The city was awarded a grant to pay for almost the entirety of a housing study. The housing study is not directed by the Metropolitan Council. It's directed by us. they just fund the program. So we have also on that item an agreement with Stantech to complete the housing study. The information from the housing study helps influence what goes into the comprehensive plan identifies our needs from a housing standpoint.

Just for kind of background, currently the way that our code was written um if we would have allowed uh backyard chickens without updating our uh feed lot language in our our amendment or in our code, it would have technically been a feed lot. So we basically just updated our definition of a feed lot to uh exempt smallcale operations uh similar to you know keeping backyard chickens.

If the shelter, so the run area and the coupe is less than 200 feet, we will not be considering an accessory structure and it won't require a a building permit. They'll still have to have a license. But if they're over that 200 ft, then they will need a building permit in addition to the license and then that will count as an accessory structure...

It looks like it's in the notes. Those opposed typically cited concerns on odors, noise, and predators. I guess my concern is it sounds like if there's, you know, if a complaint comes along, the neighbor, one neighbor says there there any of those things. Um, the followup action from what I understand, we just send a letter. I mean, I think I'm afraid where this is, you know, what one person thinks is a nuisance, the others may not...

But to your point uh counselor about you know the concerns are smell sound predators my understanding of the ordinance is that you've got some objective standards setback requirements a cage requirement a run requirement a pen requirement and other objective requirements that are meant to address those things. But if a person is uh has a license and has a compliant facility, has the run and the coupe uh all compliant with the requirements, a neighbor's complaint that the chickens are too noisy, just is not something the staff is going to deal with.

I've had several people in my area come to me and they said number one, the point 2 lots very encroachable and very unsightly, especially for people that have elevated decks that cover the whole neighborhood in the backyard. They're worried about loss of value because some neighbor has a chicken coupe... Another thing I don't like is the licensing practice. I see a slippery slope non- inspection of the licenses. We want to trust people but a lot of people will push it to the envelope and if we get into enforcement then we get into cost. So I don't like that idea either. I think in my personal opinion I'm not in favor of this ordinance at all.

I mean, when I was a kid, I was in 4. you don't just don't see 4 anymore and I can just see parents really making an effort to uh use it as an opportunity with their kids and animal animal husbandry and and just teaching them responsibility and and everything that goes with what we heard from the folks that participated in it. I just um to cut that off just because we're afraid of a complaint just doesn't make any sense to me. So, I'm I'm in favor of it.