At their February 11, 2021 work session, the City Council addressed the city’s code as it relates to small domestic animals and specifically, chickens. The discussion was prompted by residents who advocate for increasing the number of chickens from three to eight or more per single-family residence.
Last night’s discussion was intended to bring forward key issues and concerns. Primary reasons for the proposed increase are to help produce more eggs to share with the community, help flocks more successfully evade predators, and to help flocks recover from predatory losses. Key concerns include lot sizes and setbacks from neighboring properties, public health risks like rodents, waste disposal, noise, odor, and containing the chickens within the back yard as defined in the city code.
The City Council would like input from Mountlake Terrace residents and businesses on this issue as it relates to the “small domestic animals” section of the Mountlake Terrace Municipal Code (MTMC) Chapter 6.30.050.
To provide input on this issue, please email the City Council at cityhall@mltwa.gov. The Council is interested in hearing a broad perspective of those who own chickens, those who live near them, and anyone else who would like to provide input. The Council’s next discussion on this issue is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom teleconference.
###