This one’s for the birds: Bryan County Commissioners on Tuesday heard the first reading of an amendment to the county’s 5–year-old unified development ordinance that, if adopted, will allow residents in some areas to keep chickens.
As many as four chickens, to be precise. But no more.
The proposed amendment, which will be the subject of a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing Jan. 20, and a second reading and public hearing at the County Commission’s Feb. 10 meeting, if passed will allow residents living in R-15 zoned districts for medium to low-density single family homes to keep up to four chickens.
The proposed ordinance notes the county “has received requests to allow the keeping of chickens as an accessory use,” and also that “the Bryan County Board of Commissioners has determined that allowing chickens in the R-15 zoning district, subject to reasonable use conditions, is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare of Bryan County residents.”
The topic of backyard chickens in some subdivisions came up around the time of the COVID pandemic, when some residents in South Bryan began keeping chickens in backyard coops only to find out they were against ordinances. In 2023, chicken proponents started a petition on Change.org in support of “backyard chickens.”
It had 148 signatures, as of Tuesday night.
The new amendment to the ordinance, which if passed will go somewhere between “Family Child Care Learning Home” and “Home Office,” in the county’s weighty UDO, will limit small farm animals allowed to chickens, and notes that “dogs and other domesticated pets that are customarily kept within a household are not considered to be small farm animal subject to the provisions of this section.”
It then states: “Other domesticated birds such as roosters, turkeys, guinea fowl, peafowl, pigeons, or squab are prohibited.”
The amendment also prohibits raising or keeping chickens for commercial purposes and also requires they be “kept within a secure enclosure, such as a coop, chicken run, or similar structure, that provides adequate shelter and prevents escape.” They also have to meet minimum setback requirements.
R-15 is described as including medium to low-density single family homes.
In other business, County Commissioners appointed District 1 Commissioner Alex Floyd as vice chairman and Aaron Kappler as county attorney, a role he’s held since 2023.
In addition, Commissioners set qualifying fees for 2026 county offices. The fees are $255 for county commissioners -- Districts 2, 4 and 5 are up for election this fall, while the qualifying fee for the chairman’s seat on the school board is $315 and for school board members at $270. Districts 2, 4 and 5 are up for grabs in 2026.
Finally, the qualifying fee for solicitor general was set at $3,060.
Commissioners also approved a request by the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office to enter a five-year contract to buy 50 body cameras from Axon Enterprise, Inc. for $494,000.
During public comment, commissioners heard from BCSO Capt. Joey Waters, who is retiring this year after 31 years with the department. Waters has provided security at County Commission meetings since 2019, and got thanks from commissioners for his service to the community. He received a round of applause from those who attended the meeting as he left the podium.