Vandergrift Council appoints committee to study how to regulate home-kept chickens

Vandergrift officials are taking steps to adopt an ordinance on backyard chickens.

“The only thing we have in place right now is an old ordinance for nuisance fowl,” borough Solicitor Larry Loperfito said, adding that the decades-old ordinance addresses concerns such as a noisy rooster crowing.

A three-person committee created during Monday’s council meeting will work out the details of a proposal to permit chickens to be raised by residents. Council members Christine Wilson, Karen McClarnon and Casimer Maszgay were appointed.

Vandergrift Mayor Barb Turiak said she hasn’t fielded any complaints about chickens in the borough.

“Most of these people want these chickens as pets and for eggs. We’ll just have to see what happens with the new ordinance,” Turiak said.

Resident Tim Gourley presented information to council on the benefits of backyard chickens.

Gourley, 37, has seven chickens on his Spruce Street property. He says they’re not bothering anyone. They are housed in an enclosed coop and have access to a chicken-wire run and a fenced-in backyard.

“We were a little concerned about a new chicken ordinance,” Gourley said. “They’re pets with a purpose.”

Gourley’s children tend to the chickens, and the family eats their hens’ eggs.

“I want to make sure any regulations they choose to enforce are reasonable and don’t place any undue burden on people that choose to have chickens,” Gourley said.

Resident Chloe Kruse, a council candidate who has several chickens in her fenced-in backyard on Grant Avenue, agreed: “I would hate to see too many regulations put in place.”

She said she initially introduced chickens as a learning experience for her young children.

“We grew to love it, and it’s just a great experience for my kids,” Kruse said. “They hold them all the time, and we eat eggs daily.”

McClarnon, one of the councilwomen appointed to the committee, said suggestions will be made after reviewing other municipalities’ ordinances and receiving input from the solicitor. Loperfito could not provide a timeline for a vote on the new ordinance.