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Chickens come home to roost in Medford Friday Oct 20, 2017 at 3:01 PM Oct 20, 2017 at 3:01 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm Many Medford residents will crow about the City Council's recent decision to limit the number of chickens in a yard to six starting in 2018. The new ordinance would allow all poultry except roosters and turkeys, which are already considered a nuisance for some in east Medford. Chickens were banned inside city limits until 2007, when Medford Municipal Judge Bill Haberlach ruled Medford’s livestock ordinance in residential areas didn’t cover chickens. Ever since, the number of chickens being kept in backyards has increased with relatively few complaints. Last year, however, code enforcement officers found 50 chickens and a couple of pigs on a Cherry Street property that had led to neighbor complaints. The issue helped prompt the city to develop rules limiting the number of chickens. Councilor Clay Bearnson, the only "no" vote when council voted on the ordinance Oct. 5, said, "I really didn't have a problem with the overall ordinance. I don't know if it was warranted." Bearnson didn't think it adequately addressed the needs of families that are interested in developing a sustainable food source in their own backyards. He said some families might want to raise five or six chickens for food, and then have chicks that would replace the hens as they are consumed. The ordinance allows a maximum six poultry. "There are many people who want to grow their own food in their backyard," he said. "And we are always talking about promoting people who are eating healthy." He said he thought that existing city rules adequately cover nuisance situations in some backyards. Keeping chickens does come with some rules. Pens or runs must be kept out of front yards and can't be visible from the street. The pens or runs must be 10 feet from the property line and no closer than 20 feet from a dwelling on a neighboring parcel. Properties must be maintained in a sanitary manner so they don't disrupt neighbors. Any electrical system, including lights to provide warmth, must be maintained in a safe condition that wouldn't result in fires. Construction of pens or other buildings must comply with building codes. Most other cities in the valley have regulations that allow chickens. The Planning Commission weighed in on the ordinance but didn't reach a consensus. Some commissioners, such as Bill Mansfield, opposed the idea of poultry in the city, saying he lives in the city to be away from marijuana grows, chickens and failed septic systems. He said rural properties are more appropriate for obtaining fresh eggs. The city has had a long history dealing with fowl. In 2004, the city warned a local resident about her six chickens, and the city attorney determined the code prohibited the birds. In May 2005, the city considered but rejected an ordinance that would have allowed six birds on a property. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.