Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)
Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA) *=House Organic Caucus member B=Blue Dog Democrat
Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA) *=House Organic Caucus member
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC) P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
In my latest efforts to get my city to legalize backyard chickens, I've now heard from all four members of City Council plus the Mayor. I've previously posted two responses here - one asking for the downsides to urban chickens and one asking for model policies from other cities. The other three emails arrived after I posted that. Most notably, I received the following two emails from the Mayor, who is clearly anti-chicken:
Ms. Richardson, since I've been out of town for the past three weeks, I only had an opportunity to review your e-mail today, 6/16, and want to correct a misunderstanding you may have with the council decision at our December 8 meeting regarding your request. I am quoting from those minutes wherein [the city planner] spoke regarding your request and he explained the process and costs involved with a zoning ordinance amendment to allow for chickens, hens, in residential zones and he said staff recommended the council table the request and not initiate a zoning ordinance amendment at this time. Council discussion ensued and voted 5/0 to approve staff recommendation.
When an item is "tabled" it is tantamount to denying any further discussion or action. No mention was made to bring the item up in the latter part of 2010 as you indicate. The city is currently going through a general plan amendment, and this item could be discussed when the recommendations are made, but it is not scheduled to be completed in 2010 and there is no certainty that this specific amendment will be included.
And his second email:
Ms. Richardson, although I had almost completed responding to your 6/8/10 e mail, I pressed the send button before completing my response. I just wanted to conclude by saying that farm animals in a highly urbanized community are not compatible with homes that have small yards and where houses are clustered so close to each other.
Today was a big day for chicken news. It began with an email from a resident of my city who also wants chickens. His dad is on the city council of another California city and he had asked his dad for advice about our chicken situation. Here's what he wrote me about his dad's advice:
He VERY strongly suggested doing everything possible to not let them tell you they are going to attach this to the general plan. He says that this is essentially a cop-out by the staff, and that you are more or less being stonewalled when they come back with this suggestion. Staff is almost always the force you need to overcome, before even telling him details about your experience, he said "they will almost always make a point of communicating the large number of dollars it is going to require in order for the staff to spend the time they need for studies and research on the topic". The issue of chickens needs no reinvention of the wheel. There are plenty of examples in San Diego county.
He made the obvious suggestion of emails en masse, as well as repeated visits to city council meetings with as many supporters as possible. Additionally, and somewhat surprisingly, he said that petitions are also very effective.
REALLY. I've been waiting patiently for six months and all for nothing in that case. Time to do something. More below.
Well, the sad day came and our chickens have a new home. If you recall, I've wanted chickens for a long time, and when I began dating a man with two kids, he and the kids decided they wanted chickens too. We've got all of our plans in place - the only problem is that chickens are illegal in our city. So we're trying to change the law. Meanwhile - and totally unrelated to our chicken efforts - my boyfriend is running for city council. Thus, he doesn't want to get caught with illegal chickens.
This past week, I received an email that a few chickens were found in the street and they needed a home immediately. I picked them up Tuesday night. One was a naked neck and I don't know the breed of the other. They were small, clearly not full grown yet (unless they were bantams), but not baby chicks either. We rigged up a makeshift chicken coop in the yard and the girls settled in happily. One of them - the one we ended up calling Elizabeth - became so used to me bringing her big, fat worms to eat (from the compost bin) that she would try to nibble my fingers every time I put my hands in the chicken coop, even if I was trying to pick her up or change her water and I had no worms.
Our kids met the chickens on Wednesday and immediately fell in love with them. Our smaller daughter named the Naked Neck "Anika" (I have no idea where she comes up with these things, but it's a name I've always liked, even if I never would have considered it for a chicken). Our older daughter named the other one "Elizabeth." The chickens spent most of the day scratching and pecking around the yard, eating bugs and pooping. I've never been so excited to see any living being poop. I felt like thanking the chicken for fertilizing my plants every time I saw her go #2.
After the first full day of chicken ownership, I asked my boyfriend when we had to get rid of them. He said he'd think about it. Today he said they had to go. After a few chicken escapes from their coop, he was afraid of what might happen unless we made them a more permanent home. I made the necessary arrangements and a man who lives nearby with a flock of 20 chickens came to get the girls this evening. Our youngest daughter cried crocodile tears, and although I secretly wished her dad would give her her way. But he didn't. So off the chickens went to a new home, and - as part of the arrangement - we'll be able to ask for them back once the law changes or we decide to break it, whichever comes first.
The other development is that our city's fiscal year begins and ends on July 1, so I am hopeful that their update of the General Plan, including reviewing their chicken laws, will happen soon after the new fiscal year begins.
Several other Iowa municipalities, including Des Moines, allow people to keep hens for eggs within city limits. I've never heard of a public nuisance problem. The main issue for the chicken owners is keeping predators away from their hens at night.
Woo-hoo! The San Diego Union-Tribune published a number of letters responding to its anti-chicken editorial under the heading "Half Baked Chicken Editorial Was No Souffle." As far as I'm concerned, this is all just free publicity. I hope some people read the paper and think "Hmm, I want some chickens too!" I've posted the letters below...
Here's a follow-up on the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial telling me to take a day trip to the country if I want to see some chickens, but forget about legalizing them here where I live. Several people sent in letters to the editor, which I am including below. If you want to send a letter (particularly if you live in San Diego county), send it to letters at uniontrib dot com and include your full name, address, and phone. Make sure your letter is 150 words or less. You can also simply post a comment to the editorial, as a few people have done.
