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BYLAW NO. 3517/2014
BEING A BYLAW OF THE CITY OF RED DEER, IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA,
TO REGULATE THE KEEPING OF CHICKENS IN URBAN AREAS
WHEREAS pursuant to section 7 of the Municipal Government Act the council of a
municipality may pass bylaws for municipal purposes respecting: the safety, health and
welfare of people and the protection of people and property; wild and domestic animals,
and activities in relation to them; and the enforcement of bylaws; and
WHEREAS pursuant to section 8 of the Municipal Government Act the council of a
municipality may, in a bylaw, regulate or prohibit and to provide for a system of licences,
permits and approvals.
NOW THEREFORE, COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RED DEER, IN THE PROVINCE OF
ALBERTA, ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
1. This bylaw may be called the "Chicken Bylaw".
2. For the purposes of this bylaw:
(a) 1"Chicken Licence" means a licence issued by the City Manager
pursuant to this Bylaw authorizing the licence holder to keep Urban
Chickens on a specific property within an Urban Area;
2(a.1) "Change Fee" means the fee charged to a Chicken Licence account
when a licensee changes the physical address of the Chicken Licence;
(b) "Coop" means a fully enclosed weather proof structure and attached
Outdoor Enclosure used for the keeping of Urban Chickens, that is no
larger than 10 m2 in floor area, and no more than 2.4m in height;
(c) "Hen" means a domesticated female chicken;
(d) "Municipal Tag" means a document alleging an offence issued pursuant
to the authority of a Bylaw of the City;
(e) "Outdoor Enclosure" means a securely enclosed, roofed outdoor area
attached to and forming part of a Coop having a bare earth or vegetated
floor for Urban Chickens to roam;
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(f) "Peace Officer" has the same meaning as in the Provincial Offences
Procedure Act;
(g) "Rooster" means a domesticated male chicken;
(h) "Urban Chicken" means a Hen that is at least 16 weeks of age;
(i) "Violation Ticket" has the same meaning as in the Provincial Offences
Procedure Act;
(j) "Urban Area" means lands located within the City on which agricultural
operations, including but not limited to the keeping of livestock are neither
a permitted or discretionary use under the City's Land Use Bylaw.
Purpose
3. The purpose of this bylaw is to regulate and control the keeping of chickens
within Urban Areas.
Prohibitions
4. In an Urban Area, no person shall:
(a) keep a Rooster;
(b) 1keep a Hen, other than an Urban Chicken for which a valid Chicken
Licence has been issued.
2Chicken Licence
5. A person may apply to keep no more than (4) Urban Chickens by:
(a) submitting a completed application, on the form approved by the City
Manager, and
(b) 3paying the applicable licence fee set out in Schedule "A"
6. The City Manager may not issue or renew a Chicken 4Licence unless satisfied
that:
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(a) the applicant is the owner of the property on which the Urban Chickens
will be kept, or that the owner of the property has provided written consent
to the application;
(b) the land use districting of the property on which the Urban Chickens will
be kept allows the placement of a Coop for the keeping of Urban
Chickens;
(c) the applicant resides on the property on which the Urban Chickens will be
kept;
(d) the applicable fee has been paid; and
(e) all required information has been provided.
7. 1Deleted
8. 2The City Manager may refuse to grant or renew a Chicken Licence for the
following reasons:
(a) 3the applicant or licence holder does not or no longer meets the
requirements of this bylaw for a Chicken Licence;
(b) 4the applicant or licence holder:
i. furnishes false information or misrepresents any fact or
circumstance to the City Manager or a Peace Officer;
ii. has, in the opinion of the City Manager based on reasonable
grounds, contravened this bylaw whether or not the contravention
has been prosecuted;
iii. fails to pay a fine imposed by a court for a contravention of this
Bylaw or any other applicable Bylaw related to the keeping of
Urban Chickens;
iv. fails to pay any fee required by this or any applicable Bylaw; or
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(c) in the opinion of the City Manager based on reasonable grounds it is in the
public interest to do so.
