8755-14 Establish Pilot Program for Henkeeping

Home Browse Search

Referred to the Housing Committee July 21, 2014. Substitute recommended for adoption October 27, 2014. Please substitute for the original. RESOLUTION NO. 8755 -14 BY: ' Anden9drr;'.:�u],16dk oM2>x,Cip�I;Qary. A RESOLUTION establishing a pilot program to permit the keeping of hens in the City of Lakewood under certain conditions. WHEREAS, it is necessary and desirable to establish a pilot program in order to study the keeping of hens in the City of Lakewood under certain conditions, with the expectation that ap- propriate regulations be at some point permanently codified; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Constitution of the State of Ohio and the Ohio Revised Code, municipalities have the power of local self - government, and the power to enact laws that are for the health, safety, welfare; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO: Section 1. Notwithstanding any ordinance or municipal regulation to the contrary, the City hereby establishes a pilot project for the keeping of female chickens ( "hens," for the pur- poses of this legislation), under the following conditions: A. Zoning Districts. Hens may be kept only in an R1 Residential Single - Family or R2 Residential Single- and Two - Family District. B. Application and Permit. Before the keeping of hens may occur, a permit shall have first been obtained by the Director of Public Safety. The permit application must be accompa- nied by a $25.00 fee paid to the City and include the following information: the name, phone number, home address and email address of the applicant; the size and location of the subject property; a proposal containing the number of hens the applicant seeks to keep on the property; a description of any coop or outdoor enclosure providing precise dimensions and the precise loca- tion of these enclosures in relation to property lines and adjacent properties, with specifications and drawings if available; a certificate or letter showing that the applicant has taken a class in keeping backyard hens from the Ohio State University Extension or other source approved by the Director of Public Safety; the permission of the property owner for the applicant to keep hens, if the applicant is not the owner; and the applicant's permission for any city official to enter the lot to determine whether the permit should be granted and the use maintained. C. Inspection. Within 60 days of the Director of Public Safety or his or her designee re- ceiving the initial application, he or she shall cause the lot to be inspected. The person(s) in- specting the premises shall determine if the lot dimensions in the application are accurate; deter- mine the feasibility of the applicant meeting the remaining criteria in this resolution; note wheth- er any extraordinary circumstances exist, such as outstanding property citations or unsanitary property conditions, that would militate against the granting of the application; and within 30 days of the inspection determine whether the permit should be issued. D. Personal Use; Limitations. Hens may be kept only for personal use by persons resid- ing in the principal structure on the lot on which the hens are kept. No hens may be kept on a lot