Politics & Government

Radnor Board Pecks at Backyard Chicken Idea

Garrett Hill resident Sara Pilling is leading a movement for backyard egg-laying hens.

The proposal to create an ordinance that would allow and regulate backyard chickens in Radnor Township did not get clucks of support from the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners on Monday night.

Resident Sara Pilling was requesting that Radnor revise or replace the existing code that only allows hatcheries on 10 acres in an agricultural area to allow, with restrictions, a coop as an accessory use in all residential zones.

"There are lots of chickens in Radnor Township right now. But we’d like to see them legal and regulated and protected," Pilling told the board.

Find out what's happening in Radnorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Board president Bill Spingler said he has never seen any chickens in Radnor and that he does not support the idea. "If I had two, three chickens in my yard, the neighbors around me are not going to all be supportive of that," he said.

A motion was made to have township staff work with Pilling and other supporters to craft a draft ordinance. Elaine Paul Schaefer, John Nagle and John Fisher voted for the motion while Spingler, Don Curley and Kevin Higgins voted against it. Commissioner Jim Higgins did not vote because he was not in the room for the discussion, so a tied vote equals no action on the board's part.

Find out what's happening in Radnorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Curley did tell Pilling to get him information on chicken ordinances and he would read it over.

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