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City considers new domestic fowl rules to address chicken, pigeon complaints

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As the price of a dozen eggs reached record highs in the United States due to the outbreak of avian flu, a fowl fight in Wilmington may soon bring changes to zoning ordinances as members of the city council wrestle with how to regulate domestic bird ownership within city limits.

The council is considering a new ordinance that would change the city’s rules on the conditions under which chickens and homing pigeons can be kept by residents. With ownership of backyard chickens steadily on the rise, city officials said changing the ordinance would help bring more residences into compliance.

During its next scheduled meeting Nov. 4, Wilmington City Council will consider an ordinance change that will reduce the size of land required for chickens to be kept within the city. It will also consider a zoning change that would ban ownership of homing pigeons. However, this zoning change proposal, coming at the request of council member Kevin O’Grady, would allow two city residents that currently own homing pigeons to keep them while prohibiting any expansion of pigeon ownership within the city.

Williane Carr, Wilmington’s chief code enforcement officer, said while there have been several complaints against chickens, there has only been one complaint levied against the owner of pigeons. This complaint was raised after the pigeon owner brought a complaint against a neighbor who owns chickens, Carr said.

“He called in on the pigeon guy and the pigeon guy called in on the chicken guy,” Carr said. “We wouldn’t have even known the guy had pigeons if we hadn’t gotten a complaint.”

As city enforcement officials looked into lot size requirements for chickens, the question of requirements for homing pigeons was also raised. While there is a limit of five chickens, any number of pigeons can be kept, as long as there is one square foot of space for each pigeon.

Carr said that the city often receives complaints about chickens being kept in residential neighborhoods, regardless of the lot size.

“Some people just do not want chickens in their neighborhood,” Carr told the council during a Sept. 14 briefing.

Council member Charles Rivenbark said homing pigeons are an expensive, passionate hobby, and owners treat them like pets.

“People with homing pigeons are a lot like people who keep bees,” Rivenbark said. “They don’t have 100 or 200 pigeons, they have at most 10 or 15. They go and they come back. It’s very very controlled.”

Rivenbark said that the complaint probably stems from the differences in the numbers of birds allowed.

The proposed change would reduce the land requirements for chickens from 20,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Carr said that change is needed to accommodate inner city lots, which are often cited for violating the town ordinance.

The ordinance would prohibit roosters, turkeys, ducks and geese. There are exceptions for animals that can be used for therapeutic purposes, as long as it comes with a physician’s recommendation.

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