A proposal to ban the keeping of roosters and limit the number of chickens to six per single-family residence in Mandeville was voted down by the City Council in front of a standing-room-only crowd on April 11.
After a long discussion, the council voted unanimously against an ordinance that sought to tighten regulations on the keeping of chickens and other fowl.
The ordinance was introduced by Councilman at large Rick Danielson, who said some residents have lodged complaints about chickens roaming in neighborhoods and roosters waking people up in the early morning hours.
Danielson stressed from the start that the ordinance was offered in an effort to bring the issue up for discussion and “find a reasonable solution,” and he noted getting a lot of feedback since the matter surfaced.
Opponents at the meeting lobbed a barrage of complaints against the proposal, many saying that the city already has nuisance ordinances on the books to address the fowl concerns. Others questioned how the proposed regulations would be enforced.
“If you put a law in place, who’s going to police that?” asked Mandeville resident Sara Wood. “The chicken police? How’s that going to work?”
Others said they believed the complaints were overblown.
Council Chair Jason Zuckerman also signaled his disapproval of the proposed ordinance, calling it "the wrong approach."
In addition to banning roosters and limiting the number of chickens, the proposed ordinance would have required that all fowl be kept in enclosed, fenced areas "sufficient to contain the fowl and prevent them from roaming onto neighboring properties or public spaces.”
It also bans coops and cages in residential front yards.
After more than an hour of public discussion, the council first voted on a motion by Danielson to table the ordinance until more information could be gathered in hopes of a revision. That motion failed, setting up a vote to kill the ordinance outright. And before it was taken, council member Jill McGuire, representing the Old Mandeville area where the issue surfaced, said she favored delving into existing nuisance laws to address the complaints.