- April 24, 2024
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Flagler Beach is no place for chickens, City Commissioners decided during a June 9 commission meeting.
"No. Just no. Not on 50-foot lots."
— ERIC COOLEY, city commissioner
The city set aside time at a June 9 City Commission meeting to discuss a possible ordinance change to let people keep a modest number of backyard chickens.
Commissioner Deborah Phillips had requested that the city discuss the possibility after a resident spoke during a prior commission meeting to suggest the city consider allowing chickens.
"Where I used to live in Chicago, we were allowed to have chickens," Phillips said. "We could have up to three, so I had Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. That was their names. They actually became our pets."
The upside, Phillips said, was that they produced eggs; "The cons are — there's a laundry list."
She wasn't in favor of allowing backyard chickens in Flagler Beach.
"I lived on two acres, so they were able to roam free," she said. "Yeah, they jumped neighbors' fences, but they always came back home. So chickens are wonderful. I mean, the eggs they produce are amazing. But I just don't think in our environment here in Flagler Beach, with our small lot sizes, it's something that we should change."
She'd requested the discussion out of respect for the resident who'd made the suggestion, she said.
To provide an example of what's possible, City Attorney Drew Smith showed the commission a backyard poultry ordinance from Winter Garden, which allows people to keep up to four backyard chickens.
"Lots of jurisdictions have looked at it; some have gone with it, some have not," Smith said.
The ordinance states that Winter Garden "recognizes the general trend in society to pursue a green lifestyle, to incorporate fresher products into diets, and to provide additional methods for allowing residents to engage in backyard food production though keeping and raising a limited number of chickens on single-family properties for production of eggs for the property owners' consumption."
Commissioner Eric Coley said the backyard chicken proposal seems to come up about every two years in Flagler Beach.
He agreed with Phillips that Flagler Beach's lots are too small.
"We have 50-foot lots here," Cooley said. "No. Just no. Not on 50-foot lots. There's a reason why when you do agriculture, they they usually stick it with a minimum of five acres. There's reasons for that.
Commissioner Jane Mealy worried about the noise chickens could cause.
"People complain about dogs barking," she said. "Well, you can bring your dog in the house. You can train your dog not to bark. But you can not train a chicken not to chirp or cluck or whatever, and don't think you're going to bring them in the house."
The commission came to a consensus that Flagler Beach isn't the right place for chickens.
"You can get your farm fresh eggs at the farmers market," Mayor Suzie Johnston said.
