Hills, IA, Says Yes to Urban Chickens; Iowa City Still Resistant

Urban chickens are in the local news again. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported today that Iowa City Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chicken Keeping (I-CLUCK) submitted a petition last month to the Iowa City City Council urging them to pass legislation that would allow citizens to own and care for chicken within city limits. The city noted that there were more than 500 signatures on the petition. The Iowa City City Council hasn't yet had the opportunity to review this topic since the petition was submitted to city personnel.

Meanwhile, the Hills City Council finalized its own urban chicken policy, making it the first community in Johnson County to allow its citizens to own and raise chickens. Their policy is based off Cedar Rapids' successful urban chicken policy. The people of Hills are allowed to raise up to six hens, they must notify all of their neighbors beforehand, and they need to file for a city permit:

Hills City Clerk Bonnie Hansen said no one has applied for a chicken permit yet, but she knows of at least a few residents who plan to apply. The annual permit costs $5.

Hills City Councilor Cathy Knebel said city officials pursued the ordinance — which the council unanimously approved — at the request of citizens. “The people who are interested have looked into it. They’ve read up about it and gone to classes to know how to handle it properly,” Knebel said. “We haven’t had any complaints from people saying they didn’t want it, so we think it’s a good thing."