MANSFIELD — Those interested in keeping chickens in city limits will have to find at least three acres of land to do so.
Mansfield City Council denied amending and enacting sections of the Mansfield Codified Ordinances to allow for the keeping of chickens on residential property smaller than three acres in a 7-1 vote at its meeting Tuesday night.
Fifth Ward Councilman Jason Lawrence, who sponsored the legislation, was the only council member to vote in favor of the legislation.
Before casting his vote, Lawrence said, “This is not about chickens. This is ultimately about progressive mindsets.”
“When I took office–I was appointed three years ago–I came in with the mindset that I was going to have a progressive mindset. I love this city. I want so much for this city.”
His fellow council members applauded both sides of the legislation for articulating their arguments.
“It was very, I think, healthy discussion,” At-Large Councilman Cliff Mears said.
“I think in the final analysis it comes down to the voices we’ve heard here in council at meetings and in my case voicemails, text messages, emails, the preponderance of people that have contacted me personally, as well as the voices heard here are going to be the basis of my vote and my decision,” Mears said.
Fourth Ward Councilman Butch Jefferson echoed his statements.
“There is still 40,000-some people in this city, and we have to be concerned for the majority,” he said.
He said backyard chickens proponents could maybe consider forming a co-op or a carpool initiative to increase Mansfield residents’ access to fresh eggs.
At-Large Councilman Don Bryant said on Facebook that he’d vote in favor of the legislation. He was going to abstain from voting but was then informed by the law director that he had to vote.
“I’m going to have to go with the majority on this,” he said.
Third Ward Councilman Jon Van Harlingen said he received calls from people in his ward in favor of the bill.
“But by far, by far, the majority of the comments or calls that I’ve received have been the other way,” he said.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Garnetta Pender said Mansfield lacks the funds to support the legislation.
“Right now Mansfield is in a situation where we do not have the funds to have somebody to monitor those things that could possibly go on with the chickens,” she said.
Matthew Stanfield, chairman of Citizens for Mansfield Backyard Chickens, said he thought the final vote would be closer.
“We’re not done,” he said. “This is not the end of the issue, so we’ll be back. We’ve got some plan B’s that we’re going to talk about and figure out which one to come forward with next.
“One of the things we’ve been discussing is a pilot program where it would be limited to a certain number of people for the first year and the city can evaluate how that’s working and decide after that whether they want to make it a city-wide initiative or if they want to just kill it.”
Citizens for Mansfield Backyard Chickens formed in 2015 to study the feasibility of revising Mansfield’s existing code to allow more residents to raise chickens, increasing the availability of fresh eggs.
In February 2016, group members introduced a proposal that would allow a maximum of six chickens on a property less than 1/4 acre in size and a maximum of 12 chickens on a property larger than 1/4 acre. As part of the proposal, applicants would need to seek an annual permit through the building and codes office.
The proposal gained momentum when the zoning committee voted to have it placed before council for a vote during its meeting Feb. 2.
Council heard from both sides of the proposal during subsequent meetings. Council approved a motion to send the backyard chickens legislation back to the zoning committee for further discussion and possible revision Feb. 21.
During its meeting March 6, the zoning committee voted to move the legislation as amended out of committee and placed before council for its second reading.
The legislation had its third and final reading Tuesday night in front of a crowd of people in council chambers.
