Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The City of Palouse is closer to a new set of rules regarding keeping animals within city limits.
In continued discussion at the Nov. 11 city council meeting, members of the public gave input and council members reviewed Title 6 of the Palouse Municipal Code.
In the end, the matter of how many chickens will be allowed was left undecided, accounting for a grandfather clause with input from City Attorney Stephen Bishop.
“When it comes back from the attorney, we’ll see how it sits,” said Echanove. “It’s a tough issue. People are passionate about animals, especially fowl.”
Changes to the city policy include conditional use permits no longer being required if the parameters of Title 6 and setbacks from Title 17 of the PMC are met. Within these rules, roosters are prohibited outright and minimum pasture size remains as in the existing code: 10,000 square feet of pasture for each cow, mule, donkey and horse, and 5,000 square feet for each sheep, goat, llama and alpaca, not including young less than six months of age at their mother’s side.
One pot-bellied pig per household is allowed while under no circumstances are breeding pigs, market swine or pig litters. Pigs must be licensed, in the same manner dogs are.
“We adjusted it so folks could have a pet pig,” said city councilor Bev Pearce.
Restrictions for chickens will be voted on by the city council after the city attorney provides a report.
“If folks want to have a chicken farm, then they need to purchase property outside town and have a chicken farm,” Pearce said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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