Backyard chickens on their way to Cedar Rapids on a 5-3-1 vote

In a final procedural vote last night the outcome of which has been known for more than a month, the City Council cleared the way for residents to raise up to six hens on their residential property.

The vote was 5-3-1. Council members Don Karr, Chuck Wieneke and Kris Gulick voted no. Council member Tom Podzimek, who owns a chicken that is being raised in Palo and is named “Sunday Dinner,” recused himself from the vote.

Cedar Rapids Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chickens pushed to win council support to raise chickens within the city.

The new city ordinance states that chickens must be in a fenced area at least 10 feet from property lines and 25 feet from any adjacent home, church, school or business. Odors from the chickens and chicken manure can't be “perceptible” beyond the boundaries of the yard.