Donora revisits animal ordinance

The move was sparked by complaints about a property on Second Street Extension.

The debate over backyard goats and chickens has returned to Donora council, reviving a conversation that stalled in 2023 but never truly disappeared.

After receiving new complaints from neighbors about a property on Second Street Extension, officials say the borough may need to decide whether keeping farm animals in residential neighborhoods should be regulated.

During Thursday’s council work session, council President Casey Perrotta said he has recently received two emails from residents concerned about a property where goats, chickens and ducks are being kept.

While similar concerns surfaced several years ago, he said the borough still lacks an ordinance that specifically addresses backyard livestock, leaving officials with few options to respond.

The issue first came before council in 2023, when officials considered an ordinance establishing regulations for the non-commercial keeping of bees, chickens and goats within the borough.

The proposal passed on first reading, but was never brought back for final approval and ultimately died.

The proposed ordinance sought to strike a balance between allowing residents to raise food-producing animals and protecting neighboring properties.

It would have required annual permits for residents keeping bees, chickens or goats, established standards for coops, pens and shelters, limited the number of animals permitted on residential properties, prohibited roosters, required proper waste disposal and sanitation, and established fines and permit revocations for violations.

Now with the issue resurfacing, council members say they may once again need to consider whether those regulations should be adopted.

Because the borough has no ordinance governing backyard livestock, Perrotta said the matter falls into a gray area.

Right now, he feels it is primarily a zoning matter.

“We are going to get objections no matter what,” Perrotta said. “We do not have any zoned area for farm. Right now, it is a zoning violation. It is a nonconforming use to the property. We made contact but have not cited them. I cannot cite zoning.”

Perrotta said he has visited the property but has not made direct contact with the owner.

He added that the owner has not been cited for any property maintenance violations, which the borough is able to do through code, but he is not able to make any citations for zoning.

He also said the owner is in the process of building a fence and will need to obtain the required borough permit, an issue that is separate from the animals.

Without an ordinance regulating the keeping of farm animals, Perrotta said zoning alone does not provide the borough with an effective enforcement mechanism.

Mayor Don Pavelko said he remembers the debate from several years ago and doesn’t expect reaching a consensus to be any easier this time.

“I remember this coming up before,” Pavelko said. “No one is ever going to be happy.”

Solicitor Steve Toprani said the 2023 proposal was modeled after an ordinance adopted in Carroll Township.

Perrotta questioned whether that model fits Donora’s character.

“But we aren’t a township,” he said. “Carroll Township has farmland, Rostraver has farmland, Fallowfield has farmland. We are a small borough. We don’t have farms.”

Vice President DeAnne Pavelko said she believes residents’ concerns go beyond the animals themselves.

“I think people would complain less if they were keeping it neat,” she said. “I think that is more what people are upset about.”

Toprani said the discussion actually involves three separate issues: property maintenance, zoning and regulating activities.

“If there is garbage or property maintenance violations, they can be cited through code,” Toprani said. “This is regulating activity. It is not as much about property use or property maintenance. Those are two different things. However, it is tricky because we do not have designated farmland.”

He said adopting an ordinance governing backyard livestock would be more comparable to a municipality regulating the keeping of dogs or cats than establishing agricultural zoning.

Following a lengthy discussion, council agreed to review the 2023 draft ordinance, suggest revisions and amendments, and then authorize Toprani to prepare an updated version for council’s consideration.

Once drafted with amendments, which likely would not be finalized until August, the ordinance would have to go through the proper approval process. That means it would likely not be implemented until sometime in the fall if it were to move forward.