Burlington Board of Health Orders Rat Remediation at Liberty Avenue Chicken Coop

BURLINGTON -- October 14, 2025, Burlington Board of Health orders pest control at Liberty Avenue chicken property after rat evidence confirmed. The board voted unanimously at its October 14 meeting to require Warren and Lynn Chia of 1 Liberty Ave. to produce a signed pest control contract, begin treatment, and return for a progress hearing on October 28, under threat of losing their keeping-of-animals permit for backyard chickens, issued in August 2021, if the infestation is not addressed. Neighbor Tom Vosikis of 3 Liberty Ave. told the board he had personally trapped five rats and spent significant money installing quarter-inch fencing along roughly 150 feet of shared fence line. The board also unanimously approved unattended food establishment variances for Next Dine at both 55 and 95 Blue Sky Drive, and Director of Public Health Susan Lumenello warned that food establishments failing to complete online permit renewals by October 15 face closure beginning November 1, with no further extensions planned.