The city of Owen Ordinance Committee met on Wednesday, May 28 to discuss three items. The first was an ordinance in regard to boring. DPW Chad Smith said he hasn’t found one yet, but Dorchester is also working on an ordinance because they had a number of water main breaks after a company did some boring this past winter. Smith would like to see boring prohibited from November to May. He said a utility could ask for an exception if it was an emergency.
The next ordinance was in regard to chickens. The committee looked at Stetsonville’s ordinance and voted to send it to the city attorney with a couple of changes. After the attorney looks over the ordinance, it will come back to the committee for approval before being recommended to the council. The committee set an annual permit fee of $40 for having up to four chickens. Roosters are not allowed. Any coop has to be 25 feet from the property line. They also discussed removing a statement that said, “Retail establishments may hold an unlimited number of chickens for sale.” People who violate the ordinance will be fined $10 per day from the date a corrective warning is issued.
The final ordinance was in regard to Sex Offender Residency in the City, but Police Chief Patrick Fehlman felt that Owen’s current ordinance might be okay. He will check into this more