9. 1If the City Manager refuses to grant or renew a Chicken Licence, the applicant
may appeal the decision to the Licensing and Community Standards, in
accordance with the procedures set out in The Red Deer Tribunals Bylaw.
10. 2A Chicken Licence is valid only for the period January 1 to December 31 in the
year for which it is issued.
11. 3A Chicken Licence is not transferable from one person to another.
12. 4A person to whom a Chicken Licence has been issued shall produce the licence
at the demand of the City Manager or a Peace Officer.
Chicken Licence Fee
12.15 If the fee for a Chicken Licence is not paid, the Chicken Licence is not valid.
Keeping of Urban Chickens
13. A person who keeps Urban Chickens must:
(a) provide each Hen with at least 0.37 m² of interior floor area, and at least
0.92 m² of Outdoor Enclosure, within the Coop;
(b) 6provide and maintain, in the Coop, at least one nest box per Coop and
one perch per Hen, that is at least 15 cm long;
(c) keep each Hen in the Coop at all times;
(d) provide each Hen with food, water, shelter, light, ventilation, care, and
opportunities for essential behaviours such as scratching, dust-bathing,
and roosting, all sufficient to maintain the Hen in good health;
(e) maintain the Coop in good repair and sanitary condition, and free from
vermin and noxious or offensive smells and substances;
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(f) construct and maintain the Coop to prevent any rodent from harbouring
underneath or within it or within its walls, and to prevent entrance by any
other animal;
(g) keep a food container and water container in the Coop;
(h) keep the Coop secured from sunset to sunrise;
(i) remove leftover feed, trash, and manure in a timely manner;
(j) store feed within a fully enclosed container;
(k) 1store manure within a fully enclosed container, and store no more than 3
cubic feet of manure at a time;
(l) remove all other manure not used for composting or fertilizing and dispose
of same in accordance with City bylaws;
(m) follow biosecurity procedures recommended by the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency to reduce potential for disease outbreak; and
(n) keep Hens for personal use only.
14. No person who keeps Urban Chickens shall:
(a) sell eggs, manure, meat, or other products derived from Hens;
(b) slaughter a Hen on the property;
(c) dispose of a Hen except by delivering it to a farm, abattoir, veterinarian, or
other operation that is lawfully permitted to dispose of Hens; and
(d) keep a Hen in a cage, kennel, or any shelter other than a Coop.
Offence
15. 2A person who contravenes any provision of this Bylaw is guilty of an offence and
is liable on summary conviction to:
(a) fine in the amount specified in Schedule "B" or twice that amount for a
second or subsequent offence within a 12 month time period; or
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(b) for any offence for which there is no penalty specified, to a penalty of $100
or twice that amount for a second or subsequent offence within a 12
month time period.
Continuing Offence
16. 1In the case of an offence that is of a continuing nature, a contravention
constitutes a separate offence in respect of each day, or part of a day, on which it
continues and a person guilty of such an offence is liable, upon summary
conviction, to a fine in an amount not less than that established by this Bylaw for
each such day.
17. 2Deleted
Municipal Tag
18. A Peace Officer is authorized and empowered to issue a Municipal Tag to any
person who the Peace Officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe
has contravened any provision of this Bylaw.
19. A Municipal Tag may be issued to such person:
(a) either personally; or
(b) by mailing a copy to such person at his or her last known post office
address.
20. The Municipal Tag shall be in a form approved by the City Manager and shall state:
(a) the name of the Person;
(b) the offence;
(c) 3fine amount;
(d) that the penalty shall be paid within 14 days of the issuance of the Municipal
Tag; and
(e) any other information as may be required by the City Manager.
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Payment in Lieu of Prosecution
21. Where a Municipal Tag is issued pursuant to this Bylaw, the person to whom the
Municipal Tag is issued may, in lieu of being prosecuted for the offence, pay to the
City the penalty specified within the time period indicated on the Municipal Tag.
