03-11 Bill No 2025-01City of Richfield March 11, 2025
County of Hennepin
State of Minnesota
BILL NO. 2025-01
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Motion by: Christensen
Seconded by: Hayford Oleary
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER IX OF THE RICHFIELD CODE OF ORDINANCES
PERTAINING TO MAINTENANCE OF BIRDS AND FOWL;
SUBSECTION 905.37 OF THE RICHFIELD CITY CODE
THE CITY OF RICHFIELD DOES ORDAIN:
Section 1. Chapter IX, Section 905.37 of the Richfield Code of Ordinances is
repealed in its entirety and replaced as follows:
905.37. - Maintenance of fowl and birds.
Subdivision 1. Prohibitions.
a. No person shall own or keep any chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other
fowl or birds without obtaining a permit from the City.
b. No person owning or keeping chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other fowl or
birds may abandon such birds or fowl or permit the same to run at large or enter
upon the premises of another without permission, nor may any such fowl or birds
be kept, raised or permitted to run at large on any street, park, lake or public
ponding area.
c. No person shall slaughter any chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other fowl or
birds within the City of Richfield.
d. No person shall sell or breed any chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other fowl
or birds within the City of Richfield.
Subd. 2. Limitation on number. No more than six (6) fowl or birds may be kept or raised
on any residential property in the City. This limitation does not apply to the keeping of
pigeons pursuant to a license under the provisions of this section.
Subd. 3. Injury or annoyance to others.
For public nuisances related to fowl or birds, the City shall follow the notice and abatement
procedure in Section 925. The following standards shall apply to all birdsfowl kept or raised on
residential property in the City, and violations of such standards shall be considered a public
nuisance:
a. No such fowl or birds may be kept or raised in a manner as to cause injury or
annoyance to persons on other property in the vicinity by reason of noise, odor or
filth.
b. Fecal waste or litter shall be removed at such reasonable times to prevent odors
from emitting over property lines.
Subd. 4. Impounding of fowl or birds. A fowl or bird at large in violation of subdivision 1 may
be impounded by the City, and, after being impounded for three (3) days or more without
being reclaimed by the owner, may be destroyed or sold. A person reclaiming any
impounded fowl shall pay the cost of impounding and keeping the same.
Subd. 5. Permit requirements and process.
a. The application shall be on a form developed by the City. The application form shall
be made available at City Hall. The fees for such permits shall be payable upon
submission of application and are as described in Appendix D.
b. The City may inspect the premises annually or as deemed necessary.
City of Richfield March 11, 2025
County of Hennepin
State of Minnesota
BILL NO. 2025-01
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c. Approval of application is subject to reasonable conditions listed below. The City may
impose any other reasonable conditions. Failure to adhere to permit conditions shall
constitute cause for adverse action against the permit and shall be a violation of this
section. A site plan demonstrating adherence to the following reasonable conditions
must be submitted as part of the permit application to Business Licensing.
Reasonable conditions include:
i. Coops must contain four (4) square feet per fowl;
ii. Runs must contain ten (10) square feet per fowl;
iii. Coops must contain one (1) foot of roosting space per fowl;
iv. Coops must contain one (1) nesting box per every three (3) hens;
v. Coops must provide adequate ventilation, including a window or opening for
air flow;
vi. Coops must provide adequate predator proofing with hardware cloth, not
chicken wire, which should extend at least twelve (12) inches underground
and twelve (12) inches out from the coop;
vii. Coops must not exceed one hundred and seventy-five (175) total square feet;
and
viii. Coops must be setback at least three (3’) feet from each property line.
d. A permit may be granted pursuant to this section only after the applicant has met any
educational requirements as established by the City’s code compliance officer or
their designee, including completing an approved backyard fowl course from an
approved vendor as referenced on the application form.
e. If the applicant is a renter, the applicant must provide evidence of written approval of
the property owner in conjunction with the permit application.
f. All permits are valid indefinitely for one year unless otherwise revoked by reason of
any violation of this subsection or by reason of violation of any other provisions of
this code or any order, law or regulation by violation of any condition of their permit.
Before revoking a fowl or bird license, the licenseepermittee shall be given notice
and an opportunity to be heard at a meeting before a hearing officer designated by
the City Manager at which such revocation will be considered. Written notice shall
either be delivered personally or mailed to the address of the licenseepermittee as
set forth in the license application at least five (5) days before the meeting. At the
meeting, the licenseepermittee must be given an opportunity to be heard. Following
the meeting, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision regarding the
revocation within ten (10) days of the hearing date. If the citationrevocation is upheld
by the hearing officer, the cCity’s actual expenses infor holding the hearing, up to a
maximum of $1,000.00, must be paid by the person requesting the hearingpermittee.
g. Applicants must apply for annual permits for each of the first three (3) years of owning
and keeping fowl. If there have been no verified nuisance reports regarding the fowl
after three (3) years, the applicant does not need to continue applying for an annual
permit. If the permittee has no violations of this subsection or any condition of their
permit during the initial three-year permit period, then the permittee shall no longer be
required to apply for subsequent annual permits. Following the initial permit period, the
permittee must still comply with all provisions of this subsection and all conditions of
their permits, and the City may still revoke permits for violations of this subsection and
such conditions.
h. The requirements of this section shall not prohibit the adoption of fowl to the public
by any releasing agency, private shelter, rescue group, or public sheltering agency
City of Richfield March 11, 2025
County of Hennepin
State of Minnesota
BILL NO. 2025-01
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provided the adoption contract specifies that the animal cannot be sold, transferred,
or otherwise disposed of for a period of six (6) months following the adoption without
written consent of the releasing agency, except for euthanization by a licensed
veterinarian to prevent pain and suffering or disease transmission.
(Amended 03-11-2025, Bill No. 1996-10)
Section 2. This ordinance will be effective in accordance with Sections 3.09 of the City
Charter.
VOTING AYE VOTING NAY
Supple, Mary Supple, Mary
Burk, Walter Burk, Walter
Christensen, Sharon Christensen, Sharon
Coleman-Woods, Rori Coleman-Woods, Rori
Hayford Oleary, Sean Hayford Oleary, Sean
Adopted by the City of Richfield on this 11th day of March, 2025.
Mary Supple, Mayor
ATTEST:
Michelle Friedrich, City Clerk
RESOLUTION NO. 12308
RESOLUTION APPROVING SUMMARY PUBLICATION
OF AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING
SECTION 905.37 OF THE CITY CODE PERTAINING
TO MAINTENANCE OF FOWL
WHEREAS, the City has adopted the above-referenced amendment of the
Richfield City Code; and
WHEREAS, the verbatim text of the amendment is cumbersome, and the
expense of publication of the complete text is not justified;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of
Richfield that the following summary is hereby approved for official publication:
SUMMARY PUBLICATION
BILL NO. 2025-01
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING SECTION 905.37 OF THE CITY CODE
This summary of the ordinance is published pursuant to Section 3.12 of the
Richfield City Charter.
This ordinance, which repeals and replaces City Code Section 905.37
Maintenance of Fowl, does the following: increases the number of fowl allowed to be
kept in the City and outlines the new permitting process and site plan requirements.
Copies of the ordinance are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s
office during normal business hours or upon request by calling the City Clerk at 612-
861-9739.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Richfield, Minnesota, this 11th day of
March, 2025.
Mary B. Supple, Mayor
ATTEST:
Michelle Friedrich, City Clerk