Valdese to vote on chicken ordinance

VADLESE — Valdese town leaders will decide whether to allow neighbors to keep chickens in their yards, which is now against town ordinances.

“They're all really sweet,” chicken owner Kristina Mercer said. “They kind of act like cats."

Mercer's family has more than a half-dozen chickens in her back yard. They raise the birds in hopes of a living a more organic lifestyle. 

"We have an 11- and a 13-year-old and this has been a very good experience for them," Mercer said. "(It gives) them a little bit of a work ethic."
 
But not everyone likes the idea of chickens allowed inside the Valdese town limits.
 
"I think if chickens were running loose in the town, it would cause a problem with animals," Pam Garrison said. "(There would be) other animals chasing the chickens and stuff."
 
The Valdese Planning Board is recommending that town leaders allow residents to keep 10 chickens, but only if they're kept in a pen that's at least 100 feet from other homes. 
 
No roosters will be allowed because they create a noise disturbance.
 
The new ordinance would also require people to keep the pens clean and control the odor.

The pens would have to be in the back yard and 50 feet from the property line. 
 
"I think they ought to allow chickens in the back yard," Joe Cornette said. "I like chickens. They don't hurt anything."
 
Town leaders are expected to vote at their meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Monday.

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