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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 9, 2025 18 Councilmember Rousseau is still in favor of getting rid of that. We're talking like five feet difference. We already have setbacks and rules for accessory dwellings. She doesn't think it's unreasonable unless you have a house that has gone far beyond the setback and built it on the property line. Mayor Grant thinks the language stating the coop has to be closer to your house than your neighbor's is good. Councilmember Weber thinks it's good but he doesn't think there are very many lots that would be deeply impacted by that one. He agrees E should come out and the issue is handled by the setbacks. Twenty feet from the property line is sufficient. Councilmember Holden thinks we will run into issues. There will be residents who don't want the chickens closer to them. If you are going to have chickens and you'll have to run out there when it's 40 degrees below zero. Why wouldn't you want it closer to your house, anyway? Councilmember Weber said the distance they need to walk is a factor the chicken owner can consider. Regardless, it's their property and they are following setback rules. These exceptions added in, are unique to Arden Hills code. You don't see this in the surrounding cities. Every other city has a much more reasonable setback requirement. Having that language in there limits who can have chickens even further. Councilmember Holden said that is wonderful for all the other cities. We are talking about our city. We had a significant statistical survey done. Fifty percent of respondents wanted chickens and 50% didn't. An accessory structure is a standalone structure. You go out there a couple times. It doesn't smell. When the coop is cleaned, you get to dump the stuff in the yard next to the neighbor's house. She thinks E needs to stay. She thinks it will cause problems between neighbors if we don't have it in there. Mayor Grant said as much as we want to advocate for chickens, he realizes that the people next to you may not want the coop too close. If a chicken gets loose and the neighbor has a dog, that's just what happens. He likes that the run is enclosed. He likes 2E to remain in there or we have to expand the setbacks. We have to consider the impact to the other neighbors. Councilmember Monson said she is looking at ariel images of the City. The only places that would have a problem with E would be a corner lot. If they go to the back of their corner lot, that helps. It could be closer to the neighbor's than to the principal structure. She wasn't sure how that would work since it needs to be in a rear yard. City Administrator Jagoe said if two houses, back to back built their homes at the 30 foot setback they could not have a chicken coop. They can't put a new structure in their back yard and have that outer back edge of it be closer to their house. They don't have any depth to allow a coop. She put together several illustrations when we did this exhibit before. She will share that with the Council. Councilmember Monson asked if City Administrator Jagoe thinks it would affect very many residents. It shouldn't be a big deal if you put it in the right spot and your being polite. But if someone just dumps it on the edge of the lawn it could cause problems. She just doesn't know if it matters, functionally.