LIVERMORE FALLS — The Select Board will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed Animal Control and Dog Control Ordinance that adds new regulations on domesticated large and small animals and domesticated fowl.
The hearing is at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Office. The proposal is scheduled to go before voters at the polls April 29 at the Town Office.
The ordinance came about after a complaint was received that a person on Knapp Street, in a congested residential neighborhood, had about 30 goats and a large pile of manure in the yard creating odor.
The ordinance is intended to allow residents of single-family homes, not apartments, on lots less than 1 acre to keep a small number of farm animals while limiting the potential adverse effects on the surrounding neighborhood, according to the ordinance.
Residents in the rural area have guidelines to follow for the best management practices of the Maine Department of Agriculture to “reduce or eliminate problems arising from odors and flies, pesticide drift, contamination of surface and ground waters and damage to neighboring crops,” according to the document.
The proposed rules are posted on the Livermore Falls Facebook page. They include:
• A single-family residence must have a minimum lot of 2 acres for keeping animals such as cows, horses, donkeys, mules, llamas and alpacas.
• A lot with a single-family home with a minimum of 40,000 square feet of open space can have no more than two small farm animals that typically weigh less than 100 pounds, such as swine, potbellied pigs, sheep and goats.
• A resident or property owner can keep up to six hens — no roosters — or six rabbits on any lot with a minimum of 10,000 square feet of open space; they can keep any number of rabbits, chickens or other fowl on a lot with a minimum of 40,000 square feet of open space.
• Lots with more than 10,000 square feet and less than 40,000 square feet of open space can have, in addition to six hens or six rabbits, a maximum of four ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, pigeons or pheasants.
There are also rules on housing structures, coops and fences for animals and fowl, and setsbacks from property lines. Other rules pertain to noise, lighting and excessive odors from farm animals, manure, or related substances.
The dog control section of the ordinance stipulates that no owner shall disturb the peace of another person by allowing loud, frequent, or habitual barking, howling or yelping for longer than 30 consecutive minutes.
Donna M. Perry — 207-780-9055
