Employees at the Shawano County Planning and Development Department are looking for help in dealing with chicken complaints.
Town officials aren’t eager to take on the problems themselves.
“We know the county has limited funds, and the towns have less,” Supervisor James Przybylski said at the Nov. 20 county board meeting. “The county planning and zoning enforces the rules, which helps the towns that follow the county zone. There is discussion of passing off to the towns the chickens in the hamlets issue.”
Przybylski also serves as chairman in the Town of Angelica.
He said past practice has been when someone complained about others having chickens in residential areas, the county department would send out a letter informing the chicken owner that the birds weren’t allowed and that would most often end the matter.
A county ordinance makes it illegal to have chickens in hamlets (unincorporated communities) or other residential areas in the county.
“More people are moving to smaller areas, and they a lot of times don’t know the rules,” Przybylski said. “A letter from the county takes care of the issue.”
County staff claim they don’t have the time or staff to continually deal with the complaints.
“I’ve been contacted by the PDZ director with regards to looking into whether or not this is something we want to do as a county with regards to allowing towns to oversee permits for chickens in residential areas,” said Larenda Maulson, corporation counsel for the county.
Supervisor Kathy Luebke, who serves as chair of the PDZ committee, said that with the oversight that is required, the county does not have the resources to check up on each complaint.
“We have to start looking at what we an actually do,” she said.
Przybylski disagreed.
“It’s not an issue of manpower,” he said. “We worked together before. The county should make more of an effort.”
He said he raised the issue so other supervisors become aware of what the county is and is not doing.
“What’s next on the 178-page zoning book that’s supposed to help the towns?” Przybylski said.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
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