in convincing Monona to amend its zoning laws!