ROCK SPRINGS — Following up on an announcement from Mayor Max Mickelson last month, The Rock Springs City Council will consider a pair of ordinances that, if approved, would allow residents to keep chickens on their property. 

The ordinances will be introduced near the end of the Council’s meeting Tuesday evening and will be required to undergo three readings before ultimately being decided upon by the Council. The second reading will take place during the March 17 meeting, while the final reading and vote takes place April 1.

The proposed rules would see the city’s animal control department issuing permits to raise chickens at $25 per permit. Applicants would need written consent from adjacent property owners before the permit is approved. People would not be able to keep a rooster and they would be prohibited from slaughtering chickens within city limits. 

Chickens would require a covered enclosure and would have to be kept either within that covered enclosure or a fenced pen at all times. Those enclosures would not be permitted within three feet of a property line or within 25 feet of a residential structure adjacent to the applicant’s property.

The regulations would also require all chickens to be kept outside of a home and in a predator-proof enclosure. Feed and other items used to raise chickens that would attract rodents would be required to be kept in weather-resistent containers that are designed to keep other animals out of them. 

The city would reserve the right to revoke any permit issued if the terms if the ordinance is violated and people who have a permit are required to have it available for any police officer or animal control officer to review if they’re asked for it. People who would violate the ordinance would face a fine of up to $750 and a possible jail sentence of up to six months.

The Rock Springs City Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed on the city’s YouTube channel. A full agenda can be found here.