At the Vincent Community Board meeting this week members were presented with a draft of the Central Otago District Council’s proposed Urban Poultry & Bees Bylaw.
Council policy and strategy lead Alix Crosbie said there had been an increase in people keeping poultry and bees in towns around the district, she said.
While in most cases it was well managed, if it was not, neighbouring properties had problems with early morning noise, smell and vermin.
At present, the council responded to complaints but had limited ability to set clear expectations in advance.
The proposed bylaw was intended to provide a straightforward framework so residents understood what was acceptable, and to support more consistent and timely enforcement where necessary, Ms Crosbie said.
She was gathering information from community boards before taking the bylaw to the council.
Working through the process had thrown up some conundrums, she said.
"We don’t want roosters in urban areas because they have a habit of crowing at 5am.
"I tried really hard to figure out a pathway of what to do, and in a community like ours, where a small child hatches an egg and it turns out to be a boy, and they just don’t want to get rid of that rooster."
On the flip side was neighbours with severe allergies being exposed to beehives next door.
"And if we were to get to a situation where you’re in the neighbourhood of someone with a severe allergy, our enforcement team have the ability to say, not this hive right here."
Under the proposed bylaw those living on land zoned residential or township could keep up to six hens and two beehives.
Rural residents would be unaffected by the proposed changes.
There would be restrictions on coop and beehives set back from boundaries and upkeep.
If a resident already had more than six hens, or unintentionally acquired a rooster, a short-term permit for up to three months could be granted to allow for re-homing under the proposed rules, Ms Crosbie said.
The council would seek public feedback before making a final decision on the bylaw, she said.
