MATAWAN COUNCIL DISCUSSES CHANGES TO THE CHICKEN ORDINANCE

By Councilman Brian Livesey

On the April 4th meeting of the Matawan Borough Council, the discussion was about chickens. Brought to the floor as a workshop item, the goal was to receive input from the public and other members of Council to potential changes to the existing ordinance. Matawan’s current ordinance dates back to 1971 and outlaws the ownership of chickens on private property. Many residents over the past several years have a requested a change to the existing ordinance. The discussion included allowing ownership of hens, roosters would be prohibited. The number of allowable hens would be based off of property square footage allowing 1 hen per 1000 square feet up to nine hens total. The potential ordinance would include proper shelter, care, and sanitization of the coup. The potential ordinance would also require 7 foot back yard setbacks from the property line for chicken coups. The potential ordinance was also reviewed by Matawan’s Animal Advisory Commission and the Environmental Commission. With a few minor changes both commissions were happy with the changes. The next step is to draft the ordinance and introduce it at a Council meeting.