Friday, May 15, 2009
Seeking Public Input Regarding Chicken Ordinance Revision(s)
At the May 14th Board of Health meeting, citizens interested in revising the current chicken ordinance were in attendance to support a revision that would allow residents with less than 1/2 acre of land to raise chickens inside the city of Columbia. Current ordinance allows one chicken per 1/2 acre of land inside the city limits. Please share your comments in regards to a possible chicken ordinance revision.
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People have the right to feed themselves. Good regulations would allow chickens to flourish in the city with an absence of negative consequences. I propose 6 chickens per household, no roosters, no slaughtering, an enclosed grazing area and coup, and for chickens to fall under the same ordinances that protect other city animals (i.e. dogs and cats). This is a good chance to make our city more livable and to stay in tune with the changes of society.
ReplyDeletePeople also have a right not to smell their neighbors stinky chickens.
ReplyDeleteThe ordinance needs to control for this obvious side effect.
I'd like to repost some of the more detailed comments from the animal control ordinance blog(in order of apearance):
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Columbia adopt a reasonable urban chicken ordinance. Dozens if not hundreds of other cities in the United States have urban chicken ordinances, it is not unreasonable for Columbia to have one. Theses cities include but are not limited to Colorado Springs and Denver, CO, Los Angeles and San Jose, CA, Ann Arbor, MI, Minneapolis, MN, Portland, OR, Fort Worth, Chicago, IL San Antonio and Houston, TX, Madison, WI, New York City, NY and St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City, MO. Regulations vary widely, but generally include a clause on making sure the chickens are kept healthy and safe, one banning roosters (which in my opinion make less noise in a 24hr period than any one of the 11 dogs in the houses that surround mine), another that states that the owner notify all residents within X ft and that 50% or more of residents so notified must not object within X number of days of notification, and about half or so of the ones I've read include a maximum number of chickens allowed. Some cities, such as Cambridge, MA and New York City, NY, considered chickens pets under the Health Code thus as long as there is no problem they do not need to be regulated. This sounds like the optimal situation for any city, let alone CoMO, considering an urban chicken regulation.
Debra Smith comments "Chickens suffer from a PR problem. People think chickens are dirty, noisy and smelly. The truth? A few cared-for hens are cleaner and quieter than one big dog or the three neighbor cats that poop in the flower beds. Plus you get eggs." (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080821/LIVING03/59405618) Keeping chickens for eggs is no different than keeping other pets, be they rabbits, parrots, dogs or cats except that they are useful-they provide us with multiple services. Chickens provide entertainment, fertilizer, eggs, use food scraps, and reduce pest insects. Like all pets they need to be well cared for and healthy. For those with children it is a way to show them that not all food must come from the grocery store and to give them some responsibility just like any other pet. Hens kept in a secure enclosure after dark pose no increased predator problem. Small backyard flocks pose no threat to humans or other pets.
"A quick overview of chicken ordinances:
Madison, Wisconsin - Code of Ordinances
http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=50000&sid=49
type chickens in the search box, then click on the Zoning Code, you want Sec. 28.08(2)(b)8.j. [page 118/319]
4 chickens
no roosters
no slaughter
25 ft from any residential structure on an adjacent lot
obtain license and notify all residents within 200 ft of lot
if 50% or less of residents so notified object within 14 days of notification
Kansas City, MO
http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=10156&sid=25
Capter 14 Animals, Sec. 14-15. Keeping of small animals and fowl in pens.
100 ft from nearest bldg, except owner
25 ft from prop line
15 chickens >4 months
50 chicks <4 months
Springfield, MO
http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=11598&sid=25
Chapter 18 Animals, Sec. 18-24. Keeping of fowl.
12 square ft per bird
St Louis, MO (I couldn't find the ordinance in a reasonable amount of time)
4 chickens without permit
NYC
considered pets under health code
unlimited # of hens
no roosters
area must be kept clean otherwise neighbors report
Good unofficial list of chicken laws:
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/chickenlaws.html [check out the youtube link at the top!]—as you can see the regulations vary widely and some that profess to allow urban hens have such stringent or ridiculous laws that it is actually impossible to do it inside the city limits legally, such as the 100, 200, or even 300 ft from property lines or residential buildings.
