Donora revisits backyard livestock rules after chicken complaints
Two emails about goats, chickens and ducks on Second Street Extension pushed Donora back toward a chicken-and-livestock ordinance it dropped in 2023.
Goats, chickens and ducks are being kept on a Second Street Extension property in Donora, reopening a backyard-livestock dispute the borough left unresolved in 2023. Two recent emails from residents revived the issue, Council President Casey Perrotta said.
At Thursday’s council work session, Perrotta said the borough has no dedicated animal ordinance to lean on, which leaves officials trying to manage the complaint through zoning and code enforcement instead. “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.” He said he has visited the property but has not made direct contact with the owner.
The owner has not been cited for property maintenance violations, though the borough can still address that side of the property through code. A fence is being built and will require the proper borough permit, but that issue is separate from the animals themselves. Without a livestock ordinance, zoning does not give Donora the practical enforcement tool it would need to regulate backyard flocks and small farm animals more directly.
Donora first discussed a chicken-coop ordinance in March 2023 after a resident complained about a neighbor’s chickens. By June 2023, council was preparing to vote on a broader measure to modernize regulations on chickens, beekeeping and other livestock. That draft passed on first reading but never came back for final approval. It would have required annual permits for bees, chickens and goats, set standards for coops, pens and shelters, limited the number of animals on residential properties, banned roosters, required proper waste disposal and sanitation, and set fines and permit revocations for violations.
Mayor Don Pavelko said he remembers the earlier round of debate and does not expect consensus to come any easier now. Donora’s borough website still lists a “Chickens, Bees, & Goats” section under proposed ordinances. Nearby towns have already moved on similar rules, with Carroll Township, Liberty Borough and Monongahela each adopting or revisiting their own livestock limits, fines and sanitation requirements.
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