Pittsfield Community Development Supports Chicken OrdinanceBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:22AM / Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Affordable chicken permitting is reaching its final stretch.
On Tuesday, the Community Development Board unanimously supported a zoning amendment to permit six fowl through a $25 license.
It takes the process out of the Zoning Board of Appeals' purview, which cost more than $500, and requires a license similar to that of a dog.
Resident Melissa Corbett has been working on this initiative with Councilor at Large Karen Kalinowsky for almost a year.
"The City Council, specifically the Ordinance and Rules committee has done a lot of work trying to find the best solution to the problem of cost for how much it costs to keep chickens in Pittsfield," Corbett said.
"Having it under the special permit through the Zoning Board of Appeals was very exorbitant just for six chickens so you would never recoup your costs, no pun intended."
She is thankful for the work that the council has done and hopes that the change will be supported given all of the work that went into it.
"It is definitely a great benefit to the community in a way that doesn't actually change much of the rules," Corbett added.
"The rules for keeping chickens that were already in place are going to be kept the same and were good rules, it's just going to reduce the cost significantly."
Kalinowsky reported that everything is in place with the attorney and that an affirmative vote will bring it to the council next week.
"Basically, we are just looking to get it out from under special permitting and make it more affordable for everybody in the city to own six chickens," she said.
A zoning amendment requires two public hearings. This was the first public hearing and the second will be at the council meeting.
No residents spoke against the change.
A question was raised about the six-chicken stipulation and Corbett commented that the number seems to be the standard urban recommendation.
"If you have more property in Pittsfield, if you have over three acres then you have different rules altogether," she explained.
"So this is for smaller properties which really in a healthy way wouldn't be able to keep more than six."
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