Chickens are OK in Rathdrum

RATHDRUM - Rathdrum has scratched its chicken law and added teeth to its vicious dog ordinance.

The City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday night that allows any single-family homeowner to have up to 10 hens on its property.

The previous law only allowed homeowners of lots that are an acre or larger to have birds.

The chickens are required to have a coop or other shelter and there are setback requirements for the structures.

The council made the change after 10-year-old Alyson Chatterton requested that the city change the law so she could raise chickens for a 4-H project. The decision comes about two years after the council opted not to change the law after another resident came forward.

City officials said no reported problems in other cities that allow chickens on an single-family lots made their decision easier.

Meanwhile, the council also passed law changes involving vicious dogs.

If a dog is determined to be vicious, the owner is given a written notice that their dog is vicious. If the owner chooses not to put the dog down and wants to keep the dog, they have to meet conditions to have the dog released to take it home.

"They have to have the dog securely confined indoors or in an enclosed and locked pen or structure," City Administrator Brett Boyer said. "When taking the dog out of the kennel, pen or structure the dog must be muzzled, restrained by a chain or leash not more than 4 feet and under the physical control of a person, put up vicious dog signs in a prominent place and the owner has to get and pay for public liability insurance in the amount of $100,000."

The insurance amount was changed from $500,000 to $100,000.

"It was not possible to get that amount of insurance ($500,000) to cover public liability insurance and the requirement to name the city as an additional insured," Boyer said.

The changes also involved clarifying the language that describes the process for declaring a dog vicious.