Warner Robins council considers chicken referendum

A group of people who have been trying to get backyard chickens legalized in the city may get another crack at it.

In 2015, the City Council voted down allowing chickens. Elijah Lewis, a leading supporter of urban chicken keeping, approached the council at Tuesday’s meeting with a different idea that seemed to have some traction.

He asked the council to consider allowing a referendum on the issue, and some who had opposed it before were agreeable to that idea. If the council approves it, the referendum would be on the ballot for the city election in November.

City Attorney Jim Elliott said it would be a non-binding referendum, meaning the council would ultimately still make the final decision and would not have to abide by the ballot vote. But Councilman Tim Thomas, who voted against chickens in 2015, indicated he would abide by the referendum.

“I really have no problems putting it on the ballot,” he said. “If the numbers support it then I would be for it.”

Lewis, likewise, said if the referendum failed he would accept that and no longer push the idea. Lewis founded the group CLUCK, which stands for Citizens Lobbying for Urban Chicken Keeping.

Mayor Randy Toms told Lewis to write a proposed referendum and the council would consider it. A key point is the distance required between the chickens and neighboring homes.

Lewis wanted the distance to be a little as 65 feet, but Councilman Chuck Shaheen said he would not support that. Shaheen thought it should be 100 feet, but Lewis said only about 15 percent of homes in the city have lots big enough to have chickens under that requirement. Lewis suggested a compromise of 80 feet, which he said would allow chickens at about 30 percent of homes. He said that would allow enough people to have chickens that the city could see it wasn’t a problem.

The referendum would not allow roosters. Contrary to want many people believe, Lewis said, hens lay eggs without roosters. The eggs just won’t be fertilized.

Councilman Mike Davis, who voted against chickens previously, spoke against having a referendum. He said he made his position on the issue clear when he ran for re-election.

“I feel like we had a referendum two years ago when I ran for office,” he said.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Warner Robins council considers chicken referendum."