Chicken run: City of Pullman makes way for more pet hens

Pullman residents can own as many as six pet chickens, as long as they are hens, without prior city approval.

The Pullman City Council on Tuesday approved changing the city code to allow residents to keep as many as six hens as pets without a square-footage requirement for their lot. The old ordinance required residents to have a lot of at least 10,000 square feet to own hens, which Pullman Planning Director RJ Lott said likely eliminated approximately 95 percent of Pullman residential lots.

The city still requires a minimum 10,000-square-foot lot to house roosters, which are not considered household pets under the ordinance. Roosters are regulated differently because they are noisier than hens, Lott said.

Residents can keep as many as six hens if the total pets per dwelling unit, including dogs and cats, does not exceed eight.

The Pullman Planning commission and Board of Adjustment discussed this issue in 2019 when a Pullman High School student, Kevin Lassiter, asked the city to change its code regarding hens.

His family’s home was too small to legally keep the three chickens he was raising for FFA and 4-H. Lassiter and others argued that the city should not have more restrictive laws for hens than it does for dogs, as hens are much smaller, easier to handle and usually quieter than dogs. There is no square-footage requirement for dogs.

Also Tuesday, the council approved a 3 percent cost of living adjustment for nonrepresented city staff.

The city budget presented to the Pullman City Council last fall did not include this wage increase because, according to city officials, there was too much financial uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A memo from City Administrator Mike Urban says that unlike bargaining units, nonrepresented employees do not have contractually obligated yearly COLAs associated with their employment.

There are 77 full-time nonrepresented city staff

Also Tuesday, the council accepted an $83,524 bid from Shawn Cole Construction, Inc., to construct a memorial observation deck at Neill Public Library.

The deck is being built to honor long-time library volunteer Sarah Moore, who died in 2012. It is being funded entirely by private donations, including from Moore’s husband, Matthew Root.

Construction is scheduled to start in August and be completed by mid-October. Councilman Al Sorensen was the only council member who voted against it. Sorensen said he did not have enough information about the deck to feel comfortable approving the bid.

The American Legion and Pullman Police Department began Tuesday’s meeting by handing out awards to first responders who helped save lives during emergency incidents last year.

Sgt. Aaron Breshears and officers Wade Winegardner, Brian Chamberlin and Nathan Padrta were awarded the American Legion of Washington Humanitarian of the Year award for responding to a suicidal man holding a shotgun to his abdomen July 1, 2020, on Sunnyside Hill. Their crisis intervention efforts led to the man putting the shotgun down and allowing officers to transport him to the hospital.

The Pullman Police Department and the local American Legion Maynard-Price Post 52 also presented awards to police officers who helped save lives in 2020.

Sgt. Todd Dow and Officer Breauna Banks were recognized for administering CPR and a defibrillator to a patient who was not breathing March 1, 2020, on Military Hill.

Officers Heidi Lambley, Teayana McNannay, Banks, Ashley Lam and Kayla Nuxoll were recognized for administering CPR, Narcan and a defibrillator on a patient May 21, 2020, at a fraternity on College Hill.

Sgt. Todd Dow was recognized for administering Narcan to a male who was not breathing normally Oct. 11 on Pioneer Hill.

Two others, residents Jason Kennedy and Keiko Marotto, received the Pullman Police Department Outstanding Citizen Award. They were recognized for intervening and calling 911 when a man attempted to rob two pedestrians May 17 in downtown Pullman.

Roland Davis, who allegedly charged the pedestrians with a skateboard and demanded they give him money, was arrested later that evening when police tracked him down.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.