I feel that if an individual would like to raise animals such as chickens, geese or ducks it should take place outside of city limits. People choose to live within city limits for just reasons stated above.

We have a nice association maintained neighborhood. I do not feel this should be allowed.

Most large urban areas such as Mpls and St. Paul proper do allow chickens. In this terrible economy I'm in favor of allowing chickens as long as the owner is considerate and uses common sense. Obviously, we can't have them running loose and obviously we cannot allow 100 chickens per yeard but, if any resident wants a few chickens for fresh eggs and mosquito control I think they should be allowed to.

These zoning laws are ridiculous and an affront to individual freedom. If you can have a dog on your property, you should also be able to have hens. The facts are that hens, as opposed to roosters, are very docile animals. They can be easily maintained with a small coop and they are not noisy. If people can have rabbits on their property, they should also be able to have hens. I vote yes for hens! :)

Also, what is so wrong with wanting to use a natural method of mosquito control and produce food that you can share with your family and neighbors? We have backyard gardens and love to share our bounty with our friends and family.

STMA is a more rural suburb. I would think most people would respect another individual's right to do what they want with their property as long as they are respectful of their neighbors. :)

We had a past neighbor with chickens and ducks in their back yard for a month or so one summer and it smelled SO bad. I think they were just keeping them (a lot of them) for someone temporarily. I would not want that next door to me permanently. They DID have way more than just 4 chickens though. I don't think 4 chickens would have been a problem.

I do not know if chickens in the back yard will keep mosquitos away but I do know that chickens in the back yard will keep future home buyers away

At this time, there is little empirical evidence to support the premises that people move into or away from homes based on chickens. Funny, it would seem to me that endless regulations would keep people away more than 3 or four chickens.

I understand that people are uncomfortable with the idea of chickens, but it is because we have become a bit detached as a society. Are four chickens any more annoying than the 2 dogs that bark endlessly or the neighbor that refuses to pick up their dog's waste?

The problem I see is not only with the city but with the associations as well if they apply. Chad should know all of the association considerations associated with his particular community since he is the president of the association. If I am correct, and I may not be, the association does not allow this even if the city did allow it. If this is true it would seem to me he should have never bought the coop in the 1st place. Other residents in the community live up to these covenants and restrictions and purchased their home because of them. It would not be fair to change an entire communities association rules because 1 person wants something. That's like changing the rules in the middle of the game as far as the other residents are concerned.
If mosquito control is the issue the solution would better be solved by erecting bat houses. They don’t make noise either or smell.

Nothing surprises me any more but having the president of the association who does not know the rules amazes me. In reading through the assoc. docs today it was noted that there can be NO animals except 2 dogs and/or 3 cats, birds or rabbits. Maybe the board should review all of the rules and not bring something to the city knowing it is not allowed in the association. Linda

Aren't chickens birds?

Points well made for both sides, however regarding the comment:
"I would think most people would respect another individual's right to do what they want with their property as long as they are respectful of their neighbors."
the neighborhood specifically in question is an ASSOCIATION. Everyone moved in knowing that meant rules and regulations and it can't be regulated based on what some think is "respectful." This assocation is so picky that exterior housing color has to be approved before painted, so the fact that one neighbor wants chickens outside 24/7 (which is not even allowed for dogs) is a huge issue, in my opinion.

No offense, but their indvidual rights included not moving into such a neighborhood in the first place.

And my point is that HOA's have run amok. It is time to start trusting our neighbors again to make decisions for themselves without having community "input" at every turn. Perhaps Chad is trying to scale back all the regulations to a more sustainable and common sense level.

At any rate, it is true that he lives in a development with an HOA and may just have to live with the consequences of choosing that neighborhood. Good luck, Chad.

You all raise valid points and I doubt that a full agreement could be reached in this venue.

