Council approved an ordinance concerning zoning codes related to bees, farmer’s markets, placement of trash receptacles, business district signage and digital billboards by a vote of 6 to 0.
Mayor Vicki Giambrone was not at the meeting.
The chicken codes were taken out of the ordinance at the urging of Council Members Brian Jarvis and Zach Upton, who voiced reservations about allowing chickens in neighborhoods.
Opponents have questioned the cleanliness of chickens and whether allowing them in neighborhoods would open the door for the keeping of other farm animals.
The chicken-related codes were separated from the ordinance by a vote of 4 to 2 with Council Members Scott Hadley and Debborah Wallace voting in favor of keeping the original ordinance intact.
Before the votes, Hadley, a supporter of residential chickens, said he had been under the impression that everyone was in agreement concerning the chicken codes and other matters the ordinance addresses.
Council’s move was similar to a vote earlier this year by the Beavercreek Planning Commission.
It too separated the bee and chicken issues — voting 5 to 0 in support of allowing bees and 3 to 2 against allowing chickens.
City staff began researching beekeeping and municipal chicken rearing issues after receiving inquires from residents interested in urban farming.
Several area cities now allow beekeeping.
If the chicken codes had been left in the ordinance, Beavercreek would have been the only city in the region to allow chickens in neighborhoods.
Cleveland, New York and Seattle are among the cities that have passed regulations that allow chickens as part of the food sustainability movement.
Petrak suspected the chicken issue would appear again in Beavercreek, saying those interested in green issues would want the issue reexamined.
Bees were allowed in residential neighborhoods when the city was incorporated in 1980. They were restricted to agricultural areas following the city’s 2009 comprehensive review of zoning codes. The new provision was drafted earlier this year with input from local beekeepers. It allows up to four beehives to be kept on lots between 7,500 and 15,000 square feet large.
In a separate action, the council moved to a second and third reading of an ordinance that would rezone 12 acres at 893 North Fairfield Road from residential to agricultural at the request of Dr. Sehbi Simran Kaur, a city resident. Kaur and his associates want to use the land for natural and sustainable gardening.
About the Author