As you can see it will take a little thought to come up with a reasonable ordinance should Columbia want to consider chickens under the livestock/fowl laws. More easily passed would be to consider them as pets and use the existing nuisance/noise/health code laws to deal with any complaints or violations."
"As regards the idea of allowing chickens within city limits, it is more about changing the existing ordinance than in writing a new one. Chickens are considered livestock under our ordinance: "Livestock shall include cattle, horses, mules, goats, sheep, hogs and chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, lamas, emu, ostriches, camels or any other domestic fowl or domestic beast."
Chapter 5 ANIMALS AND FOWL
ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Sec. 5-2. Animal habitats to be clean, sanitary; inspections authorized.
Sec. 5-4. Animals running at large--Unlawful for owner to allow; impoundment authorized.
Sec. 5-5. Redemption; payment of fees; disposition of unredeemed animals.
Sec. 5-6. Animal abuse; unlawful impoundment; unlawful confinement.
Sec. 5-16. Penalties for chapter violations.
ARTICLE IV. LIVESTOCK
Sec. 5-81. Keeping within city restricted.
Sec. 5-82. Confinement--Required.
Sec. 5-83. Same--Requirement and maintenance of fences, corrals, etc.
Sec. 5-84. Same--Impoundment of unconfined livestock; costs.
These sections of chapter five seem to cover all the necessary regulations for having urban chickens (or even goats) in Columbia; sanitation, safety, confinement, penalties, and maintenance. The problem comes with Sec 5-81 or conversely with the definition of livestock. Sec 5-81 (a) No person shall keep livestock in an outdoor enclosure, outbuilding or pasture, the exterior boundary of which is within one hundred (100) feet of the dwelling house of another, (b) No person shall keep livestock in an outdoor enclosure, outbuilding or pasture, unless such enclosure, outbuilding or pasture shall have an area of one-half acre for each of such animals and fowl. This basically negates the ability to have chickens on most property within the city limits, or at least in my area of Columbia. Most commercial chicken houses are required to provide an average of 300-350 square cm per chicken in the United States; it's slightly higher in Canada and even higher in Europe. The difference between that and a half and acre per bird is tremendous. Especially considering a person can have 4 large dogs on less land than one chicken!
If either Sec 5-81 were changed as regard chickens (and maybe goats as well, which have been proven viable urban pets in small quantities) or if chickens were taken out of the definition of livestock (and as has been posted previously put into the pet category) then it would be possible to have small backyard flocks of say 6-12 without having to write an entire ordinance just for urban chickens."
This last seems to be the most pertinent to summ up what already exists on Columbia's books. As well as a good approach to how we could change the current ordinance without much hassle.
This is one or the worst ideas Columbia has ever come up with. I live in a city for a reason, so I don't have to listen or deal with Farm animals. If I want chickens, then I will move out to the county on some farmland. This is a urban area, not a farm!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing this ordinance will do is degrad the areas of town that don't have Neighborhood associations to protect them. So essentially the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer. Thus there property values will decrease. Most Neighborhoods will not allow this to ever happen. Neighborhood associations will simply put a stop to this rediculous request, which will make there property values go up.....
ReplyDeleteHow about a big fat no! Just imagine EVERY yard having at least six chickens in their yard (like suggested above). HOW STINKY WOULD THAT BECOME? Not only that the noise too! What happens if one gets out of the yard? What happens if your chicken is better at doing its job than your neighbor and he stills your chicken? What would you do? What if a family becomes overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a chicken... will our humane society take them in? Or will people be dumping their chickens in dumpsters behind the local supermarkets like they do their cats? Or if their home gets foreclosed will they leave it locked up in their back yard abandoned like some have done with their dogs? What if people in town started an underground chicken fighting ring? (Crazy questions, but there are always going to be what if questions)
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t having livestock in the city attract more pests and more wildlife? Why can’t people just go buy eggs from the local Farmer’s market? They are getting a new pavilion built for indoor shopping.
