Agenda Item Wording:
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Consideration of and direction on initiating potential Municipal Code Updates related to Allowing the Keeping of "Chickens" in Residential Zones.
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Deadline for Action: 5/15/2023
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, paul.bernal@visalia.city, (559) 713-4025
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider the information presented in this staff report. Based on the staff report, presentation and comments received, the City Council may direct staff to initiate a Zoning Text Amendment that would revise and update municipal code language to permit the keeping of chickens in residential zone districts. Revisions to be considered as part of the Zoning Text Amendment process related to the keeping of chickens in residential zones will be subject to the public hearing process.
Summary:
Keeping of chickens or other fowl in residential zones is not presently permitted in the Visalia City Limits, except in the R-1-20 (Single-Family Residential, minimum 20,000 square foot site area) zone district. This issue is addressed in a variety of ways throughout the State. Most cities, like Visalia, classify chickens and similar fowl as barnyard or farm animals, and exclude them from being kept as household pets. Please note, in the R-1-20 zone (former R-A, Rural Residential zone) the breeding, hatching, raising and fattening of birds, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters, other small animals and fowl, on a domestic noncommercial scale, provided that there shall not be less than one thousand (1,000) square feet of site area for each fowl or animal and provided that no structure housing poultry or small animals shall be closer than fifty (50) feet to any property line, closer than twenty-five (25) feet to any dwelling on the site, or closer than fifty (50) feet to any other dwelling is permitted.
Other nearby cities are mixed in their allowanc...
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