Berkeley Heights Council Weighs Livestock Ordinance Amid Debate Over Backyard Chickens

The Berkeley Heights Town Council added discussion of a livestock ordinance to their most recent meeting. This agenda item had multiple residents, including children, show up to give their comments and perspectives on changes to the ordinance, specifically how it would affect the ability to keep chickens. As noted immediately before the public comments began, the ordinance is contradictory. The text of the full ordinance can be found here, with a link to the associated regulations: 

The contradiction is between items A, D, and F, with item A stating: “No person shall own or sustain livestock, fowl, wild or exotic animals within the township except as provided in Section 8.68.400. No person shall own or sustain animals prohibited under this chapter on his or her property.” Section D reads: “Pigeons, chickens, ducks, geese or other fowl shall not be kept for domestic use.” Section F again refers to livestock being allowed with a permit: “No horses, cows, goats, chickens, poultry, swine, livestock, fowl, wild or exotic animals, or other non-domesticated animal shall be kept within the corporate limits of the township, nor shall more than five dogs and/or cats be kept within the township, without first obtaining a permit from the board of health by presenting a statement with an application for the permit. If approved, the permit shall be issued by the board of health for one year for a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00).”

Town Council member Bill Machado spoke on the ordinance and some issues before opening comments to the public. According to Mr. Machado, there are issues with departments not wanting the responsibility for overseeing the permits and inspections that would be needed, should the Township revise the ordinance and allow residents to keep hens. (Roosters are prohibited.) This was one of the main objections listed. Mr. Machado said they would need to identify who would oversee the permits. Permit applications would need to address coop design, maintenance plans, waste management, and backyard scale. Health and sanitary standards would need to be maintained, with guidelines as to set-backs from property lines and scheduled inspections. There would need to be educational efforts made to train owners in disease prevention, proper sanitation, responsible flock management, and vaccination. Annual compliance review would need to be done by an entity or person not yet identified. Penalties would have to be established for non-compliance or repeated nuisance complaints. Mr. Machado stated, in answer to a semi-inaudible question about predators (foxes, coyotes), “Of course they’re here. They will be more prevalent,” and “It can be an overwhelming situation.” He expressed concern about zoning needing to be involved and said the Department of Health recommends not allowing chickens.

As the Animal Control Officer for Plainfield, Mr. Machado explained that Plainfield had recently done away with permissions to keep chickens, based on the potential for the spread of diseases such as salmonella, the attraction of rodents to the area, noise, odor, and the need for animal oversight and welfare inspections. Things were not looking good for current Berkeley Heights residents who keep chickens. Mayor Angie Devanney asked if there are other towns that allow this. Mr. Machado said “several” towns do, but reiterated that he doesn’t know who is doing compliance for those towns. A quick Google search turned up some surprises here. Among towns allowing residents to keep chickens are Montclair, Maplewood, Teaneck, Edison, and even Jersey City. Also, Cranford, Highland Park, Scotch Plains, and Clark, with towns further west not having many, or any, regulations. Glimmers of hope appeared as Council members Manny Couto and Susan Poage spoke about being in favor of allowing hens. Ms. Poage did say that any costs associated with this should be borne by the owner, as she would not favor having the general taxpayers responsible for any costs. Mr. Couto noted that relatives keep chickens and that without roosters, chickens are “great.” Upon Council member Margaret Shore-Illis saying that her sister-in-law kept hens and that there can be issues with bugs and vermin, Mr. Couto noted that it’s not difficult to clean the coop every few days to eliminate that problem, that excrement can be sold to garden centers, and that as for insects, they “don’t stand a chance. Chickens eat them.” Township Attorney Scott Salmon weighed in with an ordinance he helped draft for Teaneck, which he said has been “very successful,” and promised to share with the council. Mr. Machado did note that keeping chickens provided educational opportunities, improved nutrition, and community engagement. That community engagement became very apparent with the opening of comments to the public.

Leading off the public comments was resident Chris Johnson, a native of New Hampshire who has raised chickens for over a decade. Mr. Johnson told Council members that he has a motion sensor camera in his coop and that he has not observed a single rodent. He stated that despite having chickens that are free-range, he has not had a single loss due to predation. Mr. Johnson countered the argument over spread of disease, saying that there is minimal risk if you follow very simple measures such as washing hands after handling animals or cleaning coops, and not coming inside your residence wearing the same shoes in which you had been cleaning. He commented on Berkeley Heights Township being known for environmental stewardship, wellness, and education, and told the council how, when moving from New Hampshire, his family had been drawn to the Berkeley Heights slogan “Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow.” Mr. Johnson relayed how he sought buy-in from his neighbors before moving the coop to town. He told of how his family has made efforts to avoid products from factory farms, citing ethical and moral issues around factory mistreatment of animals. He said the chickens had demolished the tick population in his yard, helped with composting, and taught his children lessons in responsibility. In addition, he said, chickens fit right in with the town’s initiatives of increasing wellness and health, and reducing screen time for youth. He also noted that September is National Chicken Month. On a humorous, yet serious, note, he mentioned that chickens are safer than dogs, as no matter how hard he looked, he was unable to find a single instance of an attacking chicken killing a human being. As for noise, he noted that his hens are very quiet and that the only way one would know they were there would be if one trespassed with a camera over a fence—which may or may not have happened. In closing, he stated that his family wants to work with the Township and would offer their help.

Mr. Johnson’s wife Karen, an eighth-generation Vermonter whose family operated beef and dairy farms, gave a heartfelt speech about treating the animals we rely on to sustain us as gifts, not commodities to be “used and abused.” As someone with experience and knowledge keeping chickens, she volunteered to help with inspections. Up next, the Johnson children spoke about their family’s chickens, telling of how the chickens provide social engagement with the community as friends come over to help with the hens. Their daughter mentioned that she can hear the train from her bedroom, but asked the Council, “Do you know what I can’t hear? The chickens.” Five neighborhood children were in attendance and spoke about their desire to see the Township decide in favor. Adult neighbors who came to speak in support reported that they had not seen any increase in predators, rodents, or insects. They told Council members that there are no issues with noise or odor. Two residents who are not neighbors also spoke in favor of an ordinance allowing chickens: one who has kept chickens before and reiterated that there are no downsides when properly done; the other resident said a ban would be “a step backward” and that chickens eat the ticks and mosquitoes that are responsible for diseases spreading each year, while at the same time reducing the need for pesticides and sprays. He noted that we, as a town, don’t currently have a ban, we have residents with chickens, and that there have not been issues. He noted that residents are in a unique position to be fighting to keep a right we currently have.

This portion of the meeting ended with the majority of the Council seemingly in support of allowing residents to keep chickens but expressing that we need “guardrails.” The Town Council and Mayor will look at Mr. Salmon’s ordinance for Teaneck and at other towns that allow chickens, and will revisit this issue.

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