Title
Poultry Ordinance Amendment (Ordinance G-7300)
Description
Request City Council approval of the proposed changes to the Poultry Ordinance, Chapter 8, Sections 7 and 10 in accordance with recent State legislation.
Report
Summary
In May 2024, Arizona Legislature passed House Bill 2325, amending Arizona Revised Statues Title 9, Chapter 4, Article 6.1, by adding Section 9-462.10, Backyard fowl regulation; prohibition; exceptions; state preemption; definition, which limits regulations municipalities may adopt related to keeping domestic chickens.
In accordance with recent State legislation, staff recommends revised language to:
- Prohibit poultry enclosures within twenty feet of a neighboring property line, unless written consent is obtained from neighbors. The current text prohibits poultry enclosures within eighty feet of any residence.
- Allow up to six poultry on properties up to one-half acre in size, and more if written consent is obtained from neighbors. The current text prohibits any poultry on properties less than ten thousand square feet without consent from neighbors, and allows up to twenty on properties less than one-half acre in size.
In addition, staff recommends language to allow the filing of cases or classes of cases as civil citations. Current language requires criminal citations.
All staff recommended amendments to the Poultry Ordinance are highlighted in Attachment A.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Alan Stephenson and the Neighborhood Services Department.