North Liberty to consider letting urban chickens stay for good

NORTH LIBERTY - Daniela Williams has been raising chickens at her home in a subdivision on the north side of town for about a year.

Her four chickens provide eggs, fertilizer for her garden, they eat up Japanese beetles and grubs, and they are just fun to have around, she said.

'It has been a great learning experience for both us and our neighbors, especially the children who live near us,” said Williams, 38, who's lived in North Liberty for about seven years.

This week, North Liberty City Council appears primed to allow urban chickens to stay for good.

Williams was among five who sought permits after North Liberty amended its livestock ordinance in the city code to allow chickens in town in September 2013.

However, there was a catch. The exemption was set to sunset at the end of 2014, meaning Williams and the others could lose their chickens.

'We'd known all along that there was a chance we'd have to get rid of our chickens at the end of the year,” she said.

A few months ago, with the deadline approaching, Williams asked city council to consider removing the sunset as well as making a few changes to the rules.

With no issues in the first year, the city said has supported removing the sunset all together and easing certain restrictions.

'Instead of having to revisit it every year, and there haven't been any issues we've encountered so far, people were comfortable having it on a permanent basis,” city spokesman Nick Bergus said.

Bergus noted the sunset lift won't be final until a third reading and vote at Tuesday's city council meeting, and city leaders could revisit the matter if necessary in the future.

Among the proposed rule changes, permit holders would be allowed six chickens, up from four, and coops would have to be at least 15 feet back from the property line, down from 25 feet.

In order to get a permit, residents would still need to take a class in raising chickens in an urban setting.

Classes, which are not offered by the city, cost around $10. Permits are $20, plus $3 per chicken band, which each chicken must have, and there's a $100 deposit that can be returned if the permit holder is in good standing after 18 months.

'There hasn't been a huge demand, but the folks that have gotten permits have been pretty responsible,” he said.

Stephanie Seckel, 31, was among those that got a permit. She recently moved to a farm north of Oxford, but she said it worked well to raise chickens at home when she was in North Liberty.

'We kept them for eggs and also they were a big part of a personal responsibility project with our kids,” she said.

She added that she never had any problems with the neighbors.