However, in my defense, I was well aware of the guidelines prior to building a coop and am not try to create any issues for others. I received approval from those neighbors that would be immediately impacted, contacted the city, and reviewed the Association guidelines, which--based on their vagueness--would allow for chickens based on many recent court decisions rendered throughout the country.

Unfortunately, this unwanted attention will probably result in increasing Association guidelines that will prevent me from owning chickens in the future. So much for the small town feel and big city amenities.

If I wanted to live next door to a farm, I would have bought a house next door to a farm.

I am not sure where the vagueness in the Association Documents comes in when this is what it says:
"No other animals may be kept within TLTH. Birds, fish, rabbits and other small household pets (other than dogs and cats) shall be kept in appropriate cages or tanks in the OWNERS DWELLING" or "8. No Permitted Pet shall be left outdoors, in an approved enclosure, unless an Owner or Occupant is present in the Unit".
We all bought into these rules when we purchased here and not only do we need to be concerned about our direct neighbors but also the neighborhood itself!

The question being asked here is, "Do you think Albertville should allow chickens within the city limits?"

I understand the concerns stated here but chicken coops can be very cute, so keeping chickens does not have to mean that your home (or neighbors') will suddenly look like a farm. Four well cared for chickens will not create smell or noise issues and would certainly be less off putting than dogs with their poo, urine spots, and endless barking.

We moved here after living in a townhouse with it's long list of rules enforced by the HOA and I'll just say, there's a reason we live in this house now and not in Towne Lakes of anywhere else with a HOA. I'd love to see things work out for you though, Chad!

What I find disconcerting is that the people that are against hens seem to have very little knowledge about them. How can you make a judgement on something that you've not yet researched? If people can have rabbit cages in their yard, logic dictates that a small chicken coop would also not be a problem. Enough said.

I wish Chad luck and I hope the city council uses logic and facts to make its' decision.

I think there are valid pros and cons here regarding "urban chickens." I think the HOA is the issue here. The president of the association didn't follow protocol and decided on his own to violate the regulations. That's the problem. Maybe if he would have gone about it properly some people wouldn't be so upset.

Maybe we should have "urban goats" as well. Heck, I'll give my neighbors free goats milk! Sorry, but I doubt that's how the HOA works.

Just a couple points of clarification, there seem to be a lot of assumptions about whether or not protocol was followed.

First, there are a lot of comments concerning HOA this and HOA that. The question was posed to the City in order to seek their approval, which is a separate issue than the HOA.

Second, an application was submitted to the HOA.

Considering that I do not currently have chickens in my yard, I do not think that there is a violation of 'protocol'.

I too, would like to have chickens on my property. It's against the rules in my town as well. I think that as long as the chickens are properly kept (not wandering into neighbors' yards or the street) and fairly quiet (yes, even hens make noise, and so does your dog), there shouldn't be a problem in having them.
Also, favorably, the owner would be kind to ask approval from nearby neighbors. I don't think this should be required, but again, would be wise. Offering a few eggs from time to time probably wouldn't hurt, either.
I think bottom line is, we could use a little more personal freedom. What you do on your private property (unless of course you're harming someone or being a huge nuisance) is your own business.

That said, this is obviously one of the catches of living in an association. If I could live on a farm, I would. I lucked out to get a house in town with a big yard. I don't think I'd enjoy all the regulations that come with living in an association.

If allowed to raise chickens in a backyard, Then I'm getting cows. I'll share the milk with my neighbors! I'll even get a brown cow so that I may share some chocolate milk!

Seems like I could buy a lot of eggs and bug spray for $1000.

I know someone in my neighborhood with three chickens in their backyard. It doesn't disturb me in the least. They are not roaming around the neighborhood, and there is no rooster. The occasional clucking is far less disturbing than some of the yippy dogs in my neighborhood!

Allow with exceptions, if your neighbors are not offended.... there is no problem.
Chickens are quieter than a yapping dog.

I would love to raise just two or three enough for fresh eggs and compost in the garden.