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<br />Page 6 of 7 <br /> <br />keeping of chickens and establishing a pathway for a homeowner to repurpose a coop into a storage <br />structure. <br /> <br />Keeping of Ducks <br /> <br />At the August 11 Special Work Session, the City Council directed staff to bring forth the topic of <br />the keeping of ducks to the Planning Commission for discussion to occur with the review of <br />ordinance language for chickens. The Planning Commission was asked to provide a <br />recommendation to the City Council on inclusion of ducks in city ordinance. <br /> <br />As preparation for this discussion, staff has reviewed the ordinances of 10 neighboring <br />communities and found that six of these communities specifically allow for the keeping of ducks. <br />Of these communities, five require a permit or license for the keeping of ducks, which is the same <br />requirement for keeping chickens. Staff identified that where the keeping of ducks is permitted, a <br />coop or containment facility is required to provide shelter for the animals. Language for the <br />maintenance of ducks, such as climate control, maintaining clean and sanitary conditions, and <br />follow best practices, was the same as the language for chickens. The five ordinances that allowed <br />for the keeping of ducks did not reference resources specific to the keeping of ducks. <br /> <br />In keeping with the ordinance language for other communities, staff has drafted a version of the <br />ordinance language (Attachment C) that includes ducks in the revisions to Section 410 for <br />Chickens License and Section 1325.07 Subd. 6.A, Location for Buildings Housing Farm Animals. <br />Per the revisions, residents could keep a combination of up to seven (7) chickens or ducks and <br />would be required to provide a coop and pen, subject to the coop requirements. The Planning <br />Commission is asked to discuss the topic of keeping ducks and to provide a recommendation to <br />the City Council. <br /> <br />Public Hearing <br /> <br />An ordinance amendment to the Zoning Code does require a public hearing before the Planning <br />Commission. The Planning Commission held the required public hearing for the keeping of <br />chickens ordinance at the August 6, 2025 meeting. The Planning Commission may consider <br />allowing additional public comment based on the updates to the ordinance amendment. Another <br />public hearing will be held as part of the City Council review. <br /> <br />Findings of Fact <br /> <br />The Planning Commission must make a finding as to whether or not the proposed application <br />would adversely affect the surrounding neighborhood or the community as a whole based on the <br />aforementioned factors. Staff offers the following findings for consideration: <br /> <br />General Findings: <br />1. The City of Arden Hills is proposing to amend ordinance language for the keeping of <br />chickens. <br />2. The proposed ordinance will include amendments to the language of Chapter 13 – Zoning <br />Code of the City Code.