Public Hearing to Address Ban of Chickens in City Limits, Several Other Proposals

FULTON, NY – The Fulton Common Council announced a public hearing to be held at the next regular meeting addressing several proposals.

The public will have the opportunity to weigh in on six separate proposals.

Two proposals are relative to raising animals within city limits as city officials look to amend Chapter 475 “Property Conservation” by adding chickens to the list of animals prohibited from living within city limits.

With that change, the city will also address a change to local law by deleting existing language under “Streets and Sidewalks” that previously prohibited chickens from running on the sidewalk.

“If we don’t have chickens, we wouldn’t have to worry about them running on the sidewalk,” Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. said.

Upon approval, chickens will join a list of other animals prohibited from living within city limits including goats, sheep, swine, horses, cattle and others.

If approved, chickens would be added to the local law after “several incidents” Mayor Woodward said.

A proposal to amend local law in relation to “Bicycles and Play Vehicles” of city code would change requirements for registering bicycles with the city.

Currently, bicycles are required to be registered with the Chief of the Fulton Police Department each year. The department offers such services at their annual Bike Rodeo event.

However, the proposal would require all bicycles to be registered only one time as opposed to yearly.

A proposal to amend Chapter 640 “Zoning” would require all right-of-way requests to first go through the Department of Public Works Commissioner.

Currently, any permanent uses, structures or improvements within the public right-of-way, including such examples as removing a curb or adding a driveway, must have majority approval through the Fulton Common Council.

The council refers the request to DPW Commissioner C.J. Smith III to ensure he would recommend the change. With approval of this proposal, Smith would receive the right-of-way request first to review before going in front of the common council.

A proposal to extend the Cold War veterans exemption under real property tax law will be up for discussion.

Finally, the last motion for public weigh-in proposes that the common council opts-out of exemption from taxation pursuant to Section 487 of Real Property Tax Law.

“This is for a new law, it hasn’t been adopted yet. It’s for green energy, that means if we get people in that bring in big windmills and all that, they get tax exemption. I’m not sure the council needs to give much more of their tax exemptions away. If they want the services and if they’re going to operate a business like that, they need to pay their share,” Mayor Woodward said.

The matter would be able to be discussed in more detail at the public hearing, he noted.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, after the comment portion of the regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers of the Fulton Municipal Building located at 141 S. First St.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to discuss each proposal before they are voted on by councilors.

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