INVERNESS, Fla. — With rising food prices, especially eggs, city leaders in Inverness decided to pass a backyard chicken ordinance.
According to the new ordinance, residents can have up to four hens on their property, but to keep the noise down, no roosters are allowed.
"We just wanted to be able to offer it to people," Greg Rice, the Community Development Director for the City of Inverness, said. "We're curious to see how many people are going to take advantage of it. But we're, you know, that's what we're trying to make it as easy as possible with no fees, assistance from us, our building official, and then the guidance from the extension service."
Rice said it's been all positive feedback when the city decided to pass the ordinance. About six months ago, he said a resident began coming to city council meetings asking why she couldn't have chickens in her backyard. So, they did some research and felt it would be a positive for the community.
"It's a nice, healthy thing to have very fresh (eggs) that lasts forever if you don't wash them," Rice said. "All positive. The biggest thing people are concerned about is this kind of funny. You don't know the sex of what your of the chick that you're purchasing until they're about four months old. So we had to do some looking for what happens with people who end up with roosters. And luckily, there are organizations, and people will take them in a heartbeat."
City employee Angela Lazo has roosters and hens at her home, where she lives just outside the city limits. Lazo's expertise when it comes to backyard hens helped the city craft its ordinance.
Unclean coops or runs that create a foul odor would be in violation of the ordinance, and the coop height maximum is 6 feet.
Lazo told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska people will love having them around.
"It's awesome. They're my joy. They bring me joy. Plus, they bring me lots of eggs and meat if I want to eat them later," Lazo said. "I am excited for them. I hope they follow the rules. But I'm excited for them to be able to experience getting eggs in their own backyard and seeing chickens."
