Proposed Albany Chicken Law Amendment

8/8/2019 Proposed Albany Chicken Law Amendment

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An introduction by Council Member Calsolaro

ORDINANCE NUMBER

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE VIII (FARM ANIMALS) OF CHAPTER

115 (ANIMALS) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY TO AUTHORIZEAND PERMIT THE KEEPING OF HENS

The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact:

Section 1. Section 115-30 of Chapter 115 of the Code of the City of Albany is herebyamended to read as follows:

115-30. Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to protect the residents of the City of Albany from nuisance by

animals usually known as farm animals or fowl. The keeping or harboring of certain farmanimals within the City of Albany is incompatible with urban life.

Section 2. Section 115-31 of Chapter 115 of the Code of the City of Albany is herebyamended to read as follows:

115-31. Keeping of certain farm animals or fowl prohibited.

No person shall keep, harbor, or shelter any farm animal or fowl within the City of Albany, withthe exception of hens. For purposes of this article, farm animal or fowl shall include cows, cattle,horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, pigs, goats, sheep, [chickens,] roosters, ducks, geese, or other

animals or fowl usually known as "farm animals or fowl," but not solely limited to theaforementioned and not including common household pets.

Section 3. Section 115-32 of Chapter 115 of the Code of the City of Albany is herebyre-numbered as Section 115-34 and the new Section 115-32 shall read as follows:

Sec. 115-32. Hens. Permit required for keeping of hens.

A. No person shall keep hens unless a permit has first been obtained from the City Clerk.

B. Applications for permits shall be made upon forms furnished by the City Clerk, and shall beaccompanied by payment of the required fee. Permits shall be valid from the date of issuanceuntil such time as the Director of Buildings and Codes determines by inspection that the propertyis not being maintained in compliance with the issuance criteria. Applications for a permit shall

be accompanied by adequate evidence that the applicant has notified all of the property ownersand residents within 50 feet of the property lines of the property on which the hens are to be keptand in the case of multifamily dwellings, the express written consent of the owner of the buildingand all tenants residing in the building other than the applicant.

Matter in strikethrough to be deleted. Matter underlined is new material.
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C. The City Clerk shall issue a permit to the applicant, only after the City Clerk has reviewed acompleted and signed application which grants the Director of Buildings and Codes permissionto enter and inspect the property at any reasonable time. If the Director of Buildings and Codeshas reasonable grounds to believe that an inspection is necessary, the Director shall inspect thefacility in order to determine whether the issuance criteria have been met. The criteria for

issuing a permit are as follows:

1. The area used for the keeping of hens is in good repair, capable of being maintainedin a clean and in a sanitary condition, free of vermin, obnoxious smells and substances;

2. The keeping of hens on a particular property will not create a nuisance or disturbneighboring residents due to noise, odor, damage or threats to public health;

3. The facility for keeping hens shall be a pen. For purposes of this section, the term"pen" shall mean an enclosure within which an animal may be kept that is sufficiently secure to

prevent such animal from escaping and roaming at large;

4. Adequate safeguards are made to prevent unauthorized access to the facility for housing the hens by general members of the public;

5. The health or well being of the hens will not be in any way endangered by the manner of keeping or confinement;

6. The facility for keeping the hens will be adequately ventilated;

7. The facility for keeping the hens is located on the applicant's property so as to be atleast 15 feet from any building used or capable of being used for human habitation, not includingthe applicant's own dwelling.

D. Each permit issued by the City Clerk shall be conditioned on the applicant maintaining thefacility for keeping hens in compliance with each of the issuance criteria. If the Director of Buildings and Codes determines by inspection that the facility for keeping hens is not beingmaintained in compliance with the issuance criteria, the permit shall no longer be valid and shall

be revoked. Before operation of the facility for keeping hens resumes, submission of a newapplication for keeping hens permit accompanied by payment of the permit fees shall berequired.

E. The application for a permit for keeping hens shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable feeequal to the dog license fee.

Section 4. Section 115-33 of Chapter 115 of the Code of the City of Albany is herebyre-numbered as Section 115-35 and the new Section 115-33 shall read as follows:

Sec. 115-34. Unsanitary Facilities and revocation of permit.

A. All facilities for keeping hens shall be open at all times for inspection by the Director of Buildings and Codes. If an inspection reveals that any provision in this Chapter is violated, the

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Director of Buildings and Codes shall give written notice to the keeper of the hens, specifyingthe violation and requiring that the violation be corrected within 48 hours. If the violation is notcorrected within the period specified, the City Clerk may revoke the specified animal facility

permit.

B. The City Clerk may revoke any permit upon determining that the facility for keeping hens nolonger meets the conditions required for the issuance of a permit or that the permit was issuedupon fraudulent or untrue representations or that the person holding the permit has violated anyof the provisions.

Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect immediately.

Approved as to form, 2010

Corporation Counsel



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TO: John Marsolais, City Clerk

FROM: Dominick Calsolaro, Council Member

RE: Request for Common Council LegislationSupporting Memorandum

DATE: December 7, 2010

ORDINANCE NUMBER

TITLE : AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE VIII (FARM ANIMALS) OFCHAPTER 115 (ANIMALS) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY TOAUTHORIZE AND PERMIT THE KEEPING OF HENS

GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION: This ordinance amends Chapter 115 of the CityCode in order to allow the keeping of hens in the City of Albany. It also establishes a permitsystem and allows for revocation of the permit if the standards are not met.

NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW: Thekeeping of hens in the city supports a local, sustainable food system by providing an affordable,nutritious source of protein through fresh eggs. The keeping of hens also provides free, quality,nitrogen-rich fertilizer; chemical-free pest control; animal companionship and pleasure; weedcontrol; and less noise, mess and expense than dogs and cats. The purpose of this ordinance is to

provide support for standards for the keeping of domesticated hens and to propose specifiedregulations for the keeping of hens. It is intended to enable residents to keep a small number of female chickens o n a non-commercial basis while limiting the potential adverse impacts on thesurrounding neighborhood

FISCAL IMPACT: None.


Documents

Proposed Albany Chicken Law Amendment