On Council Menu: Backyard Chickens, Goats, Bees and Pigs

A proposed El Cerrito law making it easier and cheaper for residents to keep chickens, goats, bees and pigs will be the topic of City Council and public discussion at the council meeting Monday.

City staff is asking for feedback from the council and the public on the proposed ordinance, which has been in the works at since May 2009, when some residents asked the city's Environmental Quality Committee about easing the current restrictions on keeping farm animals in the city.

Emotions ran high , on Aug. 31 last year when a sharply divided audience of about three dozen people showed up at City Hall for a city-sponsored meeting on the proposal.

One side complained of stink, health hazards, dangers (from bee stings and swarms), noise and reduced property values, while the other said home-based farm animals can provide a healthier, less expensive diet that is kinder to the animals and the planet.

Those wishing to keep such animals under the current law must obtain a conditional use permit issued at the discretion of the Planning Commission, an expensive and time-consuming process involving a public hearing, possible appeals and at least $1,355 in assorted fees.

City staff is asking for feedback on how much the restrictions should be eased.

According to a city staff report to the council, the proposed ordinance would allow up to four hens and no roosters without a conditional use permit, if the property is a single-family home on a lot larger than 4,000 square feet and not next door to a lot with a multi-unit dwelling. Coops would have to 20 feet away from houses and adjacent property.

Goats could be kept without a conditional use permit on lots larger than 10,000 square feet, and up to two beehives could be kept on lots bigger than 5,000 square feet if kept in backyards at least 20 feet from adjacent homes and five feet from property lines.

One pig under 150 pounds could be kept without a conditional use permit in an enclosure at least 20 feet from adjacent homes and five feet from property lines.

While owners of these animals under such conditions would not need a conditional use permit, they would still need either an administrative use permit or an over-the-counter permit. The former is at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator and costs $1,171 in various fees. The latter is approved by city staff at the public counter at City Hall for a much lower fee, similar to that charged for a fence clearance permit ($55) or home occupation permit ($82), according to the staff report.

The proposed law was developed by staff in response to prior community input and a review of ordinances in neighboring communities, the staff report said. Page 165 of the staff report features a table summarizing animal ordiances in seven nearby cities.

After Monday's airing, city staff will turn the proposal into a draft ordinance.

"After the City Council's review, comments and direction," the report said, "staff will incorporate the proposed revisions into a draft ordinance for the Council's consideration."

Also on Monday's agenda is a public hearing and possible council action on transferring property from the Redevelopment Agency to the El Cerrito Municipal Services Corporation, a move intended to protect Redevelopment Agency funding and projects from the state's threatened dissolution of local Redevelopment Agencies.

The council already approved the property transfer on March 7 but did so without having held the required public hearing. Monday's agenda includes rescinding the March 7 action and re-approval of the transfer following the public hearing. The affected projects include the to building senior housing and commerical space on the lots now occupied by the abandoned Tradeway furniture building and the possibly historic stone-front building that formerly housed an early rock-quarry company, a Japanese-American florist and the .

The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at .