The Town of Sidney is scratching its way closer to a bylaw that would allow backyard hens in the community.
At the council meeting Monday (Feb. 12), council gave first, second, and third reading to the needed amendment.
“This will come back at a future meeting for consideration of adoption of the bylaw,” Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith said. “I think this is a step in the right direction.”
Sidney is currently the only municipality in the Capital Regional District that does not permit backyard hens.
“There’s a reason that we’re the last community to address this,” Coun. Richard Novek said. “I think I would be in favour of this if property sizes in Sidney were larger. Animosity will breed toward neighbours. I don’t think this is necessary in a community like Sidney.”
The proposed bylaw would allow up to five hens at a single-family dwelling. The hen owner would be required to complete an application process with the town and confirm they meet parameters around setbacks, enclosures and hen care. They would have to obtain a permit and reside on a parcel of land that is at least 550 square-metres.
The sale of eggs, manure and meat would not be allowed. The hen enclosure would have to be maintained, kept free from vermin and cleaned regularly.
“I think this is appropriate,” Coun. Steve Duck said. “I commend staff for making sure this is well-managed. Backyard chickens are more common in municipalities than we think. This is a welcome addition to Sidney.”
The town received a petition in 2018 with some 300 signatures in support of backyard hens, and McNeil-Smith said a resident brought a similar petition forth with 158 names on it in 2019.
“There are still a lot more people who are against this than for this,” Novek said.
Conflicts over the town’s small lot sizes, odours and the potential for backyard animals to attract rats were reasons cited by previous councils for prohibiting backyard hens.
“I think these are issues that can be dealt with,” Coun. Terri O’Keeffe said. “I think staff did a good job in talking about mitigating the issues in terms of setbacks and lot size and those sorts of things. “If we’re concerned about rats, we should not allow people to have fruit trees and ban backyard composting because that attracts rats.”