Layton council to consider chickens

LAYTON — The Layton Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the Layton City Council allow chickens in some of the city's residential neighborhoods.

The 5-1 vote is only a recommendation, because the City Council has final approval over ordinances.

If approved by the City Council at a later date, the ordinance would allow homeowners in certain residential zones to keep up to six hens on lots of at least 6,000 square feet.

Hens would have to be kept in pens at least 5 feet from any property line. Pens could be no more than 120 square feet and no taller than 7 feet. Roosters would not be allowed.

Nannette Larsen, a Layton planning technician who worked on the ordinance, said residents who live in the city's agricultural or residential suburban zones may keep chickens with certain restrictions.

Planning Commissioner Gerald Gilbert, who voted against the recommendation, said he doesn't think chickens belong in residential zones because there are already zones in the city that allow chickens.

"I think it's intrusive to the neighbors," Gilbert said. "They might have them next door and never know it. I hope that's the case."

Larsen said Farmington and Syracuse allow chickens in residential zones, and so does West Bountiful with some conditions.

Earlier this year, city councils in Clearfield and Sunset declined to allow chickens in residential zones.

e-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com

TWITTER: desnewsdavis