By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Tyrone Township planning commissioners are putting the final touches on a new ordinance that will dictate how many farm animals residents will be allowed to keep on their property.

The Planning Commission met online, Tuesday night, to make further text amendments to their keeping of animals for private use on residentially zoned properties ordinance. A 2-acre lot in Tyrone Township allows 1 Animal Unit, and the commission members past and present have been working on that animal unit factor for several months. For example, a mature cow was given an Animal Unit Factor of 1, but a heifer got an AUF 0.7, and a calf 0.2.

Numbers were gleaned from ordinances in townships that are comparable to Tyrone, with the Planning Commission doing some tweaking where they liked. One area of concern was with pigs, and more specifically piglets. Planning Commission Chair Daniel Strickel asked fellow members if they were comfortable with pigs under 55 pounds having an AUF of .05. Strickel said that would allow for 200 piglets on a lot that allows 10 animal units, and the smell they bring could cause issues with neighbors. Zoning Administrator Ross Nicholson said he thought the piglet number was generous, as most pigs will not stay under the 55 pound limit. He was asked which type of operation could possibly want to have more than that, with a restaurant being suggested. Nicholson reiterated that this ordinance was specifically for personal use limits and not commercial use.

Another decision of note was equalizing the number of allowed fowls between chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese at 30 per unit. Nicholson also added AUF numbers for alpacas (0.2), llamas (0.33), donkeys (0.33), miniature donkeys (0.2), mules (0.7), and goats (0.1).


Vice-Chair Kurt Schulze brought a concern passed down from the Board of Trustees that the fencing standards for the draft animal ordinance (originally 48 inches) might not be consistent with the township’s standards (42 inches). Planning Commissioners elected to amend their draft ordinance to reflect that adequate fencing be in place, whatever that may be. The ordinance also provides direction to cut down on nuisance from animals to protect the owner’s neighbors.

A public hearing has been scheduled to gather input and opinion from residents at the Planning Commission’s next meeting, to be held on January 12th.