The San Diego Union-Tribune used up some of their precious editorial space to pick on my plan to legalize chickens.
No, there are reasons chickens have persona non grata status inside most city limits. One has to do with sanitation and public health. Another with keeping peace between neighbors - that plump hen just beyond the fence is pretty inviting to a bored feline or canine. And third is the noise. Romantics aside, roosters don't just crow at the crack of dawn.
Richardson made a strategic mistake, and we don't mean asking for permission. If anything, she forgot the prime tenet of real estate - location.
Today, our efforts to legalize backyard chickens in La Mesa were written up in the San Diego Union Tribune:
La Mesa stays mostly a no-chicken zone
New general plan may bring change
by Michele Clock
Few chickens will be crossing La Mesa's borders to make their homes in the city - at least any time soon.
The La Mesa City Council this week agreed to postpone a decision on extending the areas where the feathered, two legged creatures can legally live. Under the city's current zoning regulations, up to 20 chickens can live in a couple of semirural residential sections of the city with large lot sizes east of state Route 125, but not the rest of the city.
Officials said changing the regulations could cost the city an estimated $20,000 and that it would make more sense to look into the changes as part of a larger discussion about health, wellness and sustainable food production in the coming years as officials update the city's general plan.
Bill Chopyk, the city's director of planning and development services, suggested the city also look into its policies on other animals.
"We feel right now is not the right time to amend the zoning ordinance for chickens and hens," Chopyk told the council at a meeting Tuesday. "We think a more comprehensive approach to all animals and agriculture is probably the way to go."
The issue arose out of a request by a La Mesa resident last month to allow chickens in residential areas. Jill Richardson, 29, who recently moved to the city, wrote in a three-page letter to the city that she would like to keep up to six chickens as pets and to produce eggs. She wrote that the eggs may be more healthy than store-bought varieties and that the chickens take care of things such as bugs and kitchen scraps and provide natural fertilizer.
The next step is to generate Letters to the Editor of the paper. If you'd like to write one, particularly if you're located in San Diego county, please send an email to letters@uniontrib.com. Make sure your letter doesn't exceed about 150 words and include your name, address, phone, and email. Hopefully we can generate more awareness about this issue in our city as well as in other cities in San Diego county.
From what I've seen, to date, there's been a misreading of many local municipal codes by chicken enthusiasts. There are two parts of the code to look at. First, check the section on animals, which tells which animal are prohibited entirely and provides some other definitions (such as what falls under the category of "ordinary housepet"). If you only look there, it appears that most cities within San Diego county DO allow chickens. But you also need to check the zoning section of the municipal code and find out what the permitted uses are for each residential zone. In our city, only the larger lots allow chickens. Same with the nearby city of El Cajon.
Today our city took up the issue of backyard chickens in its city council meeting. I had made a public comment and sent in a letter to the city asking them to legalize chickens in all residential zones. This would require a zoning ordinance, which normally costs $16,000 in fees. Part of my request was for the city to waive the fee in our case (typically a developer would pay such a fee, but a resident making a request like ours asks for the fee to be waived). When the agenda for the meeting was published last week, we found out that the staff recommendation to the city was to table the issue.
There's a new development in my quest to get chickens legalized in my city. I began by making a public comment at a City Council meeting, asking for them to make a small number of hens legal in residential zones. From there, I found out I had to send in a letter to the city in order to get City Council to consider it, so I did. That resulted in putting the issue on the agenda for the December 8 City Council meeting. Here's what it says:
Issue:
Should the City Council initiate a zoning ordinance amendment to allow chickens (hens) in residential zones?
Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council table this request and not initiate a zoning ordinance at this time.
Fiscal impact:
The cost to amend the Zoning Ordinance is about $20,000 to cover staff time and expenses to evaluate the request, research similar ordinances, analyze potential impacts, write the ordinance and reports, conduct legal review, conduct CEQA review, publish public notices, notify city residents by mail, post on the City's web site, disseminate information and answer questions. The cost to conduct CEQA review (Negative Delcaration of EIR) would be an additional cost.
The application fee for a zoning ordinance amendment is $16,150. The application fee or a neg. dec. is $2,200 with a Cal Fish & Game filing fee of $2,010.25 and a $50 County Recorder filing fee. This request would essentially ask the City to waive these fees and have the community pay the cost of amending the zoning ordinance.
Translation: They just don't want to pay for changing the law. It's nothing against chickens, really. They just don't see any urgency to act now and pay $20,000 to get the law changed because one goofy resident wants to have a backyard chicken coop.
I think it's time for some civil disobedience. Unfortunately, I don't think my boyfriend will agree with that assessment. Hmm. To be continued...
Here's installment #4 in my project to get a small flock of chickens. I wrote the letter below to send to my city government to get the ball rolling. They sounded interested in considering other types of poultry in addition to chickens, so I added information on turkeys and ducks too. I didn't feel that game birds, geese, swans, guineas, or ratites would be appropriate within the city. At least, not on small lots like ours.
As noted here before, I'm conspiring to get a small flock of backyard chickens. Only it isn't legal where I live. Today I attended a City Council meeting and submitted 3 minutes of Public Comment about why we should legalize chickens.
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."
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