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Davenport greenlights “Urban Chickens” & expands food truck program

DAVENPORT, Iowa– The Davenport City Council gave the greenlight on both urban chickens and food trucks: two long-awaited changes for the city and the peop...

DAVENPORT, Iowa-- The Davenport City Council gave the greenlight on both urban chickens and food trucks: two long-awaited changes for the city and the people who call it home.

Thomas Rutherford used to call a chicken farm "home." Rutherford now lives in the Quad Cities. Eight years ago, he brought the idea of "urban chickens" to the Davenport City Council. Rutherford explains, "To be able to pass a little bit of that along to my kids even though I can't live on the farm anymore."

Eight years ago, the Council said "no." But not today. The Council approved the Urban Chicken ordinance by a vote of eight to one. "Having a piece of home back that was missing that I can have back was very exciting," Rutherford told News 8 immediately following Wednesday's council meeting.

Single-family homes in the Quad Cities can now keep up to six hens. Rutherford's kids are excited, too. His four year-old already has a name picked out for his chicken to-be: "Licorice."

Changes are also ahead for Davenport's food truck program. "Food Truck Tuesdays" proved so popular, they're now permanent. Previously, food trucks could only park on private property. Now, licensed trucks are allowed in designated sections of the city.

Also on tonight's agenda: the rezoning of the Sterilite property, south of Slopertown Road and west of Division Street, was approved. That decision now makes building a storage facility on the property possible. Sterilite is expected to bring hundreds of jobs to the Quad Cities.

 

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