The hottest issue at North Battleford council Monday wasn’t public safety, or zoning, or underground utilities, or any of the usual topics.
Instead, it was a request to have two egg-laying chickens in the city limits that ruffled feathers.
It was probably inevitable a lengthy debate on the issue would come to North Battleford council eventually.
Urban farming, and the desire of some city residents to have that sort of activity take place in their own backyards on a limited scale, is an issue city councils and administrations across the country have increasingly had to deal with.
In this instance, the City of North Battleford had received correspondence from Terra Karp of North Battleford, who requested permission to keep two laying hens in her backyard.
Her request was to be able to adapt a small shed into a chicken coop at her Abbott Avenue location, as well as an enclosed pen. She pledged to provide signatures from neighbours stating their acknowledgement and agreement to letting this proposal proceed. However, no neighbourhood response to the letter was provided as part of the application.
While there have been animal requests at City Hall in North Battleford before, City Clerk Debbie Wohlberg confirmed there had been nothing before about chickens.
City administration made it clear they were less than thrilled with the idea of having chickens in a residential area of the city.
“There’s no other (Saskatchewan) cities that permit chickens inside the built-up areas of the city limits,” said City Manager Jim Puffalt.
But complicating matters is the Animal Control Bylaw provision on the subject, which, technically, allows urban hens in North Battleford.
“Our Animal Control Bylaw, which is something of an anomaly, allows that to happen within the city with council’s approval, and this is for domestic animals,” said Puffalt.
The provision in the bylaw states:
“No person shall keep possess or harbour any cattle, horses, chickens, pigs, hogs, asses, turkeys, mules, sheep or goats (all of which are hereinafter referred to as domestic animals), in any part of the city without first obtaining the written permission of council. Penalties for breach of this bylaw are $50 per animal.”
It is unclear why this provision is still included in North Battleford’s legislation while other Saskatchewan cities no longer allow it.
The city manager believed the only reason it is still in the bylaw is because there are still a number of pony pastures and areas within the city limits that are not built up at all.
"There may be acreage this could be suitable on,” Puffalt said.
However, he made clear he did not believe domestic animals should be kept in the inner city, citing the potential smell, noise and manure generated.
Puffalt pointed to his own experience, having grown up on a farm. He noted these animals were labour intensive and there are 30 pages of specifications and standards for the humane treatment of chickens and egg-laying hens alone.
“Just know, growing up on a farm, it is not the most pleasant thing in the world to have those types of animals inside the city limits,” Puffalt said.
“There’s noise, there’s smell, there’s all sorts of things that come along with them.”
He suggested council could still leave in place the possibility of applying to council for the non-built-up areas of the city.
But for those built-up areas, administration recommended amending the Animal Control Act to remove the provision, and turning down the application for keeping the two hens.
Discussion that followed on the issue was wide ranging. There was some sentiment expressed for allowing chickens within the city limits if neighbouring residents had no problems with it.
Councillor Ryan Bater was open to that idea if the surrounding neighbours were all OK with it, as long as the City licensed it.
Councillor Cathy Richardson had a similar reaction, noting some larger centres are allowing it outside Saskatchewan, pointing to a pilot project in Edmonton.
What Richardson was referring to is Edmonton’s Urban Hens Pilot Project. There, the city has agreed to issue 50 urban hen-keeping licences in an effort to study the potential issues and concerns associated with keeping urban hens.
According to the City of Edmonton website, the pilot is meant to ensure there are appropriate regulations, care and management of urban hens in that city. The results are to be reported in a year’s time.
Other communities have looked at the issue as well. Just this week, Kamloops council approved urban hens for that city.
While some on North Battleford council were open to the idea of urban chickens, others were even more concerned about other animals.
Councillor Greg Lightfoot worried that having hens in the city might attract pests like coyotes and skunks — animals that “go after chickens and eggs,” said Lightfoot.
In the end, council was left unconvinced by the application. They were unanimous in voting to deny the applicant’s request to keep two hens in her back yard.
But they were divided as to how to proceed. A motion to amend the Animal Control Bylaw provision ended up defeated when there was 3-3 tie on that vote.
Council agreed that administration should research the issue further and get more information.
Puffalt pledged a thorough examination of the issue, particularly when it came to defining what “domestic animals” are, which includes not only concerning chickens but other animals like turkeys, sheep and goats, and finding out what’s being permitted in other areas.
Bater suggested that if this is to be looked into further there has to be a conversation with someone who raises hens “who can speak to the smell and the noise and those kind of issues, because that’s pretty important.”
