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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 9, 2025 16 Councilmember Weber said most people are going to use their fenced in back yard. Those who don't have a fenced in back yard will be at a disadvantage or not be able to have chickens. You are talking about adding 6' fencing and a 10 x 20, you are cutting off a portion of a back yard for everyone who gets chickens. Otherwise they would have to fence their whole yard and that is cost prohibitive. He thinks the exercise yard should be optional. Mayor Grant doesn't agree. Councilmember Monson said she thinks it can be optional but if a resident chooses to have one we can set a limit. The big items for her are the setbacks, neighbor approval and the screening. She agrees that if someone has a fenced in yard, they may let them run. If a coyote or weasel gets to it, that's part of it. Councilmember Holden said we don't care about the health of the animal? Councilmember Monson said we don't regulate people about their dogs. We don't tell them they have to leave space for their dogs to exercise. Councilmember Rousseau is fine with removing the exercise yard requirement. She still would like the ordinance to require neighbor approval. She knows that her neighbors that have barking dogs, don't ask for approval. She recognizes individual property rights, but she thinks for the health of the community, we need to require consent from both neighbors. Councilmember Monson asked for clarification that she wants approval vs. notification. Mayor Grant said we can get back to that. He wanted to focus on the run language. Councilmember Weber said he doesn't have any issue with the original language regarding runs. He believes we have consensus that it be optional. Mayor Grant said it is 3-2 so he agrees it is a consensus. Councilmember Holden said if it's optional, why not just take it out. If we aren't requiring it, why even mention it? Councilmember Monson asked if we want to give a minimum size. She is okay cutting it out. Mayor Grant said we could state it's optional but give a maximum size. Councilmember Rousseau is for cutting it. When there are guidelines or other communications, we could say that's best practice. Mayor Grant said there are three of the five members in favor of cutting the run language out. He wanted to discuss temperature. Councilmember Holden agrees it is hard to monitor but a lot of people aren't going to read all of this. They're just going to go get chickens. If they won't build a fence, they aren't going to insulate the coop. She thinks we need to at least require a bulb in the coop.