By Paula Pyzik Scott

On September 23 Bluffton Council voted on the first reading of a proposed ordinance to prohibit residents from keeping roosters in the Village.

The six council members were evenly divided on the subject, giving Mayor Richard Johnson the role of tie breaker. He voted yes, to add roosters to the list of banned animals. Another two readings of the ordinance will determine if it is made law.

The ordinance that would be amended is 90.02 PERMIT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ANIMALS, which includes a listing of 11 descriptions of prohibited animals.

Yes votes were given by council members Jerry Cupples (who said his opinion was subject to change), David Steiner and Phill Talavinia. No votes were given by Mitch Kingsley, Ben Stahl  and Joe Sehlhorst.

The ordinance has been proposed at the request of the Village Zoning Enforcement Officer Jesse Blackburn. He told council that there is a Village policy of prohibiting roosters that is not reflected in Village Code. He also commented that there are residents who are aggravated by their neighbors keeping roosters but do not want to be identified as the person who turned them in.

Bluffton residents are allowed to keep chickens with a conditional use permit. Discussion during the meeting noted that individuals will purchase a batch of supposed female chicks and later discover that they have a rooster.

Most often, rooster crowing and aggressiveness lead owners to remove male birds. However, the Village has received complaints from neighbors about roosters. Blackburn said employees do not have the ability to enforce Village policy without an associated ordinance.

Discussion revealed that in one case a rooster owner put the bird in their house, hiding evidence related to a dispute with their neighbor.

Legal counsel Marshall Finelli said that existing roosters would be “grandfathered in” and allowed to live out their lives in the Village. Council members wondered aloud how long roosters live (Online information suggests 5-8 years).

There are currently some ten conditional use permits issued for chickens. Blackburn noted that there are some chickens being kept without permit.

The next regular meeting of Village Counsel, when the second reading of the ordinance is expected, is Monday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. on the third floor of Town Hall.