Garner Approves Zoning Change to permit Backyard Hens

Mayor Protem Ken Marshburn expressed similar concerns voiced by councilman Behringer admitting that his experience with backyard hens had been limited to visiting his daughter in Colorado and being told that her neighbor had some hens. Marshburn was the only member of the council who expressed hesitation for voting for the change citing that he had several members of the community voice their concerns over this proposal.

Mayor Ronnie Williams, although fairly benign in most of his commentary noted that not a single member of the community showed up to express opposition yet they had received the same notices those who showed up in support of the amendment had received.

In the end, the town council of Garner unanimously approved the ordinance with only a few minor changes. Although this is not the entire ordinance, these are the highlights:

Chickens (not hens) will be permitted under the following circumstances:

• No more than 8 chickens
• Roosters are not permitted
• The coop and/or run many not be larger than 300 sq feet
• The coop and/or run must be set back a minimum of 10 feet from a neighboring property and it be located behind the residence according to definitions in the ordinance.
• A permit issued by the town will be required
• For open runs the minimum height will be 4 foot not to exceed 7 foot. For closed runs 2 foot is the minimum height.