EDITED to reflect changed time estimate when Council will discuss chicken topic.
The Newport Beach City Council will discuss chickens at a Study Session meeting on Tuesday — but even if the Council ultimately decides to allow chickens as pets in the city, it’s unlikely that any homes in the Corona del Mar Flower Streets, including the home of the so-called Goldenrod Six, would be on lots large enough to meet potential guidelines, according to a staff report.
The chicken debate began in December, when a neighbor complained about six pet chickens that live on Goldenrod Avenue near the footbridge. The chickens, which have been nicknamed the Goldenrod Six, violate existing city codes that prohibit poultry and other livestock in most areas of the city. Animal Control officers gave the chickens’ owner, Michael Resk, two weeks to get rid of the animals, but public support of the birds led to a stay on any citation as well as the Council-ordered review of the city’s laws regarding livestock.
On Tuesday, the City Council will discuss a staff report that outlines current municipal code along. The report also presents pros and cons of allowing chickens as pets based on discussions with Animal Control police officers, as well as a review of other cities’ chicken regulations.
According to the staff report, a special zoning area of Santa Ana Heights permits chickens, and the city also has a residential-agriculture district designation that is part of the city’s Zoning Ordinance. The R-A regulations don’t allow more than two adult animals, and homes must be on lots that are at least 15,000 feet square.
If the City Council wanted to expand the R-A designation to include the entire city, the lot size requirement would automatically limit the number of qualifying homes to 1,230, the report states. A map included in the report shows that the Flower Street lots would not be big enough.
The report also states pros and cons of allowing residents to have chickens as pets. Chickens provide meat and eggs, the report states, and keeping them as pets for this reason is part of the “urban chicken” or “backyard chicken” trend that is connected to the organic and sustainable food movement. Chickens also can be domesticated and have a novelty factor, the report states.
The negatives include unwelcome clucking noise, flies attracted to eggs and the smell of the chickens’ “large amount of feces,” the risk of at-large or escaped poultry, the expense of permitting and inspections, the possibility that the chickens would attract predators like coyotes and skunks and the “remote possibility of salmonella or bird flu being generated,” the report states.
Although one neighbor filed a noise complaints and has posted videos online that demonstrate the noise the chickens make, many other residents say the chickens are harmless and add character to the neighborhood. There currently are two Goldenrod Six Facebook pages — one that supports the hens and has 479 fans and one that does not support them and has eight fans.
Corona del Mar Today has “liked” both pages.
Resk has told reporters that ongoing issues with his neighbor have him considering a move to Texas, and that he may give the chickens away. He did not respond to messages seeking information.
The Council Study Session will begin at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers at City Hall at 3300 Newport Blvd. The agenda states the chicken discussion could begin at 4:10 p.m. The public is welcome to attend and make comments.
To see the complete agenda, click here.
To read our earlier stories, click here, here and here.
Also at the Study Session, the Council will discuss a possible change in code enforcement penalties and fines. Currently, fines cost $100, $200 or $500 for violations of city code, such as a business violating a use permit by having outdoor dining or live entertainment.
“(M)any businesses accept citations as the ‘cost of doing business’ and continue operating in violation of the use permit,” the staff report states. “By increasing the penalties for such violations, the likely result is greater compliance and reduced enforcement costs.”
A proposed two-tier system would categorize violations, and fines for repeat violators could go as high as $3,000, the report states.
