The Board of Selectmen are trying to solve a neighborhood dispute over backyard chickens.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Why did the chicken cross property lines? To use the neighbor's pool.

 

But, if it does it again, the owners are subject to a $10 fine. 

 

Town officials are trying to solve a neighborly dispute involving a Narragansett Avenue woman, who is raising upward of 80 fowl, mostly chickens and ducks.

 

The animals have led neighbors to complain about the odor and noise. One neighbor even filed a trespass order with the police in hopes to keep the chickens and ducks off their property. Violations carry a $10 fine.

 

"The officers have been over there at least two or three times," Police Chief Timothy Sorrell told the Board of Selectmen on Monday night. "They made note of a very foul odor from the chickens and ducks."

 

However, Sorrell says there is little the police can do to solve this neighborhood crisis. The owner of the fowl, Karen Zaks, isn't breaking any laws. The town's bylaws do not have any restrictions on backyard fowl.

 

"We looked at it from a couple different angles," Town Administrator Paul Sieloff said. "This has been around for a little while and it has just grown in scope and is now affecting neighbors."

 

The administrator said Zaks started off raising a small flock but as the summer wore on, the number of birds grew along with neighbors' complaints. 

 

Sieloff said he spoke with the town's attorney who advised him that none of the zoning bylaws restrict the owning or numbers of chickens or ducks. The Board of Health visited and found no obnoxious odors and no public health hazards. The Conservation Commission was recently brought in to see if there were concerns with waste flowing into Pontoosuc Lake.

 

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was even called in. But its representatives found no concerns with the treatment of the animals. They provided the owner with recommendations on how to alleviate some of the issues concerning neighbors.

 

"The animals are fine; they are healthy," Sieloff said.

 

However, town officials still say there number of fowl in the residential neighborhood is creating a nuisance — particularly in wet weather when the odors kick up.

 

The Board of Selectmen are now looking to work with the Planning Board to craft a new bylaw to restrict the number of fowl being raised on residential land. That will have to go to a vote before town meeting, either at the annual or a special one.

 

Lanesborough is just the most recently municipality to tackle the issue. More and more people are producing their own food through the raising of chickens and, in 2012, both Pittsfield and Adams tackled the issue after similar complaints in their respective towns. Both required new bylaws.

 

"We don't have clearly written zoning," Board of Selectmen Chairman John Goerlach said.

 

This isn't the only animal complaint to face the Board of Selectmen in recent months. Earlier in the year, the board considered crafting laws on horses — such as requirements for clean up and that when people are riding multiple horses on public roads they ride single file. Ultimately, the board never acted on that.

 

Planning Board member Ronald Tinkham said earlier this month that his board had fielded complaints of somebody raising rabbits for food on a small residential lot. 

 

Crafting the new bylaw will require public hearings and meetings before going to a vote.