The Salt Lake City Council's sit-down talks about the birds and the bees have nothing to do with sex -- unless you consider all that chatter about eggs.

Instead, Utah's capital is preparing to update its chicken ordinance and pass a beekeeping law, which would allow residents to keep either -- with a list of regulations -- on their properties.

Proponents say the moves are long overdue, especially during the recession, with more families interested in harvesting additional chicken eggs or honey. But critics argue some restrictions remain too stringent.

Rules long have been on the books for chicken farmers in Salt Lake City. If owners put their coops at least 50 feet from a neighbor's home, they can keep up to 25 birds.

But because of the city's small lot sizes --- and the growing interest in raising chickens as a source of organic food -- officials plan to ease some distance requirements. If the ordinance passes next month, as expected, residents may keep up to 12 chickens as long as coops are 25 feet from a neighbor's house. Under the new terms, they also may keep the birds against their home, which several farmers suggested as a way to keep chickens warmer in winter.

The city pondered a sliding scale in which the number of birds would be determined by the size of the yard, until chicken farmers objected.

"Most low-income families, we don't have that size of yard," Amy Spendlove told the council. "It makes it impossible for us to have the chickens."

Brit Merrill, volunteer coordinator for Wasatch Community Gardens, pushed for both the elimination of the sliding scale and slashing the distance requirement from a neighbor's dwelling in half. Instead of a sliding cap on birds, she lobbied for 15. "Chickens are social animals," she said. "They like to stick together."

Overall, Wasatch applauded the city and its statement that urban chicken farming benefits the community by "reducing carbon emissions, providing an inexpensive source of natural/organic foods, as well as securing food supply in the event of an emergency."

But the farmers' request to allow slaughtering after chickens stop laying eggs was not granted. Officials say the prohibition is a city-trumping county law.

"We'd really like to have the option to raise our birds for meat," Jael Malenke asked the council to no avail. "It turns into a meal for us. And it can impart a very valuable lesson [for kids] on where food comes from."

Even so, Councilman Van Turner, who represents the west side's Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods, insisted the loosened rules will mostly please chicken farmers.

"It makes a better community," he said, " a better neighborhood."

--

Buzz about bees » Some want to keep bees for honey, others to help pollinate their gardens. Soon, maintaining hives full of bees will be legal in Salt Lake City.

Next month, the City Council is expected to pass a beekeeping ordinance that will allow up to five stacks of hives in both a backyard and side yard. Hives must be at least five feet from any property line. If it is within 15 feet of an adjacent property or public area, it must include a flyway barrier that forces the bees to fly directly upward.

Council Chairman Carlton Christensen, who knows interested beekeepers in his Rose Park district, pushed for the ordinance, which has yet to receive complaints or formal opposition. More than 550 people are registered beekeepers in Utah, city officials note, 68 of whom live in the city.

Beekeepers must pay the state a license fee and maintain the hives, under the terms. African species of bees or any hybrid involving the African species is prohibited.

Councilman J.T. Martin has suggested that as the capital of the Beehive State, the city maintain a "city hive" -- on display during tours of City Hall -- perhaps on the west balcony or on the roof of the Main Library.

djensen@sltrib.com