Chickens are seen in the backyard of an Emmaus home in 2017. (The Morning Call file photo)

After a three-hour meeting Tuesday, and heated back and forth between the mayor and a council member, Bethlehem unanimously approved an ordinance allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyard.

The ordinance, sponsored by Council members Paige Van Wirt and Hillary Kwiatek, would allow Bethlehem residents to keep up to six chickens in their backyard, with some limitations.

Advocates for chicken ownership say it empowers owners with a reliable, affordable source of food while being a minimal nuisance to neighbors. But the mayor and some city officials oppose the ordinance, saying it creates a burden for city police to enforce and could be a health hazard.

“This ordinance is what food sovereignty is about,” said Kelly Allen, a food studies professor at Northampton Community College. “We are giving people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds the freedom to feed themselves and engage in a food system that is appropriate to who they are.”

During the meeting, Mayor J. William Reynolds and Van Wirt disagreed on whether council should hold the vote at all. Reynolds said he asked council to schedule a committee meeting where members and city officials could discuss the ordinance without officially voting on it, but was denied.

Van Wirt said the request for a committee meeting came too soon before the scheduled vote, making it impossible to schedule in advance of Tuesday’s meeting. Reynolds’ administration requested a committee hearing on the ordinance in a July 8 memo, 11 days before the scheduled vote.

“I would respectfully disagree that the best way to do this is pass this now and try to figure out all the details later,” Reynolds said.

“I have figured out all the details,” Van Wirt responded. “That’s what this —”

“Dr. Van Wirt, you’re not the only person who lives in the city of Bethlehem,” Reynolds interjected. “And I said that as far as, we do not make determinations here, as far as what I have just figured, all of the details —”

Council President Michael Colon then interrupted Reynolds to ask he wrap up his thoughts.

“Mr. Mayor, I think your points were made,” Colon said. “I think we’re spinning our wheels at this point.”

Under the new ordinance, residents must apply to the city for a chicken ownership permit, keep the coop at least 5 feet from adjacent property lines and prevent the animals from causing a disturbance to neighbors. Slaughtering chickens or selling eggs commercially would not be allowed.

Failure to meet conditions could result in fines up to $1,000 and seizure of the owner’s chicken license.

“I think it is a tight ordinance that could allow people the freedom to do something in their own yards and homes they should have the freedom to do,” Kwiatek said. “I think if you can have a dog or a cat, you should be able to have a chicken.”

The city’s board of health wrote a letter urging council not to pass the ordinance, warning of potential health risks, such as salmonella and avian flu viruses. Members of council and advocates argued the health risks are minimal and less serious than that of common household pets such as dogs and cats.

Deputy police Chief Scott Meixhell warned that officers could have trouble enforcing the ordinance because some of the guidelines on odor and noise levels are unclear. Van Wirt said she plans to introduce amendments that would clarify when officers could intervene.

She also plans to introduce an amendment to make chicken ownership a “pilot” program, where the city would only issue 40 licenses in the first year.

Bethlehem first banned residential chicken ownership in 2007. Backyard chickens are allowed in several municipalities across the country, including nearby Emmaus. Philadelphia is weighing a similar ordinance to allow backyard chicken ownership.

Council will hold a second reading of the ordinance Aug 2. Van Wirt said Bethlehem residents may be able to apply for a chicken license as soon as this fall.

Morning Call reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at 610-820-6681 and liweber@mcall.com.