Backyard Chicken Regulations Under Consideration In Newtown Borough

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA —A rodent problem in the borough led to a discussion Wednesday night about whether the borough should regulate or ban backyard chickens.

The rodent problem initially surfaced on Liberty and Congress between Jefferson and Washington in the borough. At the time, the borough reached out to the Bucks County Department of Health to investigate.

The department subsequently identified an infestation and sent letters to impacted property owners urging them to exterminate rodents on their property and to eliminate sources of food or harborage for rodents.

At the same time, the borough sent out violation notices to a number of properties that weren’t abiding by the town's property maintenance code and could be contributing to the problem.

The issue quieted down until the past month or so when the problem resurfaced on Jefferson and Liberty.

The borough sent out another round of violation notices and again called in the Bucks County Department of Health. The department is in the process of preparing another letter that will be sent out to impacted property owners.

“We are doing everything we possibly can do to try to mitigate this issue,” said Council President Emily Heinz. “One of the things the Department of Health mentioned to us that could be a contributing factor is the keeping of chickens. They suggested we look into a chicken ordinance. That’s not to say anyone keeping chickens is an irresponsible owner. But it is something they suggested we look into.”

Any ordinance that would be considered would exempt existing chicken owners in the borough and would only apply to future chicken owners, according to the borough's solicitor, setting the framework for the discussion.

Heinz said she would prefer some types of permitting controls over an outright ban. "There are people who have them that are responsible chicken owners," she said.

Councilor Kris Bauman differed with his colleague. “It’s a serious rat problem. It’s not just a novelty. It’s a serious problem that has developed in the borough. Chickens are not the only cause of it ... but it’s clear to me that chickens have contributed and do contribute ... I would prefer to take a more definitive step. I don't really believe we need to allow more chickens in the borough."

Councilor Josh Phillips said he'd rather find out "what our chicken situation is before stopping more chickens." He suggested developing a permitting process for chicken coups that would allow the borough to keep track of the number of backyard chickens in the borough and ensure they are meeting all the necessary guidelines.

“That's the first step in addressing this - knowing where they are and whether they are following the guidelines," he said.

Councilor Julia Woldorf cautioned that if the borough doesn't write a chicken ordinance and then there's an influx of chicken owners, they will all be grandfathered in.

"We only have a few right now. If we're going to regulate chickens, and I think we need to, let's have the rules so if anyone new comes in we can give them the rules as opposed to letting them continue a process we would not otherwise approve," said Woldorf.

After some spirited discussion, council agreed there should be an ordinance regulating chickens, but it couldn’t agree on whether it should be an outright ban or some kind of registration or permitting approval process.

Councilor Gail Foley asked if there had been any complaints about chickens received by the borough.

“I have heard no complaints in the three years that I have been on council,” said Heinz. “This is just something the Department of Health pointed out to us - that it’s something we should look into, especially for future issues.”

Council plans to take up the issue again at its April work session.