2260ORDINANCE NO. 2260
COUNCIL MEMBER KEPHART INTRODUCED THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE:
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE, BLAIR, NEBRASKA
PROVIDING FOR THE CONTROL OF ANIMALS WITHIN THE MUNICIPALITY;
ESTABLISHING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE OF SAID ORDINANCE; AND REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR
PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT THEREWITH; AND PROVIDING FOR
PUBLICATION OF THIS ORDINANCE IN PAMPHLET FORM.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BLAIR, NEBRASKA AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6 -202 of the Blair Municipal Code shall hereafter provide as
follows:
Sec. 6 -202 LIVESTOCK; BANNED FROM MUNICIPALITY. It shall be unlawful for any
person, corporation, firm, or other entity, in the capacity of owner occupant, lessee, mortgagee,
or agent thereof, to keep or maintain within the corporate limits of Blair, Nebraska, any horse,
mule, sheep, cow, goat, swine, or other livestock except such livestock as are within the said
corporate limits temporarily for exhibition purposes and are kept in sanitary and enclosed areas
at least one hundred fifty (150') feet from any habitable structure owned by any person or
business. (Penalties refer to Sections 6 -401 through 6 -403 or Addendum to Code Violations
Bureau Fee Schedule). (Amended by Ordinance 2140 06/10/2008)
SECTION 2. Section 6 -202.1 of the Blair Municipal Code shall hereafter provide as
follows:
6 -202.1 FOWL, CONTROLLED WITHIN MUNICIPALITY; PERMIT PROCESS.
A. Except as permitted by subsection E of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person,
corporation, firm, or other entity, in the capacity of owner occupant, lessee, mortgagee, or
agent thereof, to keep or maintain, within the corporate limits of Blair, Nebraska, any
chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ostrich, or other fowl except such fowl
as are within the said corporate limits temporarily for exhibition purposes and are kept in
sanitary and enclosed areas at least one hundred fifty (150') feet from any habitable
structure owned by any person or business.
B. The keeping or maintain of such fowl as described in subsection A above shall be
considered to be a specific nuisance and may be abated in accordance with the provisions
of the Blair Municipal Code.
C. In addition to abatement as identified in subsection B above, the Mayor and City Council
shall be authorized to maintain an action for abatement of such activity in Court in
Washington County, Nebraska, against the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, or agent
thereof, who is deemed to be in violation of subsection A of this section.
D. Furthermore, any owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, or agent thereof, who shall violate
or refuse to comply with the provisions of subsection A of this section, or the
enforcement thereof, shall be fined as per the City's Violations Bureau for every offense.
A new violation shall be deemed to have been committed every twenty -four (24) hours of
such failure to comply.
E. Notwithstanding the above provisions of this section, the raising of hen chickens within
the municipality may be permitted, subject to compliance with the following conditions:
1. Any person desiring to keep hen chickens in the corporate limits of the City of
Blair shall obtain a permit from the City of Blair prior to acquiring the hen
chickens. Application shall be made at City Hall and the fee for the permit shall
be as determined by the City Council in APPENDIX — PERMIT, LICENSE AND
APPLICATION FEES. The application shall be in writing on a form to be
furnished by the City of Blair for that purpose.
2. The minimum property requirements to qualify for a permit shall include:
a. The applicant must be owner occupant, lessee or mortgagee of the
property where the hen chickens will be kept;
b. The use of the property where the hen chickens will be kept must be a
single- family dwelling. No permit will be issued for duplexes,
condominiums, or multi - family dwellings;
c. Hen chickens shall not be kept on a vacant or uninhabited property.
3. The application for such permit shall be made pursuant to the procedures and
requirements that are applicable at the time the person applies for a new permit,
which shall include:
a. Name and mailing address of the applicant;
b. Mailing address where hen chickens are to be kept;
c. Signature of the property owner (if not the applicant) agreeing to the
application;
d. Statement of the method and frequency in which offal, manure and waste
material accumulating from such hen chickens will be sanitarily disposed
of;
e. An attached plot plan of the property upon which the hen chickens will be
kept, as well as all adjacent properties, showing dimensions of the
property upon which the hen chickens will be kept, the location and
dimensions of the covered enclosure and fenced pen area, the distance of
any part of the covered enclosure and fenced pen area from residence
buildings on all properties, and the distance of any part of the covered
enclosure and fenced pen area from the property lot lines upon which the
hen chickens will be kept.
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4. Any applicant for such permit, shall, prior to the issuance or renewal of a permit
by the City of Blair, give notice of the pendency of said application to all owners
of property adjacent to the property upon which the hen chickens will be kept, as
well as to other owners of residences within one hundred feet (100') of any part of
the covered enclosure and fenced pen area. The applicant shall filrnish proof of
said notice to the City Clerk. The notice required by this section shall be in
writing and in a form as provided by the City of Blair, and may be served
personally with proof by signature or by certified return receipt mail. If any owner
of property adjacent to the property upon which the hen chickens will be kept or
any owner of a residence within one hundred feet (100') of any part of the
covered enclosure and fenced pen area objects within ten (10) days of the date of
notification to the issuance of a permit for the keeping of hen chickens, such
permit will not be issued.
5. Prior to the issuance or renewal of any permit for the keeping of hen chickens, the
City of Blair shall have a proper investigation completed by City personnel of the
facts set forth in the application for the permit and determine whether said
application conforms to the requirements of this section and whether the property
conforms to the requirements of this section and other ordinances of the City with
respect to zoning and building regulations, sanitation, and location of the covered
enclosure and fenced pen area. No permit shall be issued by the City of Blair
until all requirements of this section have been satisfied.
