Council Balks at Proposal to Allow Backyard Chicken Flocks Within St. Cloud City Limits

(KNSI) — On Monday night, St. Cloud City Council members balked at a proposal to allow backyard chickens within city limits.

Three people spoke in favor of the idea at a public hearing. Afterward, the panel voted 5-1 to reject the ordinance, which would have allowed property owners to keep up to four hens on a single-family lot at least 6,000 square feet in size.

Council President Jeff Goerger explained to KNSI News there were several reasons for his no vote, but the biggest concern was public health. “I think the bird flu is a real thing. It’s now been transmitted to cows [and] it’s been transmitted to humans.”

Council Member Karen Larson was concerned a stipulation to get neighbors’ permission ahead of time should be part of the deal. Goerger agreed. “I think that the things that were said about the effect on neighbors, not just chicken owners, was important to me too. I’m an advocate for the neighborhood, not so much for the right of one guy to do something and without concern for who it bothers.”

Other council members felt the city has enough trouble enforcing the rules already on the books and thought the new change would be too burdensome for the city to regulate.

Gorger wouldn’t be surprised if the city allowed backyard chickens in the future, but he felt this wasn’t the right time.

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