(1/11) In front of one of the largest crowds in memory, the Woodbsoro Town Council opted, in a split decision, to delay by a month, a formal decision to modify the town charter to allow the ownership of chickens within town limits.
The audience was equally divided by proponents, opponents, and those who the thought of owning a chicken never crossed there mind. Those in the latter group, while not opposed, insisted that strict and enforceable requirements be put into place to ensure that the tranquility of the town not be effected by the presence of chickens in their neighbor’s backyard.
Mitzi Smith, the first speaker of the night, summed up the thinking of the latter group pretty succinctly. "I’m opposed to owning chickens in town," she said, "but if the town opts to allow them, I’m fine with it. All I ask is if you do allow ownership of chickens that you make the rules governing the ownership of them clear and enforceable."
"Owners of chickens should be required to keep their places clean and ensure there are no odors. They also need to be respectful to those who complain to authorities when chicken owners fail to abide by the rules and allow their chickens to become a nuisance," she said.
Former Mayor Bill Rittelmeyer also said he was not a fan of owning chickens in town. He feared that people with no animal or farm background would jump at the chance to own chickens, and then get bored with them.
"That’s when the problems will begin," he said. Poorly kept chickens will result in an influx of nuance pests seeking spilled grain and predator wildlife seeking an easy meal of a fat chicken. Like many who spoke, Rittelmeyer said successful implementation of in-town chicken ownership would be based upon the ability of the town’s code enforcer to inspect all properties with chickens on them to ensure they are being kept in compliance with all rules or regulations.
David Weldon, an owner of a local commercial chicken operation, advised the town council against allowing chickens in town. Weldon’s concerns stemmed from the potential of the unchecked spread of Avian Flu which "has killed over 57 million chickens so far, " he said. "Unlike commercial chicken operations, which test regularly for Avian flu, back yard chickens are rarely tested. Last year 421 backyard flocks tested positive for Avian flu." Raising the question of how the town would handle an outbreak in one backyard flock – would it require all chickens in town to be euthanized, as would happen in a commercial operation?
Weldon also went on to note that while the Avian flu has not jumped to humans yet, the potential still exists, and cited a recent occurrence, where for the first time a bird in a flock tested positive for the a human virus – implying the potential for cross species transmission.
Renee Eiswick, a proponent for allowing chickens in-town, said they are a great way to teach children responsibility. Eiswick compared owning chickens to backyard vegetable gardens. "It’s a great way to provide cheap and wholesome food, she said. She addressed the concerns of opponents to the chickens by saying that if owners did not take proper care of them, then she was all for the town code enforcers having them removed.
Jake and Rachel Dizk, who owned chickens until they moved within town limits, spoke about the impact the chickens had on their family of seven’s budget. "With eggs now approaching $8 a dozen, our five chickens saved us a lot of money each week."
Rachel then went on to recount how they handled the manure from the chickens to ensure there was no smell, and how they saw their chickens as pets, members of their family, and how the kids interacted with them. "The chickens greet the kids every morning when they go out to feed them. The joy in the eyes of my kids when they interact with their chickens is undeniable."
Commissioner Case freely admitted that the owning of chickens within town limits never crossed his mind, and he really didn’t have any opinion one way or another other than that clear and logical rules on ownership be established, such as capping the number of allowable chickens based upon lot size."
Commissioner Case expressed skepticism that a change to the code would result in an influx in new chickens. "People who want chickens already have them, and the fact that no one really knows about it just goes to show that as long as people are responsible, it’s not going to be a problem."
When Burgess Barnes asked if the council wanted to vote on allowing chickens, Commissioner Engenrode asked for the vote to be deferred. "I don’t think it’s fair that we invited everyone here tonight to speak their mind and then we vote. I want to digest what everyone said and think about it. There are lots of pros and cons. And before I vote, I would like to see what requirements could be put in place."
Barnes agreed, and suggest that instead of voting on allowing chickens, the Council vote on delaying the vote until the February meeting, during which time the town Planning Commission could draft potential requirements. The vote to delay the vote until February passed 3 to 1, with Commissioner Crum, a proponent of chickens, casting the dissenting vote.
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