Board of Health Holds Off on Chicken Coop Rules
West Boylston's Board of Health held off on voting for new backyard chicken rules, sending the draft to the Agricultural Commission first.
Board of Health · Meeting of May 13, 2026
West Boylston's Board of Health held off on voting for new backyard chicken rules, sending the draft to the Agricultural Commission first. Chair Robert Barrell Jr. argued animal complaints should flow through "one specific place," saying "I think doing it together makes a tremendous amount of sense." The draft sets a $10 annual per-address registration fee, a 25-foot coop setback, and a ban on roosters on half-acre lots or smaller; staff said registration is meant to help track flocks amid "concerns of the health department" about salmonella or avian influenza outbreaks. The board also heard that 31 municipal staff from Grafton, Shrewsbury and West Boylston completed opioid-related mental health first aid training on May 4, and that a West Boylston-Shrewsbury opioid settlement fund agreement is now tentatively set for the May 20 Select Board meeting.
The Agricultural Commission meets June 1; the board's own next meeting is tentatively June 10.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,121 words
Source: the Board of Health meeting of May 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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