Violation Ticket
22. If a Municipal Tag has been issued and if the specified penalty has not been paid
within the prescribed time, then a Peace Officer is authorized and empowered to
issue a Violation Ticket pursuant to the Provincial Offences Procedure Act.
23. Despite section 22, a Peace Officer is authorized and empowered to issue a
Violation Ticket to any person who the Peace Officer has reasonable and probable
grounds to believe has contravened any provision of this Bylaw.
24. If a Violation Ticket is issued in respect of an offence, the Violation Ticket may:
(a) 1impose the specified penalty established by this Bylaw for the offence and
permit a person to make a voluntary payment; or
(b) require a person to appear in court without the alternative of making a
voluntary payment.
Voluntary Payment
25. 2A person who commits an offence and who wishes to plead guilty may:
(a) if a Violation Ticket is issued in respect of the offence; and
(b) if the Violation Ticket specifies the fine amount established by this Bylaw
for the offence;
3plead guilty to the offence by making a voluntary payment by submitting to a
Clerk of the Alberta Court of Justice, on or before the initial appearance date
indicated on the Violation Ticket, the specified penalty set out on the Violation
Ticket.
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Obstruction
26. No Person shall obstruct or hinder any person in the exercise or performance of
the person's powers pursuant to this Bylaw.
Powers of City Manager
27. Without restricting any other power, duty or function granted by this Bylaw, the City
Manager may:
(a) carry out any inspections to determine compliance with this Bylaw;
(b) take any steps or carry out any actions required to enforce this Bylaw;
(c) take any steps or carry out any actions required to remedy a contravention
of this Bylaw;
(d) establish forms for the purposes of this Bylaw; and
(e) delegate any powers, duties or functions under this Bylaw to a City
employee.
General
28. Nothing in this Bylaw relieves a person from complying with any Federal or
Provincial law or regulation, other City Bylaw, or any requirement of any lawful
permit, order or licence.
Severability
29. Every provision of this Bylaw is independent of all other provisions and if any
provision of this Bylaw is declared invalid for any reason by a Court of competent
jurisdiction, all other provisions of this Bylaw shall remain valid and enforceable.
Enactment
30. This Bylaw shall come into force and effect when it has received third reading and
has been duly signed.
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READ A FIRST TIME IN OPEN COUNCIL this
23
day of
June
2014.
READ A SECOND TIME IN OPEN COUNCIL this
7
day of
July
2014.
READ A THIRD TIME IN OPEN COUNCIL this
7
day of
July
2014.
AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK this
7
day of
July
2014.
"Tara Veer"
"Frieda McDougall"
_____________________
_____________________
MAYOR
CITY CLERK
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1Schedule "A"
FEES AND CHARGES
1. The fee for a Chicken Licence is $36.15.
2. The Change Fee for a Chicken Licence is $28.40.
3. The licence fee is to be reviewed and adjusted each year, prior to the renewal
process, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Alberta. Fees will be rounded
to the nearest $0.05.
4. Fees under this bylaw will not be prorated and are non-refundable once paid.
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1Schedule "B"
FINES AND PENALTIES
Section
Offence
Fine
4(a)
Keeping a Rooster
$300.00
4(b)
Keeping a Hen, other than an Urban Chicken for which a
valid Chicken Licence has been issued
$250.00
13(c)
Failure to keep each Hen in the Coop at all times
$100.00
13(e)
Failure to maintain the Coop in good repair and sanitary
condition, and free from vermin and noxious or offensive
smells and substances
$250.00
13(k)
Failure to store manure within a fully enclosed container,
and store no more than 3 cubic feet of manure at a time
$250.00
14(a)
Selling eggs, manure, meat or other products derived from
Hens
$500.00
14(b)
Slaughtering Hen on the property
$500.00
14(c)
Disposing of a Hen except as outlined in the bylaw
$250.00
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