PROVO -- Six months ago, Page Checketts was a bit of a rebel.

She's kept chickens for years on her family's property in northeast Provo; she figures with almost an acre of land, there's plenty of room for them to run and make noise without annoying her neighbors. Of course, several of her neighbors had chickens too, so they weren't put out about it.

Still, she's relieved that her three hens are no longer violating any city ordinances. With a $15 fee and a permit, Checketts became one of six Provo residents who can legally keep the chickens, provided she and her family follow the rules laid out by the Municipal Council when it voted in May to allow residents to have the birds.

"Personally, I was really grateful," said Checketts, who uses the birds to teach her children responsibility, and because fresh eggs taste better than eggs from the store. "We have plenty of room for these chickens, and it's not bothering anybody."

That's what the city wants to avoid with its new ordinance, which so far six people have taken advantage of. It's not a large number, but Municipal Councilwoman Cindy Clark, who championed the chicken cause before the council, wasn't out to make chickens the new puppies. She just knew people who kept chickens and wanted to keep them legally.

"I really feel like it's the people that have had them in the past that are now thinking, 'OK, we're good now,'" Clark said.

She has received only positive feedback since the ordinance passed, although it does put more pressure on chicken owners. Any roosters have to go, and owners have to make sure they have the appropriate number of chickens for their property size and that they're properly cooped.

"People are more aware that you're going to have to do things right now," she said.

The ordinance hit some snags in the process. Mayor Lewis Billings vetoed it initially because he thought it was too restrictive and would require too much work on the part of the city and chicken owners. The council then lowered the fee, clarified some questionable spots and passed it again in May.

The rule requires that hens be kept in chicken coops that are at least 15 feet from any property line, a clause Billings at first disputed because he said that might require coops to be placed in the middle of a yard. It also sets out specifications for the size of the coops and how many animals can be kept; people must have at least 6,000 square feet to keep birds on their property, according to the code.

City code only allows for a few nondomesticated animals to be kept in residential zones; miniature horses also can be housed if certain conditions are met, and people can keep one Vietnamese pot-belly pig. There are, however, some under-the-radar roosters throughout town, and sheep can be seen as one travels west.

So far, though, the chickens seem to be adapting to their legal status. Corporal Mike Ruiz of the Provo Police Department, who is an animal control officer for the city, said they've always received chicken complaints, but that's because chickens were roaming the streets. No one has called in improperly kept chickens under this ordinance, he said.

"That I can see, we haven't had too much trouble yet," he said.

As for Checketts, she knew the zoning in her neighborhood didn't allow for chickens, but went ahead anyway because of the size of their property. It worked for them and their neighbors, while it might not work in a more closely packed neighborhood with much smaller properties.

"I wouldn't have done it if I thought it was going to be bothersome to the neighbors," she said.

• Heidi Toth can be reached at (801) 344-2556 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

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