Let’s just face the real truth… People today don’t know squat about raising farm animals! Most people in this town can’t even seem to take care of their own homes and yards! Here is what I suggest: LET US LEAVE THIS FOR THE FARMERS THAT HAVE FARMS OUT IN THE COUNTRY TO KEEP DOING WHAT THEY DO FOR A LIVING!
There will always be naysayers to any change in our culture. I won’t begrudge you your hours of sitting on the couch watching mindless programs on the television while eating empty calories that used enormous amounts of fossil fuels to become your prepackaged meal, if you don’t begrudge me the right to raise my own food on my own land in a safe and healthy manner.
ReplyDeleteI’m not asking to cause my neighbors problems. I’m not asking to lower my property value or my neighbor’s. I’m not asking for anything but my god given right to ingest food that is safe, clean, cheap, local, and didn’t need any petro chemicals or fossil fuels to create it, ship it, or package it.
Let’s face it if people want to have hens or even roosters right now in Columbia they can. There is no one out there going around looking in everyone’s house and on everyone’s land to find them. If people want to have an underground chicken fighting ring they will, I’m pretty sure that’s why it’s called underground. All those other nasty things that have been mentioned by people unable or unwilling to own up to them by putting their name on their words can all happen right now, there is nothing stopping them but an ordinance that tells them not to. And when this new animal control ordinance passes that allows urban chickens the only thing stopping people from doing all this negative stuff is, lets face it, an ordinance that tells them not to. Because we’re not asking for anything more than a clean, healthy, safe place to keep a few birds for our pleasure.
One large dog produces more waste than 6 chickens in a week and it is not compostable, its just waste and it isn’t just in your neighbors backyard coop its in your front lawn and their front lawn and on and on. And yet popular culture allows dog waste as an acceptable lawn decoration and an acceptable smell to permeate the air, shoot I even find it in many streets and on the sidewalks I frequent. So why is chicken manure so much worse? Are you afraid that if your neighbor has a nice coop with happy healthy chickens it will mean that you’ve come down in the world? Is what your neighbors do so relevant to your life? Why is being a farmer such a bad word? If you can’t eat you die and yet America uses ‘farmer’ like a dirty word not to be spoken in polite company.
There have been chickens in Columbia for decades, have any of them made the news for all these bad things that chickens and their owners have been accused of? No, I didn’t think so. My street alone has had them for over a decade, we appreciate trading for the eggs and the occasion gift of them.
Chickens are not horses, cows, or even dogs. They don’t take up much room, they eat your table scraps, they produce valuable fertilizer, they are very entertaining, they make the most incredible eggs, they are great at pest control, and yes they taste good roasted.
Dozens and dozens of US cities, maybe even hundreds, have passed urban chicken laws and proven that it doesn’t cause problems. There has been no outcry of stink or loose chickens, or any of that other nonsense where these laws have passed. I urge the Board of Health to think rationally and to look at the evidence presented across the US that demonstrates urban chickens are proven to be possible.
There are many benefits of having backyard chickens. Most obviously, chickens provide eggs, a good source of protein. If you are interested in growing some of your own food, it is nice to be able to add the nutrition of eggs to the variety of garden fruits and vegetables you can grow.
ReplyDeleteI would like to suggest that chickens can add to the character of a neighborhood. The person who suggested that chickens would only be allowed in 'poor' neighborhoods not protected by neighborhood associations was not thinking about all the different kinds of communities that are valuable and valued. I want to live in an ecologically diverse, culturaly diverse area with lots of different people, plants and animals. I even want to live near 'poor' people. I wish that 'poor' were not interpreted as powerless. The ability to make choices about what we eat and how it is raised is empowering, and it is something that *especially* poor people should have the right to. I have the money to buy food at the farmer's market, but I also like trading my strawberries for my neighbors eggs. This makes my life richer, my neighborhood closer, and my diet better. There is nothing about a sterile housing developement, however 'protected' by a neighborhood association, that I would trade for the amazing richness and diversity of my sociodemographically mixed sustainable neighborhood. We just don't all want the same things and it's far time that people who want to live sustainably have the option to do so.
