COAL TOWNSHIP - The right to raise chickens in the township has been spoiled by a few rotten eggs.
Coal Township commissioners Thursday amended an ordinance to prohibit possession of farm and wild animals within township limits.
The move was made as a result of persistent complaints on a handful of chicken owners for foul stench, loud noises and dirty coops, Commissioner Gene Welsh said.
Anyone possessing newly prohibited animals outside a agricultural zone - of which there are few on the outskirts of Coal Township - have 90 days to find new homes for pigs, goats, fowl and more.
Monkeys, opossums,
skunks and other animals deemed "wild" are also prohibited.
The ordinance is not subject to a grandfather clause, which only applies to zoning ordinances.
Of all the animals cited in the ordinance, it was chickens that sparked the commissioners' decision.
There are approximately 12 township residents living in residential zones who raise chickens, commissioners said, about half of whom have been subject to nuisance complaints of not cleaning up after their fowl.
Those complaints made by neighbors had persisted despite the township code officer's attempts to remedy the grievances, Commissioner George Zalar said.
In turn, commissioners updated the existing ordinance for a total ban on ownership of the bird as a pet or as a commodity.
That the ban is absolute and allows for no exceptions didn't sit well with a pair of township chicken owners who spoke out at the meeting - both of whom were said to have no complaints made against them.
Barbara Tanner, of 1210 Nelson St., said she owns two birds, both of them hens.
"I'm wondering what the problem is with having chickens. I don't see the point or reasoning with restricting chickens," she said.
Her birds are quiet and don't run at large, she said. On top of that, she just bought a new chicken coop.
Tanner said commissioners should have reconsidered a total ban on the fowl; instead creating a warning system and punishing irresponsible owners.
Vince Rovito, township solicitor, insisted a total ban was the best decision for the township. When previous citations had been taken to local magisterial court, Commissioner Craig Fetterman said the judge had thrown the cases out, saying the township "didn't have a leg to stand on."
Carol Dimmick, of 979 Bear Valley Road, said the chickens she keeps are not pets. Rather, she raises them as a source for eggs and meat.
Dimmick referenced language of the amended ordinance banning deer, then pointed to comments made earlier by Commissioner Gerard Waugh III when he commended street department employees for working to complete a new deer pen at the Tharptown playground.
The comparison was wrong, Waugh said. The township houses a deer for about a month for a Christmas holiday display. It isn't raising the deer year-round and isn't subject to the ordinance, he said.
Raising chickens in urban areas is not at all uncommon.
Backyard chickens are championed by their proponents as producing far healthier eggs than those purchased in grocery stores. They also say chickens make for chemical-free pest and weed control, and the by-product of the fowl's feces is that it makes an effective fertilizer.
There's a large online community of backyard chicken owners, offering on various websites tips for raising the fowl and advice on animal law.