SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — Residents in Spring Hill will be able to keep more chickens on their properties.

The change comes as the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Monday night to pass a new ordinance related to the keeping of backyard hens.

At Monday's meeting, the board approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 25-18, which permits residents to keep more chickens on their property if they meet certain requirements.

The revised ordinance allows for four hens for the first 10,000 square feet of property, plus one addition hen per each 5,000 square feet of lot area above 10,000.

Previously, the city codes only permitted four hens per household.

The new ordinance also defines coops and pens as they pertain to keeping backyard hens and establishes standards for each.

Additionally, the new ordinance requires the enclosures be constructed at least 25 feet away from rear and side property lines. Enclosures are not permitted to be constructed between the front of homes and the streets, per the ordinance.

Other requirements in the new ordinance include feed storage container requirements and prohibitions on hens running at large, roosters, or the slaughtering of the hens.

Not all aldermen were in favor of the proposal, with Vice Mayor Trent Linville expressing concerns about enforcement of previous standards.

During the meeting, he said he wasn't against chickens but he didn't feel comfortable adding more rules when there were already enforcement issues in the city.

"One of the things this board is asked to do is allocate resources in the city," Linville said. "I've heard concerns about enforcement of current codes, and this change would require more, not less, planning and codes enforcement than we currently have, and the impact of the code being unenforced is higher. We have a lot of needs in the city of Spring Hill. I don't currently see us allocating additional resources towards this, so because of that, I'll be voting against this ordinance."

Ward 1 Alderman John Canepari concurred with Linville's sentiments, saying he also felt adding more responsibilities to inspection staff was not something he could support.

"Until we get the current ordinance monitored and regulated and enforced, I can't see us dedicating more time and resources to this very complicated ordinance," he said.

Ultimately, the ordinance passed with one final amendment on a 5-4 vote.

The final amendment removed a provision Alderman Vincent Fuqua felt was too confusing for staffers who would monitor the pens. Section E.2 stipulated enclosures with more than four hens must be constructed or placed "no less than 25 feet from any property line plus an addition 5 feet per hen."

Fuqua struck the section from the revised ordinance.

"I don't think that it accomplishes anything," he said during the meeting. "It may even convolute it."

Those voting in favor of the amended ordinance were Mayor Matt Fitterer and Aldermen Fuqua, Erinn Hartwell, Brent Murray, and Scott Wernert. Those opposed were Vice Mayor Linville and Aldermen Canepari, Jamiee Davis, and Alex Jimenez.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/spring-hill-allows-more-backyard-chickens-in-city-limits/