Chickens Complaints Lead to Lengthy Discussion During North Judson Town Council Meeting

Posted on May 23, 2017
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson Town Council may revisit its animal ordinance, following complaints about chickens during last week’s meeting. Nearly six years ago, council members voted to prohibit residents from keeping farm animals, including chickens, within town limits. But during last week’s meeting, some residents complained that they continue to see chickens in North Judson.

When council members decided to outlaw farm animals, they agreed to allow at least one household to keep their existing chickens. But there appears to be some confusion as to whether that meant keeping only those specific chickens until they died off or were otherwise disposed of or simply not exceeding that number in the future.

Council President Wendy Hoppe believed the exception only applied to that particular group of chickens, and they were not supposed to be replaced with new ones. However, resident Steve Ransom, whose daughter keeps several chickens, said she had received a letter from the town, stating otherwise. Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins could find no record of such a letter having been sent, and Ransom didn’t specify which town official sent it.

Other residents complained that the chickens attract a rooster from outside the town limits, waking people up in the morning. Council members gave the Ransoms five days to present the letter to the town, and let Town Attorney Justin Schramm advise them on how to proceed. Schramm also suggested double checking the board’s actions on the matter, to make sure they were properly advertised and are legally enforceable.