Township Wrestles with Rooster Rights

The Township Committee may be ready to move on a new ordinance setting limits on the number of chickens residents can have at Thursday's meeting—if members can come to a consensus on other farm animals.

The committee has been discussing the proposed ordinance after receiving a complaint of noise and smell from a property with hundreds of the birds, basing the township's on a similar ordinance from Hopewell Township.  

At the Oct. 3 meeting, committee members discussed how an ordinance limiting residents' chicken population could expand into limits on other farm animals.

"The thought, and my concern, is once you start here, then you look at the other animals," Township Attorney Jeffrey Lehrer said.

The members agreed they wanted to try and maintain Warren's traditional farming feel, but concerns about neighbor conflicts over the heath and noise impacts of large numbers of animals pushing for some regulation.

The current plan would set a limit of six chickens permitted on lots of at least 1.5-acre size; each additional acre would allow for four chickens.

But Zoning Officer John Chadwick pointed out roosters are the real problem for neighbors, which Lehrer said are banned in the ordinance being considered—except for "visiting" roosters.

Chicken growers often "rent" roosters for periods of time for their coups, thereby avoiding the problems with the noisy and aggressive birds. Lehrer said the committee could consider allowing certain "visitation rights" for roosters.

"I never thought when i got elected I'd ever be worried about rooster visitation rights," Deputy Mayor Vic Sordillo said.