Backyard chickens are one step closer to coming to Collingswood

Collingswood neighbors could soon seek licenses for backyard hens after an 18-year push from advocates.

Collingswood’s three commissioners introduced the proposed amendment that would undo its ban on fowl passed back in 2008 during their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Both Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward and Commissioner Amy Henderson Riley, elected in May, expressed support.

Solano-Ward said 19 other Camden County towns have already allowed backyard hens with little issue. With their support, the ordinance will move forward for a vote next month.

“We don’t see any data or reason to stand in the way of it any longer,” Solano-Ward said.

Jim Maley, another commissioner and the former mayor of Collingswood, long oversaw the borough’s previous fights for backyard chickens and helped pass the original 2008 ban. On Tuesday, Maley voted against moving the ordinance forward.

“No, I’m gonna go ‘no,’” Maley said. “The reason is because I believe that a change like this in our borough, there should be a requirement within the ordinance that there’s notification provided to neighbors.”

The ordinance, like most other backyard chicken codes in the county, doesn’t require notice to neighbors. But there are plenty of other rules, including taking an hours-long online course and undergoing inspections.

Collingswood could only distribute 30 total backyard chicken licenses at a time (of the borough’s estimated 6,500 households), and no roosters would be permitted. The number of hens allowed on a given property would depend on its size — a lot fewer than 4,000 square feet couldn’t have any hens, and a lot 9,000 square feet or more would be capped at 12 hens.

The proposal also sets requirements for the coop’s structure and its distance from other property lines, bans the sale of eggs and the slaughter of chickens, and would create a resident-led Backyard Hen Advisory Board to monitor complaints and enforce rules. Violations could come with a fine up to $1,250 or up to 90 days in prison.

Henderson Riley, who previously took the three-hour-long backyard chicken course to test the waters, said the ordinance doesn’t make it easy to get hens.

“It required me to pay attention,” Henderson Riley said. “I didn’t get 100%.”

A few attendees spoke up with concerns about the pitched program, but worries about the chickens’ impact on health and neighboring homes were mostly addressed by conditions set in the ordinance.

Larry DiGiovanni, a Collingswood resident, asked the commissioners about oversight of potential chicken licensees and how bird droppings could create an unsafe environment for community members.

“I’ve known people who have done this, and it is kind of a daunting task because it’s a lot to take care of,” DiGiovanni said. “And sometimes, you can get a little bit out of control.”

Graham Patterson, 35, sat quietly at the meeting Tuesday with two of his fellow Camden County chicken advocates, including the “Chicken Lady of South Jersey,” Gwenne Baile, who has fought for backyard hen ordinances across New Jersey since 2009.

When he moved to Collingswood back in 2023, Patterson, a software engineer, wanted to start a chicken coop to give his two children the chance to take up more responsibility and get a closer look at the food they eat. If the proposal passes in October, Patterson will become the chairperson of the Backyard Hen Advisory Board.

Patterson said he doesn’t think the program should require notice to neighbors, since residents wouldn’t have to bypass zoning rules to have a coop. His goal is to make sure the program makes the borough happy from the jump.

“If we bear a few bad eggs in the program, that’s not really advantageous for us,” Patterson said. “We want the program to be successful. We want to be compliant. We want neighbors to be completely indifferent to whether people have chickens on their property.”