Seaside Seaside says no to chickens
Published 5:00 pm Monday, August 10, 2009
SEASIDE – With Cannon Beach and Gearhart considering ordinances to allow residents to have chickens, could Seaside be far behind?
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Nope. But, though the Seaside City Council clucked over the issue briefly Monday night, in the end, it rejected a request to allow chickens in the city.
Seaside’s ordinance prohibits residents from keeping livestock, poultry or other animals, except household pets inside the city limits, unless they are for “educational or entertainment purposes.” Councilor Gary Diebolt said a statement by Seaside resident John Chapman that chickens were a “solid educational tool” for his children and a “great source of entertainment” was a “stretch.”
“I think it’s a stretch to call it educational,” Diebolt said. “All you do is feed them at no particular time and you clean up after them at no particular time. They’re not natural pets.”
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Allowing Chapman to keep his three chickens would “start setting a precedent,” Diebolt added.
Chapman told the council that the chickens came from his in-laws, who were moving from a large property near Vancouver to a smaller house in Ridgefield and needed to relocate the chickens they owned. Chapman took them in and built a coop for them.
“They’ve become part of the family,” Chapman said.
However, after receiving a complaint from Chapman’s neighbor, the city’s nuisance officer referred the issue to the City Council.
Mayor Don Larson asked the council if, like Cannon Beach and Gearhart, it would like to consider changing the ordinance. City Councilor Don Johnson noted that the council had rejected two prior requests to allow chickens and should follow suit with Chapman’s request. Councilors Larry Haller and Tim Tolan agreed.
“We have an ordinance, and we have to abide by the ordinance,” Tolan said.
But Councilor Dave Moore suggested waiting two weeks to determine how other city residents feel about keeping chickens within city limits. Councilor Stubby Lyons seemed to support Moore’s suggestion but worried about other animals attacking the chickens.
“Chickens are part of the American way,” Lyons said, “We used to all live on farms, but changes happened and we moved into the city. We can make it work, but we couldn’t change the ordinance tonight.”
However, the council eventually voted not to allow Chapman to keep the chickens.
In other business, the council:
? Recognized volunteer firefighter Jeramy Houston, who was named Volunteer Firefighter of the Year by the Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association. Fire Chief Dale Kamrath praised Houston’s involvement as a firefighter and noted that Houston introduced the idea of providing emergency medical service to visitors via EMT personnel riding bikes. He joined the department as a high school cadet in 2000.
? Recognized Communications Manager Lynn Smith for 30 years with the Seaside Police Department;
? Recognized emergency medical service provider Susan Agalzoff, who was selected as “Oregon Educator of the Year” by the Oregon Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems program;
? Approved the purchase of 1,000 chairs for the Seaside Civic and Convention Center at a cost of $75,240.
? Appointed Richard Bailey and Jason Smith to the city’s tree board.