By Hayleigh Gowans
Staff Writer
The ability to raise chickens on residential properties in the village of Fayetteville has just become easier following a vote by the village board to create a streamlined permit process for the activity.
At the Sept. 12 village board meeting, trustees adopted a permit process that would allow residents to house poultry on their property. Previously, if a resident wanted to house chickens on their property, they had to submit a zone variance.
“It’s very simple, but I think it addresses all of our concerns,” said Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson.
In May 2016, David Cassel, a member of the Fayetteville Deer Committee, submitted a proposal to the village board to consider adopting a permit system that would make it easier for residents to ask the village to keep poultry on their property. While raising chickens can be beneficial as a food source, Cassel said they could also help control the number of ticks in the area, a goal of the deer committee.
Some stipulations of the permit are: all poultry should be kept outside of the dwelling in an enclosure that includes a coop made of solid material and pen/run; the coop must have roosting bard, adequate area per animal, access to water and be constructed and maintained in a workmanlike manner comparable to that of accessory structures; the enclosure must remain clean, dry and odor-free; and all manure must be disposed of in a proper manner as to not constitute a nuisance, safety or health problem.
Those wishing to obtain a poultry permit must go in front of the board of trustees, who will approve or deny their request. The one-time permit cost for six or fewer female chickens is $50 and for 12 or fewer chickens is $100. No roosters will be allowed and the board of trustees has the right to revoke a permit at any time.
“I know when this started we had a lot of opinions about what to do. But I’m really glad we could all work together to make something that I think will be beneficial,” said Cassel at the Sept. 12 meeting. “I think this is going to be a good thing for the village.”
To get more information, call the village clerk at 637-9864.
