Residents in the Town of Sylva will be able to keep poultry in the downtown business district after commissioners voted to adopt an ordinance amending town code earlier this month.
The town first took up this issue last year when it contracted with WithersRavenel to update its Land Use Plan and Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance. At that point, several town residents spoke out against the proposed ordinance addressing poultry-keeping, most of whom were concerned for the chickens kept at the Jackson Arts Market in downtown Sylva.
When the ordinance came up for approval again at the April 13 meeting of the Board of Commissioners, no one showed up to speak during public comment.
The proposed ordinance was a modified version of what WithersRavenel proposed last year. The planning board spent several months creating the ordinance, which is more flexible in some districts, but as initially written, would have eliminated chickens from the downtown business district. It caps the number of hens at 10 for lot sizes up to one acre and 20 for lot sizes over one acre. One rooster is allowed for every 10 hens.
While Commissioner Greg McPherson pushed for the poultry ordinance, he said that he did not want a full ban on poultry downtown.
“I think I might have been a little misunderstood when we talk about Level 1, B, poultry keeping is not allowed in the downtown business district,” said Commissioner Greg McPherson. “That is not what I said. I said I would like to not have roosters in the downtown business district.”
Commissioner Ben Guiney said that the ordinance was modeled after towns of a similar size, and that enforcement would depend on complaints, rather than spontaneous investigation by the town.
“The town is not going to be out counting chickens,” said Guiney. “If there is a complaint, that will flag it as an issue.”
Commissioner Natalie Newman inquired about grandfathering in people who have chickens in the downtown business district. Town Manager Paige Dowling said that because there is already an ordinance, the rules being considered are additional standards in the zoning ordinance for separation and location and therefore current poultry keepers cannot be grandfathered in.
“The giant chicken in the room is the JAM market downtown,” said Guiney. “I think it’s important to know for those folks that enjoy the market and are there and the chickens that this is not an ordinance designed to go after any particular individual or property, it is a long-term ordinance that the town is setting up because ordinances talk about what kind of town we want in the future.”
Mayor David Nestler noted that while the ordinance was not written to address one single property owner, there is one property in the downtown business district that has chickens — the Jackson Arts Market. He suggested changing the portion of the ordinance that would have banned poultry keeping in the downtown business district to banning only roosters in the downtown business district.
Commissioner Ben Guiney argued for accepting the recommendation of the planning board, which would ban poultry keeping in the downtown district.
Mary Gelbaugh argued for the role of a rooster among a flock of chickens and proposed allowing one rooster per 10 hens, even within the downtown business district.
The board ultimately adopted an amended version of the ordinance that does not ban poultry keeping in the downtown business district. Commissioner Guiney cast the only dissenting vote as he was in favor of passing the ordinance as it was recommended by the planning board.
The final version of the ordinance passed by the town board allows poultry keeping within the Town of Sylva’s jurisdiction, subject to certain standards.
Those standards allow chickens only on single-family detached dwelling units. They require all poultry to be contained, that chickens to be kept in a coop and pen, or portable chicken tractors, and such coops and enclosures may not include residential structures or garages. They require a minimum setback of 15 feet from all property lines or not within 50 feet of an adjoining property’s residential unit and that the coop and pen must be closer to the chicken owner’s primary residential unit than the neighboring residential unit.
The standards allow for up to 10 hens on properties less than one acre in size and up to 20 hens on properties over one acre. One rooster is allowed for every 10 hens.
