City Manager Susan Nicosia said she doesn’t know why Columbia Falls has been able to update its livestock rules ordinances without the uproar such efforts have attracted elsewhere. But it has. And in two weeks the updated laws will be voted on by the city council for the final time before going into effect in early June.
The ordinance, which will allow people to have up to five fowl on a residential lot, has been met with no opposition, unlike Kalispell and other towns, where the issue has divided communities in the past, Nicosia said.
“I think (the ordinance) is very clear and straight forward,” she said. “I always say that we’re a kinder and gentler city. We have regulations, but we help you use them.”
The ordinance allows Columbia Falls residents to have chickens, geese and other fowl within residential areas as long as the animals are not raised for commercial purposes. The birds must be contained in a pen and roosters are not allowed. The amended section takes up less than a page, versus Kalispell’s rules regarding livestock, which takes up more than three pages.
It also took Kalispell almost a year to sort out the details of the livestock and fowl ordinance, which was heavily debated in town, according to city attorney and interim city manager Charles Harball. He said some people have different ideas of what an urban area should be. He also said the bigger the city, the bigger the problems.
“Columbia Falls is in a lot of ways a more rural setting and I’m sure there are folks over there that have had chickens for years and their neighbors don’t mind,” he said.
Janina Hobday approached the Columbia Falls City Council earlier this year because she wanted to raise chickens for their eggs. When Hobday first proposed the idea, she expected some resistance in the community, but was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the rules were changed.
“Everywhere else has had big problems with these chickens and so we were prepared for a battle, but surprisingly it’s gone off without a hitch,” she said. “It’s OK with me – I didn’t want to ruffle anybody’s feathers.”