Spanish Fork modifies chicken ordinance

SPANISH FORK — After the wife of a former city councilman took to task Spanish Fork's new ordinance allowing chickens, city leaders agreed to revamp the rules one more time.

"When we get through with this thing tonight, I don't want to hear about chickens again," Mayor G. Wayne Andersen said prior to hearing from Sarah Wadsworth, wife of former Councilman Chris Wadsworth.

The Wadsworths bought six chickens shortly after the council approved the ordinance a couple of months ago. In the process, they discovered the ordinance rules were impractical, Sarah Wadsworth said.

Animal control officer Mark Byers said he has received several complaints, mostly having to do with where residents place coops in their yard, the number of chickens they own and how they keep them penned in and safe from predators.

A $5 fee imposed last week is too little to deal with the problems, Byers said. With his urging, the council agreed to raise the fee to $15.

Residents also will be allowed to treat chickens like pets, letting them use the entire backyard for chickens, rather than a pen. In addition, the coop can now be set next to a fence.

— Rodger L. Hardy