Sarasota County Commission Re-Engages on Backyard Hens

Nov 18th, 2014  Sarasota County Commission Re-Engages on Backyard Hens

Today four Sarasota County residents addressed the new County Commission regarding backyard hens and appeared to shift the Board's position on the issue. 

In the morning, Tyler Korman explained his family's time-sensitive situation with a Special Magistrate and in the process introduced an aspect of urgency as well as highlighting the irony of his hens serving an important public health goal of the county while being in violation of county zoning codes.  He was followed by longtime CLUCK supporter, Jennifer Cortez, who explained how a few hens would fit in with her sustainable approach to her yard. 

Prior to lunch the new Commission reviewed a prior Board's previous action on this matter (see letter below). Commissioners Hines, Robinson, and Mason remembered the challenge to CLUCK to secure prior approval ("buy-in") from a wide variety of non-govenmental entities and seemed to want to return to that position.
                                                                  --------------------

Backyard hen supporters were flabbergasted two years ago when a group of parents asked the County Commission why their families couldn’t have backyard hens and, instead of answering the question, the Commission directed CLUCK to solicit approval in advance for keeping backyard hens. There were two problems with their direction, aside from not answering the citizens’ questions.

In more than three decades of watching our County Commission, I’ve never seen the commission require a group seeking to initiate a change to secure permission from a wide variety of non-governmental organizations prior to even considering that change.

Not only would their challenge require a superhuman effort, but it was destined to fail for a very simple reason: no group would sign a blank check and a chicken proposal without specifics would constitute a blank check.

How many chickens are we talking about? What kind of setbacks? Basic questions such as these could not be answered because there is no proposed ordinance at this point.

And it would pointless for CLUCK to propose specific language in the absence of 1) any direction from the Board regarding what they might find acceptable and 2) language development and review by County Planning and legal staff to make sure the form and content of the proposal met county standards.

                                                               --------------------

Today, and partially in response to Commissioner Caragiulo’s questioning, the Board’s position seemed to shift a little from requiring prior blank check approval from numerous non-governmental entities to wondering if there was sufficient public interest to warrant committing county resources to exploring a possible change in the zoning code.

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM THE BOARD DISCUSSION

Commissioner Mason: "I'd like to see just how much interest there is out there before asking staff to look into this further."

Commissioner Robinson: ". . . we got an email (shown below) of an action we took asking CLUCK to start educating the homeowners associations, neighborhood association and community organizations and to obtain community support and then to come back to us with that community support."

Commissioner Caragiulo: ". . .we don't want to put a burden of basically get everyone to agree to a point and then bring it back to us."   "I think it's a worthwhile discussion certainly. -- Frankly you do have gauge if there's any interest."

Commissioner Hines: "Before we change our zoning code, I think we ask is there a public interest in doing this beyond, you know,  five, ten, twenty people -- is there a public interest to do this?     And, so, rather than us trying to go out and explore that public interest. . ."  "We asked the folks to go out and maybe get some petitions signed or some information -- not necessarily bring in a bus of two hundred people (interruption)  and public comments to do it and to see if there's interest and that hasn't occurred . . "    "Maybe the timing is right, but if there's only twenty or thirty people in the county that wants this. . . that's what we've not heard". 

Commissioner Caragiulo: "Input is critical, I just wanted to make sure, you know what the standard was."

Commissioner Maio did not comment during the discussion.  

------------

The four commissioner's questions were partially answered after lunch when Ann McAvoy submitted eight copies of her petition with 270 county signatures and 68 thoughtful text comments from County residents. She was followed by Todd Logan, who moved back to Osprey (from Anchorage!) and was dismayed to find he could not keep chickens. 

CLUCK has been patient and Sarasota citizens have demonstrated that a significant number want the county to consider changing the rules. While we have waited, both Manatee and Pinellas Counties have legalized backyard hens.

