Nashville council keeps chicken ban

By Anne Paine, The Tennessean

Chickens can reside in some of Nashville's suburbs - including the city of Belle Meade - but they're still banned throughout much of Davidson County.

The Metro Council squashed plans by a close vote Tuesday night to make chickens legitimate inhabitants - with restrictions - in parts of town where they're not allowed.

Twenty members voted no on the measure, 15 yes, two abstained, and two were absent.

One disappointed bird owner, who lives in West Meade where they're prohibited, said the issue wouldn't be going away.

"I plan to spend the next six months trying to win the hearts and minds of the council members who voted against the proposal, as well as the residents of the communities they represent," Anastasia Holdren said in an e-mail to The Tennessean.

She didn't say whether she would abide by the law, which she had been unaware of when she started raising Brahmas, mainly as pets.

Metro Councilman Jason Holleman, who co-sponsored the proposal, said there's been a perception they were legal and that he knew of several residents of Sylvan Park who have been keeping chickens, often for the eggs.

Opponents of legalization say chickens can be a health hazard and a noisy nuisance.

The proposal, also co-sponsored by Councilwoman Kristine LaLonde, would have allowed two or four birds, depending on lot size, if they were kept inside a coop behind a house. They would have to be at least 10 feet from the property line and at least 25 feet from a residence.

Roosters would not be allowed. This compares to Belle Meade, which permits fowl if they're kept in a clean pen and aren't a nuisance.

The birds also are permitted with restrictions in the satellite city of Forest Hills. Berry Hill and Oak Hill don't allow them.

Residents in the outlying Nashville area called the "general services district" can keep chickens if they have five acres and the birds aren't a nuisance. This is the area where people arrange and pay directly for garbage pickup.

Richard H. Schellhardt Jr. of Antioch, who didn't support the proposal, said a problem is still not solved: enforcement.

Chickens and at least one extremely loud rooster wander around his neighborhood, he said.

"They're breeding. They've got chicks with them," he said of the free-ranging poultry in the chicken-prohibited area.

He has tried calls to the codes, health and animal control departments and also the Mayor's Office and the matter is not resolved. When someone has come out, the chickens were not to be seen, he said.

Schellhardt didn't support the proposal but said that allowing chickens with restrictions and, also, a registration fee could put some money toward making sure they were kept where they belonged.