City of Oneonta, NY General Provisions

No person shall breed, raise, harbor or maintain any bees, poultry, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or any other fowl, any swine, pigs, horses, cows, mules, goats or any other animals or reptiles except domesticated pets within the City unless specifically authorized in any other provision of the Code of the City of Oneonta.

(2)

Further prohibited will be any animal that is vicious, dangerous, obnoxious, objectionable or offensive or that has, in the absence of intentional provocation, repeatedly chased, menaced, attacked or inflicted bodily injury to a person or domestic animal, excluding birds, rodents and reptiles.

Chickens. Chickens may be kept and maintained under the following circumstances:

(1)

Permit required. A permit issued by the City of Oneonta in compliance with Subsection D of this section.

(2)

Number. No more than six hens shall be allowed for each taxable parcel, whether single-family or a multiple dwelling. If chickens are kept at a rental property, the owner of the chickens must maintain a current written authorization for the keeping of chickens on the property signed by the property owner or authorized agent.

(3)

Setbacks. Coops or cages housing chickens must be at least 25 feet from any door or window of any dwelling other than the owner's dwelling. Coops and cages shall be located at least six feet from both the rear and side yard lot lines. Coops and cages shall not be located in the front yard.

Key
Setback from windows and doors located on adjacent properties	25-foot minimum	A
Setback from side and rear lot lines	6-foot minimum	B

Figure 1. Nesting Box with Bedding.

Figure 2. Chicken Roosts.

Figure 3. Chicken Watering Can.

(4)

Coop. Hens shall be provided with a covered, predator-proof coop or cages that are well ventilated and designed to be easily accessed for cleaning. The coop shall allow at least two square feet per hen. A nest box must be provided for every three birds. The nest box must be located in a dark and secluded area, be weatherproof, be dry with friable nesting material, provide ventilation, and allow the bird to perch and alight.

(5)

Open space. Hens shall have access to an outdoor enclosure that is adequately fenced to contain the birds on the property and to prevent predators from access to the birds. Outdoor enclosures shall be a minimum of four square feet per hen. The enclosure area must be well drained and clean at all times, offer access to living vegetation, be resistant to erosion by activities of the birds, and provide access to water, shelter, and feeding areas.

(6)

Light. The birds must not be subjected to dim or continuous lighting or kept in permanent darkness. In the daytime, the birds must be able to see each other, their food and water sources, as well as their surroundings clearly. Use of artificial light is permitted as long as it does not exceed a maximum day-length of 16 hours and is distributed evenly.

(7)

Sanitation. The coop and outdoor enclosure must be kept in a sanitary condition and free from offensive odors. The coop and outdoor enclosure must be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent the accumulation of waste. Bedding must be kept in a dry, mold-free, friable condition, and replenished as necessary. Bedding from timber-based products sourced from chemically-treated wood is not permitted.

(8)

Chickens must be kept in coops from dusk to dawn.

(9)

Slaughtering. Outdoor slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.

(10)

Roosters. It is unlawful for any person to keep roosters in the City of Oneonta.


Figure 4. DIY Chicken Feeder.	Figure 5. Chicken Enclosure.



Figure 6. Examples of Chicken Coops and Enclosures.

Bees. Bees may be kept and maintained under the following circumstances:

(1)

Permit required. A permit issued by the City of Oneonta in compliance with this chapter.

(2)

Colony densities. It shall be unlawful to keep more than the following number of colonies on any tract within the city, based upon the size or configuration of the tract on which the apiary is situated:

(a)

One-quarter acre or less tract size: two colonies.

(b)

More than 1/4 acre but less than 1/2 acre tract size: four colonies.

(c)

More than 1/2 acre but less than one-acre tract size: six colonies.

(d)

One acre or larger tract size: eight colonies.

(3)

If bees are kept at a rental property, the beekeeper must maintain a current written authorization for the keeping of bees on the property signed by the property owner or authorized agent.

(4)

Hive. All honeybee colonies must be kept in structures designed for the purpose of keeping bees and shall be of a design commonly used for the housing and keeping of bees. Hives shall not exceed 20 cubic feet in volume.


	Figure 7. Examples of Common Hive Types.

(5)

Location of hives must comply with the following criteria:

(a)

Hives shall not be located within 10 feet of any property line.

(b)

Hives shall not be located within a front yard.

