Provo Mayor Lewis Billings says a law that would allow residents to keep chickens on their property needs more work before he'll approve it.

The ordinance, which would allow up to six hens on a lot depending on its size, passed by a vote of 4-3 in an April 21 Municipal Council meeting. But Billings sent a letter to the council Wednesday saying he won't sign it into law just yet. He said while he isn't opposed to the notion, he has concerns about some technical aspects of implementation stemming from a clause requiring permits to keep the animals, a failure to appropriate money for enforcement, and a troublesome stipulation that chicken enclosures be kept at least 15 feet from property lines.

"Please know that I am not opposed to chickens and the general intent of this ordinance, which I believe is directed at allowing interested residents to lawfully keep chickens," he wrote. "If these can be resolved in a future amendment to the city code, it would be my intent to approve such a measure."

Billings's move marks the first time since 2007 that he has blocked an ordinance passed by the council. The ordinance would have gone into effect today if he had approved it. City spokeswoman Helen Anderson said police will not enforce the current chicken ban for the next two weeks while the bill's language is being reviewed. Several Provo residents are already keeping chickens in their yards.

If it so chooses, the council can override the mayor's block with votes from five of its seven members at its next meeting, Anderson said.

Billings's first objection is over the council's decision to require permits for chicken-keeping. He writes that public sentiment overwhelmingly goes against the idea, and that unlike dogs and cats, chickens do not need to be licensed for purposes of vaccination or risk of running amok.

"The administration would support an ordinance that established reasonable standards without requiring a permit," the letter said.

Billings said if the council wants to continue with a permitting program, it will need to set aside between $30,700 and $50,000 a year for an enforcement officer. He also took issue with a requirement that enclosures be kept at least 15 feet from property lines, saying that would exclude many residents who would otherwise participate.

"In most areas of the city, placing a coop and an enclosure in that limited footprint will place this enclosure in the middle of a back yard, if it can be placed at all," he wrote. "If our regulations are not reasonable, people will not abide by them."

The mayor also asked the council to better define its requirements for a predator-proof enclosure and add language clarifying its relationship to other city and county Health Department rules.

Council Vice Chair Sherrie Hall Everett, who voted for the ordinance, said she was surprised Billings raised concerns after it was passed. She said he had ample time to ask for clarification or revisions in the months of work sessions leading up to its passage, and should have done so.

"I'm just frankly surprised that the administration waited until the veto memo," she said. "I think it would have been appropriate to bring those [concerns] to several work sessions prior to the ordinance rather than to respond after the vote."

In response, Anderson said the administration simply didn't have time to react before the council voted. Billings received the finalized ordinance at the meeting just hours before the vote took place, leaving him little time to react, she said. She said the issue of a permit fee -- a big problem for the mayor -- was raised for the first time in the bill's final form.

"It was presented as-is for the first time the same night that it was voted on," she said. "The part about the permit was not in any draft that was discussed in a work session. It is the permit that is a large part of the cost that we think will be associated with this ordinance."

• Ace Stryker can be reached at astryker@heraldextra.com.

Related

• Chickens settling in at Provo residences