An ordinance allowing hens to be raised in residential areas failed to hatch when Ordinance Committee members allowed the measure to die in committee.
The committee made no recommendation Monday, which prevents it from being placed on the council agenda. A council member could ask for the ordinance to be placed on the agenda, but those attending the committee meeting said they wouldn’t.
At A Glance
Animals And Fowl In City Limits
Springdale Municipal Code
Sec. 14-5. — Control, protection of animals.
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(2) Permit or allow any fowl within the corporate limits of the city, except on property of the owner of the fowl located in an agricultural (A-1) zone. However, no fowl shall be permitted in a platted subdivision, even if the platted subdivision is zoned A-1.
Exception: This provision is not intended to apply to the ducks in Murphy Park, nor to indoor birds kept as pets, such as parakeets, nor to the lawful transportation of fowl through the corporate limits of the city.
Source: City Of Springdale
Aldermen not at the meeting said they wouldn’t take that step either.
“If it can’t get out of the committee, I don’t see any reason to put it on the agenda,” said Bobby Stout, an alderman who was absent from the meeting.
Tiffany Selvey, a city resident, asked the council if it would change the regulations. The ordinance would have allowed people living in a residential zone to keep up to four hens. Roosters wouldn’t have been allowed.
Selvey, in her proposal, said the chickens would give her a few eggs, take care of table scraps and create fertilizer for her garden with their manure.
Chickens are only allowed in agricultural zones now, according to the city code. Jim Reed, an alderman, said he lives in an agricultural zone and that is where chickens belong.
Selvey did not attend the committee meeting. Her proposal was tabled twice at August meetings for more research.
Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville allow residents to keep four hens in residential areas, according to officials in each city. No roosters are allowed. Each city reported receiving few complaints.
In Springdale, residents spoke against the ordinance.
Sharon Ferguson said chickens didn’t belong in a city.
“They will bring vermin to residences,” Ferguson said. “What will be done with the droppings? Everyone here knows what a smell that can create.”
The chickens would hurt the value of surrounding homes, Judy Pennington said.
“I certainly would not have bought the house I live in, if there had been chickens next door,” Pennington said.