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing that the same people that reactive in such a hotly negative manner to the idea of backyard chickens can be the same ones who eat factory-raised chickens and eggs. The health benefits to people and the natural environment of raising a few backyard chickens greately outweight the benefits of driving to the grocery store for factory-raised animals and animal products. Backard hens mean:
ReplyDelete-> Decreased use of fossil fuels
-> Decreased use of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, etc.
-> Decreased animal abuse.
The people who are working to change this ordinance want a heaithier environment and a more humane way to get eggs. Before thinking about such absurdities as legalizing hens for eggs leading to cock-fighting, think about what Tyson does to millions of chickens daily. Think about where the last egg you ate came from and how the chicken was housed. Even under the best of circumstances, think about how the egg got to town (truck?car? certainly not a bike). It just doesn't make sense to truck in food from abused animals when it can be grown in the back yard in a caring environment.
I'm not sure how effective it is to compare hens to dogs and cats here, but I think hens come out the real winners.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love my cats and my dog, and my life wouldn't be nearly as complete without them. But, alas, their poop does stink. And so does the poop of my neighbors' cats and dogs. Further, the cats fight at night and are REALLY loud! My dog has never bit a stranger, but he's scared the pants off of a few. Hmmm.
Hens are quieter. Their poop decomposes readily to fertilize the garden. Hens (unlike their brothers) are pretty quiet, cooing softly most of the time. I'm pretty sure a dog's bite is worse than a chicken's, should that occur. And chickens eat grubs and ticks.
Creatures have their pros and cons in relation to humans, providing companionship, protection, entertainment, beauty, and nourishment. Considering what we as a society will do for the benefits of having cats and dogs in our homes, yards, lives, it looks like hens might be a pretty good deal too.
I live in the city limits and am kept awake at all hours due to the number of dogs....and our garden is continually a litter box for the neighbor cats. I would love it if my neighbors had chickens...quiet, happy, bug-eating chickens. And maybe, just maybe, they'd have some fresh eggs to share.
ReplyDeleteI was forwarded the working recommendations of the BOH as regards chickens. I am thoroughly disappointed. The overall tone is that chickens need to be regulated to within an inch of your and their lives. If passed as is, the new ordinance will only be slightly more lenient than the current one. So in effect, we will again not be able to have chickens, but the city will have passed an ordinance that “allows” them. However, the details, in effect, curb nearly all people who don’t live in a very progressive, completely sustainable area with very liberal neighbors to have them.
ReplyDeleteI never wanted to create more work for the city by supporting city hens. However, that’s what this new ordinance will look like if passed as it currently looks. Granted this is a working document and it hasn’t even been put before the entire BOH. Nevertheless, I can’t believe the people who drafted this actually understand what city hens are all about.
We’re looking for a source of food in which we know all the inputs, a source of entertainment and high quality fertilizer, and in these economic times a low cost sustainable source of good healthy food.
What we’re not looking for is a whole bunch of regulations and bureaucracies that raise the bar so high that no one wants to try to jump it. This proposed ordinance is probably one of the most stringent out of the dozens and dozens that I’ve read. I thought Columbia was about sustainable local food? Why are there so many impediments to something as simple as adding a pet (but one who provides for us instead of just taking from us) to our households?
If you compare this working document to the ordinances that govern cats and dogs then you start to see how very out of line it is. Are people required to dispose of their cat and dog wastes on a regular basis? Are people required to disinfect their cat/dog sleeping areas on a regular basis? Are people required to get a sign letter from ALL their neighbors before getting a dog that’s going to bark for most of the hours of the day, and then when one, just one neighbor says no and the dog must go? Do dogs have to have heated houses? Who says I can’t have one in my house? Since when does the Department of PUBLIC Health have control over what I do in my house? This is just the beginning of my issues with the proposed ordinance. My hope is that as more people become aware of the current working document that a more reasonable version will be drafted.
Agreed, Henry. I've seen the draft too, and the first astonishing thing about it is how much work the Health Dept. would like to bring upon itself to deal with these (rediculous) regulations. Primarily, they are asking to place themselves, along with the hens, in the middle of any neighborhood dispute.
