BRUNSWICK

The town council held a public hearing Tuesday night concerning changes to the municipal code regarding chicken licenses.

The license would change from $10 per year and being renewed every year to a two year license for $30. The change would also eliminate annual coop inspections, opting for one initial inspection and subsequent inspections based on significant coop alterations or complaints.

Council Chairwoman Sarah Brayman, who co-sponsored the amendment to the municipal code with Vice Chairman Steve Walker, said the change in fees and inspections is better aligned with the money and man hours involved in the licensing of the current 21 chicken keepers in town.

Resident Joshua Shean spoke out against the proposal, citing the various permits, the license and reflection on his taxes that are chipping away at residents who wish to raise hens.

Shean said he has kept chickens for three years now, practicing what he referred to as urban homesteading. He said his family also gardens and composts, teaching these lessons to his children.

While Shean said his chickens are pets and not livestock, he admits they are all named after food as a reminder of where they’ll end up when they stop laying

— part of the circle of life, as Shean put it.

Shean said his chickens are an asset to his neighborhood and that those who live near him like checking in on the chickens as well as receive tangible benefits by way of fresh eggs.

Shean said while he supports a two-year license and initial inspections from the animal control officer, he opposes any additional cost imposed by the town.

Shean noted that while costs would increase, the town’s services when it comes to chickens would be decreasing by way of less inspections and fewer licenses to process on an annual basis.

According to Shean, he had to first pay the minimum $45 for a building permit — a cost he said, if broken down into square footage calculations, should have been half that for a permit.

“Also, because of my building permit, I got a nice visit from the town assessing office and my chicken coop gets taxed as an outbuilding. So, each year I’m spending about $10 more on my taxes for my chicken coop. I know it’s splitting hairs and it’s a couple dollars here and there, but it all adds up in the end,” Shean said.

Former chicken owner Kathy Wilson proposed splitting the cost difference for the license, taking it down from $30 to $25, before the council decided to table the issue until their next meeting.

dmcintire@timesrecord.com

Chicken changes

• THE LICENSE would change from $10 per year and being renewed every year to a two-year license for $30. The change would also eliminate annual coop inspections, opting for one initial inspection and subsequent inspections based on significant coop alterations or complaints.