LIVERPOOL — Chickens are the most prevalent bird in the world as an estimated 24 billion of them populate the globe.
Last month, an Oswego Street couple requested that the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees change the village code to allow the raising of that poultry within the village. The village clerk’s office received a letter Jan. 4 from Louis Bottino and Tricia Case of 712 Oswego St. in which the couple stated, “We sincerely believe chickens could be a positive addition to the village.”
Lou Bottino followed up by attending the Feb. 16 meeting of village trustees. Bottino reported that he and Case own four free-range birds housed in a coop on a large lot behind their house. While waste generated by the chickens can be a problem, Bottino said “the mess is minimal if you stay on top of it.” The waste material can be useful as fertilizer, he added.
The couple point to the benefits of chickens as a regular source of food.
“The primary reasoning to have chickens only is for the food source they supply,” they wrote. “We often give eggs away to our neighbors because of the regular abundance we have, which makes for good neighboring.”
The chickens also do a good job of pest control, according to the couple.
“You should see the way they really clean up the bugs,” Bottino said Feb. 16.
Mayor Gary White said he’d received communication from Liverpool resident Melissa Sieling suggesting that villagers be allowed to raise poultry by permit only.
“That’s an interesting suggestion,” the mayor said, adding that the village of Fayetteville has instituted a permit system.
Village Attorney John Langey — who recently taught a course on how municipal codes deal with domestic and non-domestic animals — advised the trustees to consider three things as they decide how to proceed.
“It’s doable [to change the code],” Langey said. “But the board should consider the size of applicants’ yards, the number of chickens they’ll have and their waste plan.”
The village code currently reads, “No animals, other than domestic animals as defined in § 380-5 of this chapter shall be maintained, housed or harbored in the village of Liverpool.” The code defines “domestic animals” as “dogs and cats, as well as other common household pets such as fish, hamsters, gerbils and birds which are maintained indoors. This term shall exclude farm animals (horses, livestock and poultry) and wild or other dangerous animals.”
White assigned Trustee Jason Recor to meet with Village Codes Officer Bill Reagan to discuss the matter.
“Given the situation with the pandemic, the inflation of our grocery bill, and a general desire to stay home and nest, no pun intended,” the couple wrote in their Jan. 4 letter, “we sincerely believe chickens could be a positive addition to the village.
Ten accidents in January
According to provisional Liverpool Police Chief Gerry Unger, the LPD made 121 traffic stops in the first month of the year, and officers issued 49 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws.
Unger provided this information to the village board via memo delivered by Trustee Matt Devendorf at the board’s Feb. 16 meeting.
Ten traffic accidents were investigated in January, and one parking ticket was issued. Officers made 122 residential checks and 365 business checks during the month while responding to a total of 419 incidents and calls for service.
The LPD arrested 12 individuals last month on 14 criminal charges.