6. Permits expire and become invalid one (1) year after date of issuance. A person
who wishes to continue keeping hen chickens shall have satisfied the
requirements of subsection 3 -5 and obtained a new permit on or before the
expiration date of the previous permit. No permit shall be assignable or
transferable.
7. A person who keeps or houses hen chickens shall comply with all of the following
requirements:
a. No more than six (6) hen chickens may be kept on any one (1) property or
lots joined by a contiguous parcel agreement;
b. No person shall keep any rooster;
c. No person shall slaughter any hen chickens within view of the general
public;
d. The hen chickens shall be provided with a covered enclosure and fenced
pen area which meets all of the requirements of subsection 7. The hen
chickens shall be kept in the covered enclosure or the fenced pen area at
all times. Hen chickens shall be secured within the covered enclosure
during non - daylight hours;
e. A person shall not keep hen chickens in any location on the property other
than, in the rear yard. For purposes of this section, "rear yard" means that
portion of a lot enclosed by the property's rear lot line and the side lot
lines to the points where the side lot lines converge with an imaginary line
established by the rear of the dwelling and extending to the side lot lines;
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f. No part of the covered enclosure or fenced pen area shall be located closer
than ten feet (10') to any property line of an adjacent property;
g. No part of the covered enclosure or fenced pen area shall be located closer
than forty feet (40') to any residential structure on an adjacent property;
h. All covered enclosures for the keeping of hen chickens shall meet the
following requirements:
i. Contain at least four (4) square feet of floor area per hen chicken. No
covered enclosure shall exceed one hundred - twenty (120) square feet
in size or exceed twelve feet (12') in height. Covered enclosures
shall be constructed and repaired so as to prevent rats, mice, or other
rodents from being harbored underneath, within, or within the walls
of the enclosure.
ii. Enclosed on all sides and shall have a roof and doors. Access doors
must be able to be shut and locked during non - daylight hours.
Openings for windows and vents must be covered with predator and
bird proof wire of less than one (1 ") inch openings.
iii. The building materials used shall be uniform for each element of the
structure, such that the walls are made of the same material, the roof
has the same shingles or other covering, and any windows or
openings are constructed using the same materials. The use of scrap
wood, waste board, sheet metal, or similar materials is prohibited.
All elements shall be well maintained and are subject to the Property
Maintenance Code adopted by the City of Blair;
i. All fenced pen areas shall provide at least ten (10) square feet of open
floor or ground area per hen chicken and shall consist of sturdy wire
fencing. The top of the fenced pen area must be covered with wire, aviary
netting, or solid roofing so as to not allow hen chickens to escape or
predators to enter;
j . All storage containers for feed and other items associated with the keeping
of hen chickens that are likely to attract or to become infested with or
infected by rats, mice, or other rodents shall be protected so as to prevent
rats, mice, or other rodents from gaining access to or coming into contact
with them;
k. Odors from hen chickens, hen chicken manure or other hen chicken
related substances shall not be perceptible beyond the boundaries of the
permitted tract of land;
1. Noise from hen chickens shall not be loud enough beyond the boundaries
of the permitted tract of land at the property boundaries to disturb persons
of reasonable sensitivity;
m. Hen chickens shall not roam outside of the covered enclosure and fenced
pen area.
F. The City may revoke any permit granted under this section due to any violation(s) of this
section. Fees associated with permits which are revoked are not refundable.
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G. A person who has been issued a permit shall allow the inspection of the property, covered
enclosure and fenced pen area, during reasonable hours, upon written or verbal request by
any Police Officer or Code Enforcement Officer of the City. (Penalties refer to Sections
6 -401 through 6 -403 or Addendum to Code Violations Bureau Fee Schedule.)
SECTION 3. The fee to be charged for the Violations Bureau shall be set and determined
from time to time as necessary by the Mayor and City Council, and said fees shall be appended
to the Municipal Code as part of an appendix titled "Addendum of Code Violations Bureau Fee
Schedule," and shall be on file at the office of the Municipal Clerk and available for public
inspection during regular office hours of the said Municipal Clerk and is hereby amended as
follows by amending Section 6.202 and by adding Section 6- 202.1, to wit:
ADDENDUM OF CODE
VIOLATIONS BUREAU FEE SCHEDULE
6 -202 Livestock, banned
1 st Offense
$50.00
from Municipality
2nd Offense
$100.00
3rd Offense
$150.00
6 -202.1 Fowl, Controlled in
1st Offense
$50.00
Municipality,
2nd Offense
$100.00
Permit Process
3rd Offense
$150.00
SECTION 4. The permit fees to be charged shall be set and determined from time to
time as necessary by the Mayor and City Council, and said fees shall be appended to the
Municipal Code as part of an appendix titled "Appendix — Permit, License and Application Fees"
and shall be on file at the office of the Municipal Clerk and available for public inspection during
regular office hours of the said Municipal Clerk and is hereby amended as follows by adding the
following fee:
APPENDIX — PERMIT, LICENSE AND APPLICATION FEES
AS SET BY MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
Hen Chickens Permit
$25.00
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be effective from and after its passage and
publication as provided by law.
SECTION 6. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 13TH DAY OF MAY, 2014.
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CITY OF BLAIR, NEBRASKA
By (-
J E. REALPH, MAYOR
ATTEST:
BRENDA R. WHEELER, CITY CLERK
(SEAL)
BRENDA R. WHEELER hereby certifies that she is the duly appointed, qualified and acting
City Clerk of the City of Blair, Nebraska, and that the above and foregoing ordinance was passed
at a regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council of said City held on the 13th day of May,
2014.
BRENDA R. WHEELER, CITY CLERK
on