Reform

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE IN AURORa

Hello urban hen supporters! I'm planning on bringing the case for urban hens to the Council's April 11th Study Session. The Study Session will be held in the Aurora Room at the Aurora Municipal Center (AMC) and the public's welcome to attend, though public input is generally not taken at a Study Session. Following the Study Session, the Council meeting will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. in the AMC's Council Chambers. During the early portion of the agenda, a "Public Invited to be Heard" section is scheduled where the public is invited to comment on any issue they desire and each person's given three minutes. You are more than welcome to attend and voice your support for urban hens during this time.

Below I've listed the major points of the proposed ordinance I'll be discussing at the April 11th Study Session. While I'd prefer not to have a permit fee attached to any related proposed ordinances, permit fees are the norm for household pets such as dogs and cats. I doubt any ordinance would be successful without having some form of permit fee since the standard's been set. However, I'm proposing the permit fee be a one time fee for the initial permit application versus a yearly permit fee.

1) Permit required

2) Hens must be provided with a covered, predator-resistant chicken house that is
      --located in the rear yard

      -- fenced by an opaque fence (no chain link)

     --be at least two square feet per chicken in size

     --properly ventilated and designed to be easily accessed, cleaned and maintained

     -- located adjacent to an enclosed area not less than six square feet in size to allow chickens outdoors while protecting them from predators

3) During daylight hours, the hens must have access to the coop and outdoor enclosure

4) Hens must be in the coop from dusk to dawn to protect from predators

5) Coops and enclosures shall be kept in a neat and sanitary condition at all times and cleaned regularly to prevent offensive odors

6) Neither the coop nor the enclosure may be located less than 15 ft from any house other than the hen owner without written permission from abutting property owners

7) If a parcel has more than one dwelling unit (i.e. condos, apartments, duplex, etc), all adult residents and owner(s) of the parcel must consent to allowing hens on the property

8) No slaughtering will be permitted

9) Failure to maintain premises in compliance with the above requirements shall be grounds for revocation of the permit.

10) All complaints alleging the existence of a violation shall be filed with the Director of Neighborhood Services

     -- if a violation's determined to exist, it shall be corrected within 30 days after notice or the permit may be revoked.

     -- the permittee will have the option to appeal a determination of violation in writing to the City Manager or designee. The appeal must be filed within 10 days of the notice.

11) No roosters will be permitted

Please feel free to provide your comments back to me regarding the major points of the ordinance. I'll be submitting the draft proposal to our legal department by Wednesday, so any input is requested by Tuesday evening.  If you have any additional comments/questions regarding the proposed ordinance, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks in advance for your support,

Melissa

Melissa E. Miller

Council Member, Aurora Ward I

memiller@auroragov.org

15151 E. Alameda Parkway, 80012
303-739-7502