CENTERBURG — Centerburg Councilman Daniel Hardwick exchanged his councilman’s hat for a citizen’s hat on Monday and advocated that the village allow residents to have chickens.
Chickens are currently classified as a nuisance.
“I would like to say that chickens are only a nuisance in the same way that dogs, cats, sheds, and fences are a nuisance,” the East Main Street resident said. “Centerburg has elected to take it upon themselves to regulate these things, but we still do allow them, and for a good reason.
“The residents of Centerburg have a right that is self-evident to own a dog, build a shed, construct a fence, or improve their property. Any of these activities can be done in such a way that negatively affects the neighbors.”
Hardwick said that his chicken coop is aesthetically pleasing, clean, and orderly.
“Stick your nose inside the chicken coop, and all you will smell is pine shaving,” he said. “The hens have never escaped, and they’re working hard to fertilize the yard and kill off bugs and ticks.”
Hardwick said the village can regulate chickens as well as anything else. He noted other municipalities recognize that chickens can be raised right, including Worthington and Bexley in Franklin County.
In Knox County, Mount Vernon, Fredericktown, Danville, and Gambier allow up to five or six chickens but no roosters.
“The value of raising our own food cannot be overstated,” Hardwick said, adding that raising chickens is not merely to “save a few bucks on a dozen eggs.”
“We wish to take the raising of our food back into our own hands. We just want the freedom to do so,” Hardwick said.
Raising chickens: an issue of passion
Village solicitor Kyle Strough said raising chickens is “always an issue of passion,” and every community handles it differently. Some communities regulate chickens based on quantity, while others regulate them based on the size of the yard or the zoning district.
Additionally, the village can stipulate the size of the chicken coop and ban free-ranging and roosters.
Mayor Greg Sands said the zoning commission voted 5-0 to ban chickens within the village.
“I thought that was a very strong statement of the members of that committee,” Sands said.
He suggested council members should stand by the commission’s recommendation to ban chickens. However, he said Hardwick can present legislation allowing them.
Strough noted the council can change zoning without going through the commission.
“We simply ask to be treated the same as the dog owner, the shed owner, and the neighbor improving their property.”
daniel hardwick, speaking as a centerburg resident
Councilman Greg Meyer questioned who would enforce the regulation.
Village Administrator Teri Wise said if the ordinance falls under zoning, then village officials would enforce the regulations. If the council adopts it as a stand-alone piece, either Wise or the Knox County Sheriff’s Office would be responsible for enforcing it.
Councilwoman Ronda Seligman, who is also a zoning commission member, does not favor allowing chickens because it takes away her right to not to have chickens beside her.
“I moved to town. I don’t want to have chickens beside me,” she said. “A chicken is a farm animal. A dog and a cat are not.”
Responding to Seligman’s question about residents who currently have chickens, Sands said, “We will make an effort to enforce the code as it currently reads and first go from there.
“There have been notices sent out in the past, and there will continue to be notices sent.”
A self-evident right
Councilwoman Saundra Dove referenced an adjacent neighbor in the township whose chickens free-range into Dove’s yard. Additionally, she said her dogs bark at the chickens.
Hardwick pointed out that a resident can build a fence on a neighbor’s property, erect a shed illegally, or have a dog that spreads ticks and bites neighbors.
“We shouldn’t just get rid of one category because there might be a problem here and there with it. A lot of the things we legalize do have problems with them here and there,” he said.
Hardwick said people have self-evident rights to do certain things with their property.
“I think that having chickens that are contained and kept well is one of those self-evident rights,” he said.
Hardwick gave his recommendation to legal counsel, who will create legislation for the council’s August meeting.
