STUART — Stuart residents may eventually be allowed to keep chickens in their backyards, but the city is still gathering public input before deciding how to proceed.
The City Commission recently voted to conduct a survey to gauge residents’ interest in allowing backyard chickens. Commissioner Merritt Matheson proposed the survey as a way to gather more information before the commission considers changing the city’s regulations.
“We do not have code enforcement policing this issue, and so seeking more data might tell us, one, whether the public wants it or not, the majority of that, but two, how many people are interested in it,” he said. “And so for us to make the best educated decision, I’d like to see our city staff go out and do a survey, at least two rounds, if not more, using email addresses and phone numbers we have of people paying utility bills.”…