BELHAVEN — Chickens and ATVs were a topic of choice at Monday’s Belhaven Board of Aldermen meeting.

Police Chief F.P. Clingenpeel approached the board with issues befitting a rural area: keeping chickens in town and riding ATVs on town properties.

Clingenpeel said he has witnessed people, including children, riding around in recreational areas without helmets.

“I think it’s a tremendous, again, liability for the town,” he said. “I’m surprised somebody hasn’t been hurt before this.”

Belhaven does not have a town statute specifically requiring helmet use or other protective gear when operating a motorcycle or ATV on town property. However, residents are allowed to use these vehicles in town-owned areas such as parks, which is where the liability could come into play.

Mayor Adam O’Neal said there may need to be some sort of ordinance enacted to place restrictions on ATV and/or motorcycle use. He asked Clingenpeel to come back to the next board meeting with some suggestions.

With regard to the chickens, Clingenpeel said he recently encountered a disagreement between two neighbors about one resident’s chickens on property within town limits and whether that is allowed.

Farm animals are not prohibited in Belhaven, but the lot has to have a certain distance between the road and the house. One town statute specifically details that poultry farmers can have chickens within town limits but doesn’t mention regular residents — an omission Clingenpeel said led to his questions.

“It seems trivial, but we are having an issue where if we allow one or two, we’re going to have more and more,” he said.

Clingenpeel said an excessive amount of chickens on a property could become a health issue.

Alderman Steve Carawan suggested, and the board agreed, that the police department should defer to the statute allowing chickens unless they become a nuisance. Then, some type of action could be taken.