“Up to 6 female chickens, no roosters.”
And Planning Director Mike Franzak says owners must keep chickens in a city approved coop. But while Muskegon commissioners have now voted to allow hens:
“This stuff is more involved than people think.”
Planning Commissioner Steve Gawron has some concerns:
“Everything from avian flu to smells cleanliness.”
Commissioner Jill Montgomery-Keats says she knows first-hand living near chickens can be unpleasant:
“There is a house that has chickens. It is a couple doors down and they are extremely loud. And then the dogs bark of course because the chickens are making all of this noise.”
But Mayor Ken Johnson says he barely noticed his neighbor’s chickens:
“Had a coop not even 20 feet from my front door four to eight hens he had in there. The noise from the hens I heard clucking a little but it was not excessive.”
And planning commissioner Destiny Keener does not think many Muskegon residents will want a coop full of chickens in the backyard:
“People don’t really understand how expensive chickens are to raise.”