So the first step is, and always has been, for the County Commission to vote to direct staff to work with CLUCK and other backyard chicken advocates to draft a strategy for single family residences to have backyard hens. They may want to use the City of Sarasota’s ordinance as a starting point, but that’s up to them. Then that draft language would move through public hearings with the Planning Commission and the County Commission. Once there is a draft approach, CLUCK will undertake an effort to educate the public regarding the proposed provisions, but in the absence of a specific proposal, talking in generalizations about chickens is a futile effort. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Christine Robinson
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 9:54 PM
To: Jono Miller; Carolyn Mason; Nora Patterson; Joseph Barbetta; Jon Thaxton
Cc: Randall Reid; Robert Kluson; Evangeline Linkous; Laney Poire
Subject: RE: chickens

Jono,

On behalf of the Commission, thank you for your e-mail and for your dialogue on this issue.    Community buy-in is an important aspect of a change like this.  The majority of the Commission would like to see CLUCK educate the HOAs, Neighborhood Associations, and Civic Associations on this issue and also get their buy-in before the county spends time and money to initiate a change in zoning rules.  Some felt it would be difficult to get that through county-held neighborhood workshops and that CLUCK should make these efforts before we start down that path.  

Personally, I thought your editorial was a good conversation piece that can be distributed to these groups to start the discussions.  I also look forward to listening to the community dialogue on this topic absent initial government involvement.      

Thank you for your efforts and for your approach to this issue.  We appreciated each of the speakers and their stories.

Best Regards,

Christine

Christine Robinson

Sarasota County Commission Chair

Sarasota County Government

1660 Ringling Blvd

Sarasota, Florida 34236

941-861-5727

Assisted by Robin Bayus

rbayus@scgov.net

--------------------------------

The editorial Commissioner Robinson referred to can be found here. 

Sarasota CLUCK back in the News

It's been quite awhile, but it was worth waiting for the most recent Sarasota Herald-Tribune article dealing with backyard chickens and Sarasota CLUCK, which occupies most of the front page of the local section. The February 25th 2014 article titled Chickens pass their test by Ian Cummings features longtime CLUCK supporter Fran Tiner and, indirectly, Betsy, Pippy, Rose, and Roz, Fran's four hens.

CLUCK Milestone: City Chickens Pass Three Year Probationary Period

Three years ago, thirty Sarasotans attempted to convince four Sarasota City Commissioners that, despite the dire warnings of ten other Sarasotans, a negative vote from the Planning Commission, and a stalemated position from the important local neighborhood congress, CCNA, the sky would not fall if they allowed City residents with single family homes to have as many as four hens in their backyards. The Board discussion was tense until Fredd Atkins cut through the fog and made it clear that three votes were there, enabling Dick Clapp to make it a four-zero vote. 

THE SKY DID NOT FALL.

Three years and one month later, on February 18th, 2014 another commission, based on the recommendation of staff, voted unanimously to make permanent their three year experiment. 

No one was there to speak against making the ordinance permanent, in part because chicken complaint calls since passage have averaged just one-third of one percent of all code complaint calls.

In addition to the support of staff and the commission, special thanks are due longtime supporters Kafi Benz, Megan Jourdan, and Virginia Hoffman for their testimony. 

Virginia Hoffman, Ann McVoy, Fran Tiner, Arlene  Boyle, Jono Miller, Laney Poire
Missing from photo: Megan Jourdan, Betsy Roberts, Jodi John, Ray Sullivan,
Carolyn Loesch, Amy Boyd, and  April.

Now a new push is needed to bring the benefits of backyard hens to traditional neighborhoods in the Unincorporated portions of Sarasota County.

In the past three years, backyard hens have been allowed in Duval County (Jacksonville), Manatee County, Hernando County, and Pinellas County. Their experience, combined with the realities in the City of Sarasota and Venice, argue that Sarasota County now needs to bring county rules into alignment with the City. 

North Port PZAB Votes on Chicken Ordinance

After tackling an Urban Service Boundary for the City, on Thursday morning April 4th members of the North Port Planning and Zoning Advisory Board (PZAB) took up a proposed backyard chicken ordinance that the City Commission had (at a January 14th workshop) directed staff to draft based on the City of Sarasota ordinance.

