Any person wishing to keep chickens within the city limits of Winchester, Kansas shall file an application to do so with the City Clerk. Such application will then be reviewed by the City Council who will either grant or deny the permit. If a permit is granted, the cost of such permit shall be fifty dollars ($50.00). A permit shall allow the owner thereof to own no more than 5 chickens. Permits are non-transferable and shall not run with the land. Permits may only be granted to owners of property or to tenants of property who have written permission to keep chickens on the property such tenants are occupying. Such written permission shall be submitted to the City Clerk at the time application for a permit is made by a tenant. This permit fee shall be a onetime fee so long as the permit holder(s) continues to comply with the terms and requirements of this article. Failure to properly maintain sanitary conditions, failure to store or remove manure, or any other violation of the terms of this article will result in the revocation of the permit and the need to reapply and pay the permitting fee again.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e); Ord. 2021-07; Code 2022)
Only female chickens shall be allowed within the city, with no limitation on species.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Henhouses shall be provided for all chickens kept within the city and shall be designed to provide safe and healthy living conditions for the chickens while minimizing the adverse impacts to other residents. All henhouses shall be well maintained. All henhouse structures shall be enclosed on all sides and have a roof and doors. All henhouse access doors must be able to be shut and locked at night. Windows and vents must be covered with predator-proof and bird-proof wire containing less than one (1) inch openings.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Enclosed chicken pens shall be provided for all chickens kept within the city. Such pens must be made of sturdy wire fencing, aviary netting or solid roofing.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
All henhouses and chicken pens shall be kept clean, dry, odor-free and in a sanitary condition at all times. All henhouses and chicken pens shall also be constructed and repaired to prevent rats, mice or other rodents from being underneath or within such structures. All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chickens that are likely to attract or to become infested with or infected by rats, mice or other rodents shall be protected so as to prevent rats, mice or other rodents from gaining access to or coming into contact with them.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Provision must be made for the storage and removal of chicken manure. All stored manure shall be covered by a fully-enclosed structure with a roof or lid over the entire structure. All manure not properly stored and not used for composting or fertilizing on the premises shall be removed.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Chickens must be kept within a henhouse or a chicken pen at all times. No chickens may be slaughtered within the limits of the city.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
No henhouse or chicken pen shall be located closer than fifteen feet (15’) to any property line of any adjacent property. All henhouses and chicken pens must be located at least twenty feet (20’) from the nearest neighbor’s residence. All henhouses and chicken pens shall be located in the backyard of the residence at issue unless such henhouses or pens are located in areas zoned for agricultural use. “Backyard,” as used in this section, shall mean that area of a lot that is located between the back of a house and the rear property line.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
It shall be unlawful for any person to allow or permit a chicken or chickens of any kind to run or be at large at any time in the City. For the purposes of this section, the term “at large” shall be defined to include those times during which any chicken shall not be confined or kept in pens sufficiently strong or constructed to keep such chicken on the premises of their owner or keeper. Violation of this section shall result in a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75) for each separate incident.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
A permit to keep chickens within the City may be denied or revoked by the City Council where there is a risk to public health or safety or for any violation or failure to comply with any provisions of this Article.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Any person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity found by the City Council to be in violation of any provision of this article or any such person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity who has been denied a permit or had a permit revoked, shall be served a notice of such violation, denial or revocation. The notice shall be served on the owner or agent of the owner of the property at issue by restricted mail or by personal service, or if the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident of the city, then by mailing the notice by certified mail to the last known address of the owner.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
The notice shall state the condition(s) which is/are in violation of the provisions of this article. The notice shall also inform the person, corporation, partnership association or other entity that:
(a) He, she or it shall have 10 days from the date of serving the notice to abate the condition(s) in violation of the provisions of this article; or
(b) He, she or it has 10 days from the date of serving the notice to request a hearing before the governing body as provided by section 2-415;
(c) Failure to abate the condition(s) or to request a hearing within the time allowed may result in prosecution as provided in this article and/or abatement of the condition(s) by the city as provided by this article.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
Should the person, corporation, partnership association or other entity fail to comply with the notice to abate the conditions that are in violation of this Article or request a hearing, the City may file a complaint in the Municipal Court against such person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity and upon conviction of any violation of provisions of this Article, such person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, as appropriate, may be fined in an amount not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not to exceed 30 days or be both fined and imprisoned. Each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues after notice has been served shall constitute an additional or separate offense. If a permit is revoked for failure to comply with the terms of this Article, the property owner will not be allowed to apply for another permit for chickens for at least one (1) calendar year from the revocation of their permit. If a property owner has its permit revoked a second time for failure to comply with the terms of this Article and fails to cure that noncompliance, the permit will be revoked for at least a three (3) year period from the date of the second revocation.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
In addition to, or as an alternative to prosecution as provided in herein, the City Council may seek to remedy violations of this article in the following manner: If a person to whom a notice has been sent pursuant to section this article has neither alleviated the conditions causing the alleged violation nor requested a hearing before the governing body within the time periods specified herein, the City Attorney may present a resolution to the governing body for adoption, authorizing the City Council or other agents of the city to abate the conditions causing the violation at the end of 10 days after passage of the resolution. The resolution shall further provide that the costs incurred by the city shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the violating conditions were located as provided in this article. A copy of the resolution shall be served upon the person in violation in one of the following ways:
(a) Personal service upon the person in violation;
(b) Service by certified mail; postage prepaid, return receipt requested; or
(c) In the event the whereabouts of such person are unknown and the same cannot be ascertained in the exercise of reasonable diligence, an affidavit to that effect shall be made by the City Council and filed with the city clerk, and the serving of the resolution shall be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city newspaper and by posting a copy of the resolution on the premises where such conditions exist.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
If a hearing is requested within the 10 day period as provided in section 2-412, such request shall be made in writing to the governing body. Failure to make a timely request for a hearing shall constitute a waiver of the person’s right to contest the findings of the City Council before the governing body. The hearing shall be held by the governing body as soon as possible after filing of the request therefore, and the person shall be advised by the city of the time and place of the hearing at least five days in advance thereof. At any such hearing, the person may be represented by counsel, and the person and the city may introduce such witnesses and evidence as is deemed necessary and proper by the governing body. The hearing need not be conducted according to any formal rules of evidence. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the governing body shall record its determination of the matter by means of adopting a resolution and serving the resolution upon the person in the manner provided in section 2-214.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))
If the city abates any conditions in violation of this Article, the cost of abatement, including attorney’s fees, shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the violating conditions were located. The city clerk shall, at the time of certifying other taxes to the county clerk, certify the costs as provided in this article. The county clerk shall extend the same on the tax roll and it shall be collected by the county treasurer and paid to the city as other city taxes are collected and paid.
(Ord. 18-2-109(e))