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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – NOVEMBER 16, 2020 7 Councilmember Holden explained the City would have to provide the purpose and direction for this committee. She indicated it would take time to draft policies and create this information. For this reason, she supported the Council holding off on forming a committee. Mayor Grant agreed the City should hold off on forming a Human Rights Committee at this time. Councilmember Holmes stated she believed waiting was the best course of action. Council consensus was to direct staff to post the police activity reports to the City’s website. In addition, the Council requested staff speak to Ramsey County about receiving quarterly reports beginning in 2021 and to ask if the other contract cities were interested in starting a Diverse Civilian Review Board. Lastly, the Council was to reconsider a Human Rights Committee in six to twelve months. B. Keeping of Chickens Survey Results Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated at its September 21, 2020 Work Session, the City Council discussed public engagement and feedback options in regards to the keeping of backyard chickens. Council directed staff to create an online survey to gauge resident support. The survey launched on Monday, October 5 and closed Thursday, November 5, 2020. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported 660 residents completed the survey. Of the respondents, 75.2 percent indicated that they were in favor of allowing egg laying hens and roughly two-thirds of respondents indicated that they had experience or knew someone with experience with raising chickens in the past. Among the respondents who indicated their support, residents stated that their interest in chickens ranged from a desire to participate in a “greener” lifestyle to providing a learning experience for kids. The most important factor was a desire to access food quality, with 71.4 percent of respondents indicating that this was either “Important” or “Very Important” to them. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained roughly less than half of all respondents indicated that they had concerns about changing the chicken ordinance, but some respondents indicated that they were concerned changes to the ordinance may result in noisy or unsanitary situations, or situations that could attract vermin. There was no clear majority of respondents who supported the same number of chickens that should be allowed on a residential property, but the largest cohort of 45.2 percent of residents supported four (4) to six (6) chickens per property. A clear majority of residents supported a minimum distance from other properties required for chicken coops, minimum cleanliness standards for chicken coops, and the maximum or minimum size of coops and run area allowed for residential properties. Roughly half of all respondents indicated that they supported a requirement for a city-issued permit, screening for chicken coops or a run area, and restrictions for the location on a property where chickens can be housed. Councilmember Holden commented 20% of the population responded to this survey, which was a significant amount. She explained based on the results of the survey, the majority of the