Planning Staff member Barbara McKeathon presented the draft ordinance to the PZAB noting that the only significant change from the City of Sarasota's ordinance was an increase in the allowable number of hens from four to six, a change requested by the Board at the workshop. She clarified that, despite was was printed, rules adopted in CDDs and HOAs would take precedence over any City ordinance, meaning that those neighborhoods with mandatory homeowner associations could set their own rules about chickens and those would take precedence over any City ordinance allowing hens.

The PZAB members then raised a number of concerns:

• What would the expense be in having the building department come out two or three times to inspect the coop?

• What about odors, noise, roosters, cost to the City, and the possibility of them "free-ranging"?

• Would a greater setback distance be better?

• Could chicken droppings somehow pollute the wells of residents on wells and septic tanks?

• Would there have to be a house on a lot to qualify? (Yes)

Several of the Board members had prior experience with chickens. One was of the opinion that six hens would lay far too many eggs for one family. But several members seemed unfamiliar with backyard hens - one suspected a rooster might be needed for eggs to be laid.

The question about inspections was prompted by a question about the need for permits. Ms. McKeathon opined that a permit would be required (and hence the need for inspections).

A North Port mom with two sons in attendance spoke, affirming that the birds would primarily be pets. She challenged the argument that chicken poop would be likely to affect wells (graciously declining to point out that the septic tanks would be far more of an issue) and cautioned against expanding the setbacks to the point that the coops would be impossible to site on an average North Port lot.

Then CLUCK spokesperson Jono Miller spoke saying he was not going to tell North Port what to do, but was there to offer information about the City of Sarasota's experience after two years. He pointed out that while North Port had more citizens than the City of Sarasota, Sarasota was far denser and that led to increased potential for neighbor complaints. He stated that in 2009 and 2010, the years before the ordinance passed, there had been 2,988 code complaints, but that only seven had related to chickens. He said Sarasota lacked a computerized database for complaints so it was not easy to get current numbers, but that his understanding was that complaints had not increased. He said some cities report a drop in complaints after legalizing backyard hens and hypothesized that was both because some operations already complied with the law and other citizens would want to "color inside the lines" and comply with rules to insure they could keep their birds. He noted that all six City Commission candidates at a recent forum said they were comfortable with the chicken situation. He pointed out that the City of Sarasota was worried about demands on staff and estimated a permit would cost $100, so Sarasota dropped the requirement for a permit - a major difference from what the PZAB was considering. He then offered to answer questions, but there were none.

The public hearing was closed and the PZAB went back to discussing the proposal. Kenneth Maturo made it very clear he could not support the ordinance. Former City Commissioner Tower returned to his concerns about inspections and the cost of enforcement. He suggested than owning two lots might be a prerequisite for keeping chickens.

Then James Glass, the PZAB Chairman who appeared to have the most experience with chickens, attempted to temper some of the debate. He emphasized the fact that these birds would primarily be pets and would not actually lay 42 eggs a week as had been implied. He opined that based on the raccoon droppings he had been seeing the City might want to ban raccoons. He seemed to agree that the movable coop provision would solve a number of problems.

When all was said and done there seemed to be three substantive arguments:

1) That permitting, inspections, and enforcement might place an unwelcome burden on staff resources, and

2) That the rights of those wanting chickens had to be weighed against neighbors that did not want to see chickens in their neighbor's yards, and

3) That so few citizens were showing up to speak that it did not make sense to consider a change.

Then Mr. Tower moved and Mr. Maturo seconded a motion that the PZAB NOT recommend the ordinance to the City Commission, which passed 4 to 3. The Ordinance now goes back to the City Comission at 6:00 pm Monday, April 22nd.

Based on the minimal citizen turnout, the confusion about permitting, the lack of definitive data from the City of Sarasota, and the modest level of understanding of some PZAB members, this seemed like a good outcome -- one comparable to the 3-2 vote against chickens that emerged from the City of Sarasota Planning Board before the City Commission approved it.

For more on the big picture in North Port, go to: SPOTLIGHT SHIFTS TO NORTH PORT CHICKEN ORDINANCE.

