This petition has been created to repeal or revise Wyandotte City Ordinance 1370, 4-15 which states:

Sec. 4-15.  General prohibition against keeping.
 
   It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, within five hundred (500) feet of any dwelling, street, alley or public place, any animal, bird or fowl except pigeons and such animals or birds as are commonly kept or housed as household pets.       

This ordinance is outdated as backyard hens have become popular across the state as not only sources of fresh eggs but gentle pets for the entire family to enjoy. Chickens are omnivores and will eat just about everything from table scraps to insects to weeds to mice. Roosters, while colorful, can be noisy and aren't needed for hens to lay eggs. Chicken waste does not attract rats-chickens process food efficiently enough that the waste isn’t attractive like dog waste and makes the best fertilizer for gardens and flower beds. Chickens only make noise to announce the laying of an egg or if danger is near. Even then, the noise level is comparable to human conversation of 60-70 decibels while dog barking can be up to 90 decibels.

I'm asking that chickens be classified under the current ordinance definition of domesticated companions which states "Domesticated companion animal means an animal that has traditionally, through a long association with humans, lived in a state of dependence upon humans or has been traditionally kept as a household pet, including but not limited to: dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, mice, rabbits, parakeets, parrots, cockatiels, cockatoos, canaries, love birds, finches and tropical fish."  Being as chickens are very social, I'll be asking that up to 4 hens be allowed per single family household regardless of lot size and location and kept in a chicken coop or enclosure with attached run with periodic free range in fenced yards.