DRA members win urban chicken pilot program

Dakota Rural Action members scored a victory on Jan. 26 when the Brookings, SD, City Council approved a one-year pilot program to allow residents to raise chickens in their backyard.

DRA’s Brookings Chicken Advocates have been organizing to legalize backyard chickens for years. The group’s effort produced a pilot program that lets residents to own 6 hens, but no roosters, with a 25-foot minimum coops setback from neighbors, in a moveable coop. BCA members believe chickens strengthen the community by localizing food, aiding urban gardening, and educating families.

The City Council passed the measure with a 5-1 vote. The city will grant permits to the first 10 qualified families to have urban chickens for one year. The program will be evaluated next year. Applications will be considered on Feb. 18.

You can hear more about the measure from Brookings Radio News, Brookings Council approves backyard chickens pilot program.

For more information about urban chickens or to join DRA’s campaign, contact organizer Holly Tilton Byrne.