Manatee County Staff to Draft Chicken Ordinance

On Tuesday March 26th the Manatee County Commission took one small step towards allowing backyard hens by directing staff to draft an ordinance allowing backyard hens. The vote was 4 to 3 with Commissioners Chappie, Whitmore, Bustle, and Gallen voting in favor and DiSabatino, Benac, and Baugh voting against.

Commissioners Benac, chappie, DiSabatino, Bustle, Baugh, Gallen, Whitmore

The discussion was delayed by more than an hour and the four or five opponents trotted out a mixture of legitimate concerns (that would be dealt with in any reasonable ordinance) and some "sky-is-falling" worst case fantasies such as assurances there would be "20 to 30" complaint calls a week if an ordinance were adopted.

Most of the arguments against were the predictable objections heard elsewhere: Salmonella, noise, odor and pollution, loose chickens, burdening code enforcement or animal control, and depressed real estate values. None of which have proved to be significant issues in the City of Sarasota.

The "farm animal" argument was also used, despite testimony that these chickens are not part of commercial agriculture operations, but rather pets, not unlike pot-bellied pigs. Applying the farm argument uniformly would require the county to ban dooryard citrus or a grow-box with tomatoes. We're talking about pets that people name and buy treats for, animals they are more likely to bury in a private ceremony than serve for dinner.

Another line of attack was the notion the "minority" of residents that favor chickens were somehow imposing their views on the "majority". This was an argument utilized by Commissioner DiSabatino apparently reflecting actions taken by some neighborhood associations and the Federation of Manatee County Community Associations Inc. It may be worth remembering that a core American value is protecting the rights of minorities. No neighbor should be expected to tolerate an obnoxious next door pet, whether it is a barking or biting dog, a bird-killing, sand-box fouling cat, or a squawking macaw on a lanai. But if a pet is not problematic, what right does one neighbor have to say their neighbor can't have one or more?

Organizations that adopt resolutions opposing chickens before an ordinance has even been drafted are reminiscent of small children that refuse to try a new food before they even know what it is. One would hope they would maintain a non-prejudiced view and base any objections on what was actually being proposed. Its worth noting that there are more provisions in the City of Sarasota's ordinance protecting neighbors than protecting chickens.

Perhaps more to the point, anyone living in a neighborhood with a mandatory HOA (Homeowner's Association) would have rules that would trump any county ordinance. So many of those objecting, who chose to live in such communities, have nothing to worry about.

In addition to chastising the "minority", Commissioner DiSabatino asked Code Enforcement Manager Joe Fenton to come forward and explain the legitimate challenges of enforcing code on fenced properties. CLUCK suspects that vast majority of urban chicken code complaints stem from roosters, and you don't need to be able to see through a fence to tell if there is a rooster present.

Some Commissioners expressed interest in minimum lot size, which could be a reasonable provision. But note should be made that chickens are allowed in Pinellas County (the state's densest county) as well as three quarters of the largest cities in the nation. 

Some of the best testimony came from attorney Earl Baden who showed pictures of himself as a kid with his hens and rebutted concerns about odor. His compassionate common sense experience stood in stark contrast to the alarmist testimony of the opponents. Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen offered refreshing positive testimony that included the fact that their ordinance is based on the City of Sarasota's and included the provision for movable coops. She said the only complaints from neighbors came from people who complained they wanted more eggs. Ronald Sprague of Palma Sola talked about his eight hens and how he had no neighbor complaints in two and a half years. He made the point, repeated by others, that these chickens are pets (just like dogs and cats).

Manatee County has a long way to go before backyard hens are approved with reasonable restrictions. But the ball is rolling, however slowly, and chicken advocates need to step up.


I

North Port Chicken Alert: Monday Jan.14, 2013

Sometime on Monday morning January 14, 2013, the North Port City Commission will have a discussion regarding raising chickens in North Port. That discussion will start with a staff presentation and the City Planning Staff has assembled some interesting information (which you can access by clicking here).

