Montgomery City Council will hold a hearing whether to allow or disallow the raising of farm and exotic animals within city limits. The meeting will take place during a regularly scheduled business meeting Wednesday evening at 6pm.
The debate began earlier this year when Montgomery resident Katie O'Keefe, who raises chickens in her yard for consumption, enquired as to whether or not her actions were legal.
Madeira is a similarly sized city and encourages the raising of farm animals within its city limits. Madeira City Manager Tom Moeller has been with the city for 20 plus years and said they have an active 4-H program, "We've never had any regulations to restrict or prohibit the raising of farm animals."
Moeller also recalls a man who had an array of animals in town, "There is one gentleman who had a few chickens, turkeys, goats, and a few sheep, and we never had any issues with it."
Another city similar size and character of Montgomery is Wyoming. Its city manager Robert Harrison explained his city has taken action, "The city bans hooved animals, however, permit chickens as long as they don't create a nuisance in the neighborhood."
Wyoming's nuisance provision is defined in the code and handled on a case by case basis.
