Whiteland resident Shawn Butler holds a chicken at his home on Feb. 17. Butler was cited for violating town code in January for keeping chickens in his yard in Spring Hill.
Daily Journal File Photo
The vote to decide the fate of the Whiteland backyard chickens proposal was pushed back again.
The Whiteland Town Council decided on Tuesday to table considering an ordinance to modify the town code restricting backyard chicken ownership. They will now hear the proposal on June 13.
Members asked for a pause for a couple of reasons, one being they wanted to see amendments to the original ordinance. Carmen Young, acting town manager, said she made some changes in a staff report to the Whiteland Advisory Plan Commission. But those changes were not adopted into the presented ordinance because the plan commission gave the entire proposal an unfavorable recommendation on May 2.
The council also had fired the town manager that same night, and had an otherwise packed agenda. Council President Joe Sayler said he understood why waiting on the chicken discussion another month could be the best route in the moment.
“I can just say I know we have a ton of stuff on the agenda, and we have had some unpleasant things we have had to do tonight,” Sayler said.
A number of Whiteland residents packed the town hall on Tuesday for the hearing on the chicken ordinance, and most filed out after hearing of the delay.
This debate stemmed from a plea from resident Shawn Butler to allow him to keep his chickens. After owning them for a year, he was notified by the town in January that he is not allowed to have chickens. The town considers owning a small poultry flock a “nuisance” if it is within 200 feet or less from another person’s house, according to town code.
The proposed ordinance before the council would generally amend town code to allow residents to keep a small flock of hens on residential lots, with certain restrictions and a permit approval process.
The town has not taken further action against Butler’s code violation — which would be a fine of $500 a chicken — because the administration has been awaiting a decision on the ordinance change. The town will continue to not enforce the violation as the ordinance is still pending with the council, Saylor said.
With the unfavorable recommendation from the plan commission, the council has 90 days to take action on the proposed ordinance. They have different options to take when considering this proposal.
They can hold a vote on it as is, and vote it down, which would be in line with the unfavorable recommendation. Alternatively, they could ignore the recommendation and pass it into law anyway. Passing it into the town code would require two meetings to vote in June and July, said Stephen Watson, town attorney.
Council members could also make their own changes to the ordinance and send it back to the commission for consideration again.