ReplyDeleteThe proposal says that ALL neighborhs within so many feet must provide written permission for the hens to exist on MY property. Can you imagine the social dynamic this could set up? Any conflict at all could lead to the revocation of the written permission. No questions asked, my neighbors could just yank their permission for me to have chickens. Think about it. Would you want your neighbors to have the power to simply decide you can't have your dog or cat? No reasons needed. You could have the nices, quietest, cleanest cat in the world and all of a sudden your neighbor decides you can't have it.
Now, compare that to some other things that are really obnoxious. Say, pitt bulls. No problem there, huh? Perfectly fine for my neighbors to have animals that actually are frightening and potentially dangerous. Across the country, how many dog bites versus hen bites?
How about assault rifles? I would like all the people within 100 yards of my house to ask for my permission to have assault rifles. I would like to be able to revoke that permission at any time. Accidental gun deaths versus accidental hen deaths? Public Health, are you listening?
The disparity in regulating hens versus other things with much more potential to be dangerous or even just annoying is absolutely absurd.
If we are going to go down the path of acquiring written permission from our neighbors (as if this were kindergarten?) then I think alot of other things could be added to the list.
Here are some things I want added:
Taking up a crack habbit.
Installing loud bass sterio
Screaming at kids, dogs
Entering a trashy relationship
Installing exterior lights near my house
Dog barks
Cat poop
Now, here's what I don't want to ask permission for:
To grow my own food
To fertilize my garden
To tend to my animals
To steward the planet
Why is public health even involved in this?
ReplyDeleteIf hens are a health issue, then the regulations need to address health. The way the draft reads at present has little to nothing to do with anyone's health. They simply anticipate a bunch of petty neighborhood disputes, practically setting them up with by offering the regulatory tools to use as weapons in such conflicts.
If Public Health is really wanting to be helpful, address the public health issues of eating locally grown versus factory farmed chicken. Factor in all environmental costs, including the rash of suicides by West Virginia chicken farmers who went broke after polluting their creeks and rivers trying to earn enough money from Tyson to survive. Ask Missourians to be accountable for the pollution being soaked up in distant rivers so we can import cheap food over long distances. Regulate the unsanitary and inhumane conditions of factory raised chickens. Regulate the antiboiotics in our food. Regulate the ever-degrading levels of nutrition available in our soil. Regualte the reduction of flavor in favor of long shelf life and ease of transportation. If Public Health wants things to regulate, there are plenty of choices. Important choices.
But trying to head off some 'your chicken poop smells' dispute doesn't seem too relevant or important given the weight of other issues that need to be addressed (access to locally grown, affordable, sustainable, healthy food).
The approach PH is currently taking benefits the unsustainable, unhealth practices of factory farming while greatly disadvantaging and discouraging the more environmentally and nutritionally healthy option of backyard layers.
We have kept chickens for the past 5 yrs. My husband and I are both professionals and we live in a nice older neighborhood in central Columbia. We choose to live in the city v. the country for many reasons, but wanted to keep chickens for the fresh eggs and also as pets.
ReplyDeleteOur 3 hens are incredibly low-maintenance and healthy and provide enough eggs to supply our household and to share with neighbors. Their pen is secure and well ventilated, and odor is no problem. All of our neighbors know about the chickens and we have never had a complaint.
We are not asking for the right to keep large numbers of animals, and certainly a few hens are not as loud or messy as the same number of cats and dogs. A new ordinance can be modeled after the one in Seattle or one of the many others already in place. I hope Columbia will get with the times and change our ordinance!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the overall civil tone of this discussion. Others have done an excellent job researching facts and policy information from other cities. Thanks!
The points made about local sustainable food sources are valid, in my opinion.
I love dogs, but rejoiced when the neighbors and their dog moved. They had her dog chained outside all night, and it would often bark when it was scared or lonely. However, as a result of this experience I don’t want to create new regulations on dogs/pets. I think the current COMPLAINT-DRIVEN model of dealing with cat/dog problems, would work equally well if applied to urban hens (no roosters). The important first step, as I understand it, is to remove poultry from the classification as livestock. I support that.
