Lafayette urban chicken ban will stand

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - After much discussion, a rule that to prevents people from keeping chickens as pets in Lafayette will stand.

The Lafayette City Council's Public Health and Welfare Safety committee voted not to pursue a change to the city's livestock ordinance.

But people on both sides of the issue were very vocal before a decision was finalized.

Gay-Ellen Stulp and Stephany Miskunas first lobbied the city to allow chickens in Lafayette.

"I do not believe that having chickens in the city are gonna cause major damage to people or to property," said Stulp.

Stulp owns chickens herself, which are temporarily staying at a farm in Tippecanoe County.

Some residents were surprised to find that there were rules governing chicken ownership at all.

"I have four hens. I never dreamed that this wasn't legal. I was a member of the chicken underground and didn't even know it!" said Miskunas.

Others, however, said that the rule had been put in place for good reasons. Mary Lundstrom is one resident who wanted the rule to stand.

"Chickens smell, especially in confined spaces. As my sister - who lives on a farm and raised chickens - said, they're beautiful birds but are they stinky," said Lundstrom.

After an hour of testimony, the council made the decision not to forward the matter to the city council and to let the rules stand as they were.

Stulp said she had no idea the controversy was going to be so big, or that the oppposition would be so plentiful. While the decision made wasn't the one she wanted, she has no plans to fight the matter further.

"I'm not planning on appealing or anything like that," said Stulp. "I thought it was fair. I had my opportunity to say what I thought was important. "

Stulp said she is sad she has to find a permanent home outside Lafayette for the chickens she views as pets. Interestingly enough, one city that allows the urbanization of chickens is Indianapolis.

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