CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR)–An ordinance to allow Chesterfield residents to keep chickens in residential neighborhoods drew overwhelming support Tuesday night.
About a dozen county residents spoke independently before the planning commission and expressed wanting a new rule on the books.
In the end the ordinance was approved 4-1. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, it will allow residents to keep up to six hens with proper enclosure and at least 25 feet back from any property lines.
The ordinance also prevents keeping roosters and any type of slaughtering of the chickens.
Many who spoke described positive experiences keeping chickens and having little impact on their community, but one board member, Russell Gulley, couldn’t get behind it.
He was the one dissenting vote, and he argued that without requiring a certain size property, allowing chickens could have a big impact on neighbors next door in densely populated areas.
