This chapter shall be called the "Urban Chicken Ordinance."
The Borough Council finds:
A.
There is a growing interest among Borough residents in local food
systems, greater self sufficiency by households, and non commercial
food production as an adjunct to residential dwellings.
B.
Small-scale chicken keeping can help reduce organic solid waste,
and complement home vegetable gardening by providing insect control
and composting and fertilizer.
C.
That evolving technologies and husbandry techniques can facilitate
the limited regulated keeping of chickens within urban areas.
D.
A large number of urban communities, including Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
Seattle, Washington, Ann Arbor Michigan, and State College, Pennsylvania
have made provisions for urban chickens.
E.
Providing for limited non commercial urban chicken keeping meets
the community development objective of keeping young families interested
in buying property and remaining within Borough limits.
F.
Unregulated chicken keeping in an urban setting could result in proliferation
of nuisances. Carefully regulated chicken keeping is an alternative
to prohibition.
The Borough is authorized to prohibit or regulate the keeping
of fowls and other livestock under the Corporate Powers granted by
Title 8 (Boroughs and Incorporated Towns) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, Article XII, § 1202(10).
