Ducks may get reprieve

By TOM LOTSHAWThe Daily Inter Lake

Following a plea from a Tenth Avenue West woman ordered to get rid of her ducks, the Kalispell City Council plans to consider amending a livestock ordinance to allow ducks and chickens inside city limits.

Diane Groves said she has had her eight ducks and six chickens for several years, keeping them in a pen in her backyard and selling their eggs to supplement her income.

“They are all brought in at night and not let out until 8 a.m. in consideration of the neighbors so they can sleep,” Groves told council members during a work session Monday night.

Earlier this month, a police officer ordered Groves to get rid of her ducks, which are not allowed to be kept in the city, after a complaint was made about them.

It was either a noise- or smell-based complaint about the ducks, City Manager Jane Howington said.

Groves then approached the council, asking it to amend the livestock ordinance to allow ducks.

Council members agreed to stay the order that Groves gets rid of her ducks as they reconsidered the issue.

The existing livestock ordinance prohibits livestock in general and all fowl inside the city limits.

One exception in the ordinance lets people keep chickens, up to 15 hens but no roosters, as long as they do not cause adverse impact to neighboring property owners.

Other exceptions allow people to keep two pygmy goats and potbellied pigs as household pets and one horse per acre of fenced pasture.

Council member Jim Atkinson said he favors making another exception in the livestock ordinance to allow ducks.

“I guess I’m one of those nostalgic folks who feels like if it’s possible to have a bit of a farming industry within Kalispell without problems then we should do it,” Atkinson said.

“I feel like this is another small industry we can support,” Atkinson said of ducks and their eggs.

Council members Kari Gabriel and Bob Hafferman seemed to agree.

“I don’t think there’s a big difference between ducks and chickens ... I think it’s fine to allow ducks,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel added she would like to see conditions that prohibit male ducks, or drakes, which can be noisier, and require people to clean up the droppings from their ducks, chickens, dogs or any other animal.

Others were more skeptical about the proposed change. “I understand the question of where do we draw the line. I thought we had already drawn that line with chickens,” said council member Jeff Zauner.

The council asked City Attorney Charles Harball to draw up draft legislation for the next regular meeting on Nov. 7.

In other discussions Monday, the council formed a subcommittee of Mayor Tammi Fisher, Hafferman and Zauner to review proposed changes to the city’s subdivision regulations.

The committee is expected to meet in the second week of November to review the changes and report back with a recommendation.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.