Why did the Sturgis voter cross the road? To decide whether chickens could be raised in the city.

The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5. An ordinance on Sturgis’ ballot would allow for the keeping, regulating, and permitting of up to six female chickens in R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 single residential use zoning districts.

Restrictions include a ban on having roosters, crowing hens, or guinea chickens. Additionally, all chickens would have to be fully cooped in an enclosed backyard area. That space would subject to property line setbacks and kept at a minimum distance from neighboring residences.

“This proposal has gone back and forth over several public hearings by the planning commission and city commission,” Sturgis City Manager Andrew Kuk said. “It was the will of the commission to put this to a vote of the people. We look forward to the results.”

Urban chickens were first discussed in 2011, then again in 2021, Watershed Voice previously reported. The topic received new attention in the spring and summer of 2023.

“This ‘big government’ stuff has got to go,’” then-Commissioner Frank Perez said in July 2023. “If someone wants to feed their family by having chickens, let them have chickens. All this red tape and all these regulations have got to go.”

Perez, who is now Sturgis’ mayor, initially called for having the city commission vote on the ordinance. Commissioner Robert Hile called for having the ordinance decided by the voting public. The full commission ultimately voted for the ordinance to appear on a ballot.

“Any future amendments to this ordinance may be made by a 2/3rds vote of the City Commission,” the ordinance states.

Three Rivers, St. Joseph County’s other city, has its own ordinance on housing rabbits and domestic fowl. The ordinance has similar language to what is being proposed in Sturgis.

“It is unlawful for any person to keep any rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, or any poultry in the City unless the same be kept in a sanitary condition and in an enclosed yard or coop which shall be located not less than 20 feet from the street line nor located within such a distance as to jeopardize the health and welfare of the occupants of the adjacent approved or adjoining property, the distance to be determined and approved by the City Manager,” the Three Rivers ordinance states.

Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.