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The Chicken Project - Part 2

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 13:55:05 PM PST

I've been chronicling my ongoing project to get a small flock of backyard chickens on this blog, and I've got another installment to add. I asked my boyfriend point blank how he feels about getting chickens. He suggested that I move in first and we make sure we're a good couple living together before we jointly bring new animals into our lives. I'm okay with that. We started discussing where the coop would go. He asked what would happen to the chickens if we ever broke up. I replied that we'd give them away to a farm if neither of us could take them. Then he said, "And of course we'll have to make sure it's legal."

Legal?

... Legal?

Uh oh.

Jill Richardson :: The Chicken Project - Part 2

"Oh, it isn't legal." I replied. "We'd be joining the chicken underground."

"Well, we can't do it if it isn't legal," he said. He's hoping to run for City Council. Putting a flock of illegal chickens in the yard might jeopardize that.

So, crap. Now we have to make it legal. I checked the municipal code for our city. In general, animals are not permitted if they are noisy or dangerous. Poisonous reptiles and animals that may carry rabies are not OK. Neither are noisy animals like roosters or peacocks. However, in addition to those rules, you must also abide by all of the zoning rules. We are, predictably, in a residential zone. If we had over 15,000 sq ft in our lot, we could have up to 20 hens. Otherwise, no poultry allowed. Crap.

I surfed onto the city's website and sent an email to the City Council:

Hello, I am a new resident and I am very interested in getting a few chickens for my backyard. However, it seems (from the municipal code) that this is not legal. I am writing to ask you if you would be willing to change that, making a small number of hens (not roosters) legal as pets in residential zones. It seems rather odd that people can own homing pigeons and all kinds of other animals but not chickens. They don't require much space (about 2 sq ft per bird) and hens are not dangerous or nuisances (the criteria used to ban other animals in the municipal code).
I am interested in being of help in any way possible, including putting you in touch with other cities that have legalized backyard chickens so you can weigh the pros and cons of the matter and you can compare and contrast the laws in other cities (i.e. how many chickens are legal, whether chicken owners must register with the city and get a chicken license, etc) to find what is right for our town.
Please let me know what I must do as a next step on this.

I just got a phone call from a man from the city. He advised me to attend an upcoming city council meeting to submit my request as a public comment. He also added that I should definitely include in my statement that I'm not asking to own roosters. I will keep you up to date on what happens!

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The Chicken Project - Part 2 | 9 comments

Wealth hast priveleges. (4.00 / 5)

The rich people win again. You can have chickens only if you can afford to own at least 1/3 acre?

Sounds like you have a chance, though. They've already accepted the principle that 2 per 1500 sq. ft. is OK, if democracy is of any concern to them.

by: count @ Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 22:10:56 PM UTC

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Good luck! (4.00 / 4)

You're a crusader of the backyard chicken movement!

The people at http://chickenowners.org might have some advice about getting the law changed.

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

by: rossl @ Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 23:02:30 PM UTC

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lots of cities allow chickens (4.00 / 5)

in residential neighborhoods. I would come to the meeting armed with sample ordinances from cities of comparable size.

by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 23:17:23 PM UTC

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If I were you, I'd attend the city council meetings on a regular (4.00 / 6)

basis, let people get to know you and volunteer for things if they encourage that sort of thing as well in addition to submitting your public comment at the next meting. The fact that one of the councilors called you and made the suggestion that you submit public comment is a good sign. How big is the city? I know Molalla (at least some of the city councilors), just a few miles from here, is very interested in the local foods movement and supporting it. Perhaps there are councilors in your new town who are interested in that as well.

Also, if your boyfriend is planning on running for city council, does he have any contact with any of the council members? If so network as much as possible. Try to build allies on the council and in the community. All that'll help, and it will also get you aquainted with how the council members work with each other and with the community.

Also, beware of the 'newcommer upstart impression'. That can rub people the wrong way and create obstacles you don't want to have to deal with. Make sure that people see you as someone who wants to be a part of the community as opposed to coming in with a lot of high falutin' ideas for change.

Anyhoo, those are a few ideas.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

by: Joanne Rigutto @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 01:01:48 AM UTC

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Thanks very much (4.00 / 5)

the guy who called me back was incredibly nice. I've been planning to attend city council meetings anyway, just bc my bf wants to run for it. So attending the meetings is no big deal.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 05:29:16 AM UTC

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Making Chickens legal (4.00 / 6)

We've been working on making chickens legal in Montgomery, a suburb of Cincinnati. This is the information we presented to City Council. Feel free to steal as much as you want and edit it to reflect your own town:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1650...

by: valereee @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 13:16:34 PM UTC

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thanks!!! (4.00 / 4)

I will check it out

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 23:04:04 PM UTC

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We won! (4.00 / 1)

Hens Find A Home In Montgomery

http://www.ci.montgomery.oh.us...

by: valereee @ Tue Dec 08, 2009 at 14:16:12 PM UTC

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fantastic (4.00 / 6)

I love the chicken saga. We can raise hens in our yard outside Seattle, but we haven't taken the plunge. Of course, after watching Food Inc, I think we might be more inclined to start raising our own.

I also think I should adopt "We're joining the chicken underground" as my signature phrase.

Chris

by: campaignshoutin @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 17:11:11 PM UTC

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The Chicken Project - Part 2 | 9 comments