Evan Prost, Ward 2
p.s. I never filed a complaint to the health board about my former neighbor, but I did talk to them about it several times.
p.p.s I noticed at the Boone County Fair there was a demonstration model of a chicken coop that would be a nice back yard size.
I’m currently thinking about accepting a job offer that would require my family to move to Columbia, MO.
ReplyDeleteCurrently in St. Louis, MO I keep and raise fancy show pigeons and about a ½ dozen show quality bantam (small chickens) Cochins. I keep all the birds contained and therefore they are not nuisance to anyone.
I’m a professional and live in a nice neighborhood. In fact many of the upper class neighborhoods and areas in St. Louis, MO County and other large cities are allowed to raise chickens. Chickens and other types of poultry are now finally viewed as acceptable in most cites.
Some towns here in St. Louis, MO (and else were) have town ordnances against keeping more than three dogs or cats yet many people have more than the allowed amount of pets.
These people usually are never turned in or found to have broken the ordnance unless their animals become a nuisance and are turned in by neighbors to the city.
Some cites now require a kennel permit for anyone who keeps more than 3 dogs or cats. These permits are usually for people who field trial, breed or show pure bred animals. The city makes a little money off the sale of the permit and the people who want more than three pets get to do so provided the animals are not a nuisance. It’s usually a win, win situation for all. The story here -even if keeping poultry is against the city/town ordnance people that want to keep a few chickens will still do so, just not openly.
I know people who have poultry (chickens - hens and yes even roosters, ducks, geese and turkeys) that are with in St. Louis, MO city or county limits and never seem to have any problems with neighbors.
With today’s knowledge of composting and proper cleaning products that can eliminate odors and disease; therefore making chickens no messier (and sometimes cleaner) than having dogs, cats or other pets. Another, advantage poultry has over dogs and cats they usually sleep at night unless disturbed. The waste they excrete unlike dogs or cats can be composted to a rich fertilizer.
As long as a rooster is locked up at night the crowing alert noises made at night can be significantly reduced or even eliminated. Some chicken breeds like Old English, and Modern Games are more prone to crow than roosters of other breeds.
I find it funny ( sad actually) that you can keep a dog outside or chained up all night barking his are her head off or you have the crazy cat person with 20+ cats hanging out and that deemed acceptable to some people and cites yet heaven forbid you have chickens or other types of poultry!!!!
Keeping and raising a few chickens can be a fun hobby for the young and old and just like dog shows there are poultry shows.
I have found out wherever you live some neighbors will never be happy in regards to the number of animals you keep or wither you keep dogs, cats, chickens or anything they deemed not acceptable or appropriate for the neighborhood/area. You could live on 10 acres and find someone who will complain about something or some animal!!!
I think 6 chickens/poultry is acceptable for less than a ½ acre, 12 chickens for more than ½ acre, but anything more than two acres should not have limits or rooster bans.
I looked on the city of Columbia, MO website (animal control) and could not anything pertaining that chickens or any other livestock are illegal to keep in Columbia, MO.
When looking for a house in Columbia, MO I would like to move were I could enjoy my hobby in peace and my wife and I can be near the city without having to move too far outside the city limits or the city life. Let me know of chicken/pigeon friendly areas in Columbia, MO. I can be contacted at ebbhead_69@yahoo.com
Thanks
I am strongly in favor of an ordinance allowing people with less than 1/2 acre of land to keep hens in Columbia. I especially believe that hen keepers should not have to get their neighbor's permission. Many people may have false ideas about hens and how much mess, odor, or noise they cause and may refuse permission. However, these same people faced with neighbors already successfully keeping hens in a clean and humane pen may be fine or even happy with the arrangement.
ReplyDeleteAs a doctorate student in agricultural economics, I'm very interested in sustainable local food sources. Animals are an important component in any sustainable system. I hope to soon add hens to my urban homestead.
At the May 14th Board of Health meeting, citizens interested in revising the current chicken ordinance were in attendance tohttp://ways2gettaller.eklablog.com/
ReplyDelete