Marshfield City Council Approves Revised Chickens Ordinance

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

The Marshfield Common Council approves a revised chickens ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday.

There has been ongoing discussion about allowing chickens in the City that goes back to 2011. It was voted on once by a previous Council, but was voted down. The ordinance allows individuals to have four total chickens and no roosters.

A first reading of the ordinance was brought back before the Council at the end of October as they cleared up some items that caused concern in the original ordinance.

For example, they originally intended those that wanted to have chickens to get a license, like with dogs and cats, but thought a permit would be more appropriate. They also wanted to clarify that single family uses are only allowed to get chickens.

For example, if two families in a duplex share a yard, one can’t get chickens expecting the other family to support that. They changed some other minor items as well. In the end, the Council approved the ordinance with 8 voting yes and 2 voting no.

The Council also had the first reading of an ordinance rezoning parcel 33-06798 from “CMU” (Community Mixed Use) to “MR-12” (Multi-Family Residential). As it was a first reading, no further action was taken and will be brought back for a second reading.

They also approved to change the 2nd meeting in December, originally scheduled for the 26th, to the week before on December 19th. The Council also approved three resolutions regarding a conditional use permit at 1000 Corporate Drive, 3214 Mannville Lane, and 608 North Schmidt Avenue.

They also approved a 5-year contract extension for biosolids hauling, appointing Sara Bartkowiak as Youth Services Coordinator and authorizing refilling vacant Youth Services Specialist with 2 PT positions, authorizing refilling vacant casual Library Specialist position, and revised policies for sick leave and leave donation.

Finally, the Council heard a presentation from Visit Marshfield.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.