01-14-13 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 14, 2013 BILL NO. 64-12 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 5, ARTICLE 3 ADDRESSING ANIMAL CARE REGULATIONS BY THE INCLUSION OF REGULATIONS ADDRESSING URBAN CHICKENS AND SECTION 5-49 OF ARTICLE 9 ADDRESSING PENALTIES; VIOLATIONS OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE Councilmember Dieter made a motion to combine Bill Nos. 74-11 and 64-12 for purposes of Public Hearing. Councilmember Varner seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember White reported that a joint meeting of the Zoning & Annexation, Personnel & Finance and Health and Public Safety Committees was held and it was the consensus of the committees to send these bills to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand read amendments into the record for Bill No. 74- 11: On page 2 Section 21-.02.11 (a)(G)(i): delete “Animal Control Department” insert “Department of Code Enforcement.” On page 3, Section 21-02.11 (a)(G)(ii): delete “And criminal” Councilmember Varner made a motion to accept the amendments as read. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded the motion, which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to amend this bill: On Page 3, Section 5-15 Add the following NEW Paragraph (g) to read as follows: (g) The Code Enforcement Department, in conjunction with the Law Department, created pursuant to South Bend Municipal Code Section 2-13, shall be responsible for creating appropriate form(s) needed to carrying out the provisions of this section. Such forms(s) shall include, but not be limited to, a form requiring a property owner to provide notice to all of his/her adjacent property owners of his/her filing of an application for an Urban Chicken Permit, required in paragraph © of this section. A thirty(30) day period from the date of filing an application for an Urban Chicken Permit shall be given for adjacent property owners to respond, after receiving such notice from the applicant by certified mail. If all adjacent property owners have given consent or failed to respond within thirty (30) days of mailing of the notice, a permit may be issued, if all Code provisions have been met. If all adjacent property owners do not consent, an administrative review hearing shall be conducted by the Code Enforcement Department with notice of the time, date and location of being provided to the applicant and all adjacent property owners and/or adjacent non-owner residents, with such hearing being conducted pursuant to South Bend Municipal Code Section 4-16. Councilmember Dr. David Varner seconded the motion. The motion was defeated by a roll call vote of six (6) nays and three (3) ayes (Councilmember’s Dr. Fred Ferlic, Oliver Davis, and Gavin Ferlic.) th Ms. Christa Nayder, Staff Planner, Area Plan Commission, 11 Floor, County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, presented the report from the Commission. Ms. Nayder advised that this bill is a text change, initiated by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, amending Chapter 21 of the South Bend Municipal Code Article 2, Residential Districts, to allow the raising and care of chickens as an accessory use; and adding certain related definitions. In November 2009, the idea of allowing the raising and care of chickens was introduced to the Common Council. For the past three years, the staff of the Area Plan Commission, representatives from Code Enforcement, other City departments, and the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, met with representatives from the Urban Chicken Alliance to draft an ordinance in the best interest of the City and its residents. She noted that 6