(c)

Hives shall not be located within 50 feet of a preexisting swimming pool or a preexisting kenneled animal.

(d)

Hives are not permitted within 10 feet of any adjacent buildings.

(e)

To the extent possible, hive entrances shall face away from the closest neighboring property and in such a direction that the bees fly across the beekeeper's property at sufficient distance to gain a height of at least the six feet at the property line.

Key
Distance from property line	10-foot minimum	A
Distance from adjacent structures	10-foot minimum	B
Swimming pool/kenneled animal	50-foot minimum	C

Figure 8. Fence Style Flyway Barrier.

(6)

Flyway barrier. When an apiary is located within 25 feet of a lot line, a flyway barrier of a minimum of six feet in height is required, located within five feet of the apiary, and extending at least two feet on either side of the apiary. The flyway barrier must be made of a fence, hedge or dense vegetation to effectively prompt bees to fly at an elevation at least six feet above ground level. A flyway barrier shall not be required where neighboring parcels are undeveloped land.

Key
Flyway barrier required	Hive less than 25 feet from property line	A
Flyway barrier height	6-foot minimum	B
Distance from hive	5-foot maximum	C
Distance extended past hive	2-foot minimum	D

Figure 9. Bees Require Ready Access to Water.

(7)

Water required. A convenient on-site source of fresh water must be readily available to bee colonies at all time.

Figure 10. Frame With Comb Being Removed from a Hive.

(8)

No bee comb or other materials may be left exposed on the property. Upon their removal from the hive, all materials must promptly be disposed of in a sealed container or placed within a bee-proof enclosure.

(9)

All colonies must be maintained with queens selected from stock bred for gentleness and nonswarming characteristics. In any instance in which a colony exhibits unusual aggressive characteristics by stinging or attempting to sting without due provocation or exhibits an unusual disposition toward swarming, the beekeeper must promptly re-queen the colony with another queen.

A biennial permit for the keeping of bees or chickens is required, which shall be issued by the City Clerk's office, and which shall thereafter be filed and maintained in the Code Enforcement Office. The fee for such permit shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Common Council.

(1)

The application for a permit must contain the following:

(a)

The name, working phone number, and address of the applicant.

(b)

Whether the property is rented or owner occupied; if rented, a copy of a letter from the property owner consenting to the issuance of a permit to keep chickens or bees.

(c)

Consent from the applicant for the inspection of the outdoor premises of the property at reasonable times by the City or its agent to confirm compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(d)

Acknowledgement of the receipt of an information packet from the City which includes a copy of this statute, together with information regarding the proper maintenance and handling of domestic chickens or bees in a residential environment.

The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to inspect, or cause to be inspected, annually any property to which a beekeeping or chicken permit was issued to assure compliance with this Code. Any officer or employee of the Code Enforcement Office, upon the showing of proper credentials and in the discharge of his duties, may enter upon any premises at any reasonable hour, and no person shall interfere with or prevent such entry.

"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds."

— Thomas Jefferson

§ 68-2 Animals at large.

No person owning, or having in charge, horses, cattle, sheep, swine, fowl, domestic farm or wild animals held in captivity shall permit the running at large of the same within the City.

§ 68-3 Duty of owner to restrict.

The owner of any domestic farm animal or wild animal held in captivity shall so restrict its running at large as to prevent such animal from causing injury or damage to the property of any other person.

§ 68-4 Molesting or harming birds or animal life.

No person shall harm or in any way molest any of the domestic or wild birds or animals in the City, except duly authorized officers of the City, a designated Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a Humane Society, the Department of Environmental Conservation or the duly trained and authorized agents of the aforementioned. Use of any traps which kill or maim any protected animals, by any person other than the aforementioned trained and authorized persons, or any practices which cause any undue or prolonged suffering to any animal, shall be considered a violation of this section.

§ 68-5 Hitching animals to trees.

It shall be unlawful for any person to fasten, tie or hitch any animal to any shade or ornamental tree or to fasten or hitch any animal so near such shade or ornamental tree, within the public domain, as will permit such animal to injure, deface or mar any such tree.

§ 68-6 Feeding nuisance animal.

No person shall feed a nuisance animal as determined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Law § 11-0523.

§ 68-6.1 Penalties for offenses.

A violation of this article shall be punishable as prescribed in § 1-18 of this Code.