Kane residents hope to loosen local ordinance, make it easier to own backyard chickens

WPSU | By Sydney Roach

Published April 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM EDT

A group of residents in Kane are trying to getting one of the borough's ordinances changed to allow more people to own backyard chickens. Mike Lombardo and his wife had to move their flock to another location since the borough fined them for being out of compliance.

Amid high egg prices and a rising interest in raising backyard chickens, a group of Kane residents are asking the borough to loosen its small animal ordinance.

Currently, Kane residents must keep small animals, such as chickens, in an enclosure at least 25 feet away from any neighbor's property line.

Mike Lombardo says that distance is arbitrary, and the limit should be reduced to 10 feet.

“Everything in place for punishing odor, fines for that, noise complaints — all of that will remain the same," Lombardo said. "This would just allow more people to use the practical-sized backyards that they already have access to.”

Lombardo had to remove his 14 chickens last year after a neighbor complained about the odor. A code enforcement officer told Lombardo he was out of compliance since his yard was not wide enough.

Since then, Lombardo and his wife circulated a petition and mobilized the community to attend a borough council meeting in September.

Kayley Gubelman, Lombardo's wife, said they tried unsuccessfully in September to get the ordinance changed. But the borough told them they could bring the discussion back at a future time.

Mike Lombardo (left) and Kayley Gubelman (right) are among a group of residents in Kane trying to convince borough leaders to loosen requirements in its small animal ordinance.

“Honestly, the amount of people that showed up at that meeting has motivated us to continue this because we're not the only ones suffering from this," Gubelman said. "There's a lot of people in town who either their properties are just too small, or they had to get rid of them.”

Brandy Schimp, Kane’s mayor, said the current ordinance works as intended.

“If we hear how other communities do it that have a smaller boundary line, I think we're all willing to listen," Schimp said. "But until there's, you know, some really detailed data on that, I don't see anyone on council currently wanting to change the boundary line.”

Lombardo said he has researched other municipalities that have less strict small animal ordinances. Plus, he said the interest in owning a backyard chicken is rising locally and nationwide.

Borough leaders will host another discussion on its small animal ordinance at their work session, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the borough office.