When the weather heats up and people in Johnson County start looking for new projects, questions about backyard chickens start popping up.
In Johnson County, the rules for owning backyard chickens varies from city to city, which can cause confusion for both residents and city officials.
For example, the City of Leawood strictly prohibits the ownership of backyard chickens, while officials with the City of Shawnee look at it as something that encourages empathy and responsibility.
“We’ve had awesome luck with it,” said Scott Hunter, community service officer for the Shawnee Police Department.
Backyard chicken rules vary from city to city
In Lenexa, livestock and poultry are permitted in three zoning districts — Agricultural (AG), Residential Estate (RE) and Planned Residential Estate (RPE). This means most subdivisions in the city, which are zoned for single-family residential, are prohibited.
A recent Facebook post by the City of Lenexa stating backyard chicken restrictions caused uproar with some residents. It’s not unusual for this kind of confusion to happen, and the city is happy to talk with residents about it, said Lenexa Planning Manager Stephanie Kisler.
“It’s pretty clearly on our website, and then, the city code: The policy is that not every property can have chickens,” she said. “It’s probably just some education that’s needed. That’s why we tried to make a really great new webpage with some code information kind of summarized on that page and linking to the actual code itself.”
More Johnson County cities are allowing backyard chickens
The acceptance of backyard chickens in Johnson County continues to evolve.
In November 2023, the Overland Park City Council Public Safety Committee voted 6-0 to recommend the city adopt a new ordinance enshrining backyard chickens in Overland Park in city code.
In 2020, Prairie Village approved regulations allowing for backyard chickens.
Other neighboring cities that allow backyard chickens include: Merriam, Mission, Olathe, Roeland Park, Shawnee, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Regulations and permit requirements vary from city to city.
Some cities view chicken ownership as positive
Since the city of Shawnee allowed for residents to own backyard chickens, Hunter said residents have been raising them without many problems.
“We’ve had next to zero complaints when people comply by the ordinances with how they’re kept up and everything,” he said. “They’re not loud, the coop’s maintained, there’s no smell.”
In Shawnee, a property owner must obtain a special animal permit, where they agree to terms such as they won’t own more than 10 chickens, they can’t have roosters, and coops, runs and/or tractors must be 10 feet from the property line and at least 40 feet from any other residential dwelling, church, school or business.
Hunter’s biggest warning to prospective chicken owners: Understand Shawnee’s ordinances and obtain a permit before building a chicken coop.
“It just kind of stinks when you build this glorious, beautiful coop, but you ended up only being six or seven feet from a property line when you need to be 10,” he said.
Otherwise, Hunter said it’s a positive experience that he hopes more people pick up.
“It’s a great educational tool for kids,” he said. “It teaches them responsibility and stuff like that. Plus, everybody loves farm fresh eggs.”
Go deeper: Overland Park set to permanently allow backyard chickens on some lots
