By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
Residents could soon be able to legally keep chickens on their property under a proposed bylaw discussed Thursday, Dec. 4, at a Bylaw Subcommittee meeting.
The measure, crafted by subcommittee Chair Dan Donovan and fellow Town Council members [Donovan is also on the council], aims to clarify rules for chicken ownership in residential areas. Donovan said the bylaw would allow chickens by right, while establishing standards for licensing, inspections and coop construction.
“We discovered that there’s no specific reference to chickens in the zoning bylaws,” said Donovan. “There’s only a line in the scheduled use table dealing with agricultural stock, which generally applies to livestock. In R-15 and R-20 districts, livestock can be kept by special permit, and in R-40 is permitted. In R-10, it’s prohibited.”
The draft bylaw is still in its early stages, and states:
- Residents must obtain an annual license from the town clerk for each property with chickens.
- The animal control officer would conduct an initial inspection of all coops to ensure compliance with sanitation, safety and rodent-prevention standards, with followup inspections only if complaints arise.
- The maximum number would be six hens for R-10 properties, 12 for R-15 and R-20, and an unlimited number for R-40. Roosters would be prohibited, except in R-40 districts.
- Coops must be constructed to prevent rodent entry, feed must be stored in rodent-proof containers, and the area around the coop must be kept free of trash or waste that could attract pests.
- A building permit would not be required for coops under 200 square feet that are not permanently affixed or intended for human occupancy.
Donovan emphasized that the bylaw is intended only for chickens and does not apply to pigs, goats, ducks or other types of poultry.
“We want to make sure people can enjoy keeping hens without creating new problems,” said Donovan. “The license is for the coop, not the chickens. That helps control feed storage and waste, which is what really attracts rodents.”
Frequent requests made by residents to the Zoning Board of Appeals to keep chickens was a main driving force behind crafting the new amendment.
“If you’re constantly issuing special permitting or variances, we should probably look at zoning; it shouldn’t be that complicated,” said Donovan.
He noted that chickens have received an “unfair rap” for attracting rats and other rodents, when in reality anything left outside – such as bird feeders, pet food or unsecured trash – is the main attractant.
The measure has received broad support so far, said Donovan, though concerns have been raised about the potential impacts on the ACO’s workload.
“In North Attleborough, the ACO already conducts annual inspections of animals under state law, so this doesn’t create a new responsibility — just potentially more inspections initially.”
The bylaw will include provisions for existing chicken owners, allowing a transition period to meet the new standards without penalty. It also requires renters to obtain permission from landlords if they wish to keep chickens.
The subcommittee will continue discussions and reconvene on Jan. 21 to refine the bylaw before sending it to the Planning Board, which will hold an initial public hearing. After that, it will return to the Town Council for a further review and second public hearing.
“One thing we’re trying to do is make it reasonable,” said Donovan. “We don’t want to rush to failure—if we’re gonna do it, let’s do it right. You can’t anticipate everything, but we’re just trying to make it consistent.”