Here are some noteworthy facts the staff prepared for the Commissioner's consideration:

CLUCK celebrates first anniversary of city chickens and plans county strategy

One year after final passage of the changes to Sarasota city ordinances to once again allow chickens, CLUCK supporters will gather commemorate our success and re-dedicate ourselves to a campaign to relax restrictions in the unincorporated county (and North Port). 

Pinellas Poultry Decision December 20th, Hillsborough Petition Now Online

According to a Suzette Porter story appearing on TBNWeekly.com, unincorporated Pinellas County may be on the verge of allowing four backyard hens. Chickens are already allowed in Belleair, Dunedin, Gulfport, Largo and St. Petersburg. The arguments for and against seemed remarkably similar to what was heard in the City of Sarasota and the proposed rules (four hens, no roosters, single family residential areas only) seems generally similar to Sarasota's. See the website for Pinellas County Citizens for Backyard Poultry.


Here's a letter from organizer Lisa McBride

Dear Pinellas Backyard Chicken Advocates,

We need your help! We need letters and phone calls to all of the commissioners THIS WEEK even if you have already done so in the past. The final hearing and vote to legalize backyard chickens in our county will be held next Tuesday, December 20^th at 6:30 PM. We also need you and all of friends who support the new ordinance to show up at that meeting.  

Anyone who wishes to can speak at the hearing for up to 3 minutes. All you have to do is get to the meeting early enough and fill out a blue card and then you will be called upon to speak during the hearing.

Commissioners Latvala, Roche & Welch have expressed support for the proposed ordinance. Seel, Morroni & Bostock are currently in opposition because the Code Enforcement Department staffing has been greatly reduced and they do not want to add additional workload to that department.

My best estimate of number of additional calls to Code Enforcement as a result of this change would be 23 calls (based on data from, St. Pete, Dunedin, Largo Gulfport & Belleair). If it costs the county $75 for each call, the cost to enforce the new backyard chicken ordinance will be less than $2000. Compare that with a cost of approximately $4 million dollars to run the Animal Services Department which is a department charged with management of issues related to domestic animals, i.e. dogs and cats, and the cost to enforce this new ordinance seems trivial. Especially when you consider that the chickens can yield a family a net savings of $400 a year when the cost to own a dog per year is $1100-$ 3500 dogs and the cost to own a cat is      $1070 per year.

I’ve attached a copy of our last Powerpoint as well as the proposed ordinance to give you information for letters.

Thank you for your support,

Lisa McBride.

In other regional chicken news, Hillsborough County Citizens for Backyard Poultry now has an online petition.

CLUCK blog records 35,000 pageviews in less than a year

When the first Sarasota CLUCK blog posting went up on June 11 2009, it was assumed it would simply be vehicle for advocacy of passage of a local City of Sarasota backyard chicken ordinance.  Then, nearly a year and half later, on December 18th 2010, the blog recorded its 5,000th pageview (averaging 9 pageviews a day) and the ordinance was passed just a few months later on February 7th, 2011. Now, exactly fifty-one weeks after hitting 5,000, CLUCK has recorded its 40,000th pageview, an average of nearly 100 (97.49) pageviews a day, which is a ten-fold increase. That means the vast majority of pageviews have occurred after passage of the ordinance. This posting is a summary of some of the dimensions of this success. 

The most viewed post, (out of 187 posts) with over 1,800 pageviews is Sarasota CLUCK's Top 25 Funky Chicken Facts. Posted in mid-January, this posting (now with 30 funky facts) lists interesting, and sometimes nearly unbelievable, information about chickens and includes links to sources, a feature virtually all other chicken fact sites lack.

The second most popular, with nearly 1,400 pageviews is an annotated version of the City Ordinance. This document includes both the official language of the ordinance, and an accessible interpretation of what each section means and the intent behind it.

The third most popular, with about 1,200 pageviews is a discussion of treadle feeders, which are feeders that chickens activate to access food by standing on treadle. 

Other noteworthy posts include the Are You Ready for Backyard Chickens Quiz, which has over 550 pageviews and the reprint of the Backyard Poultry magazine article based on the Sarasota experience, which has been averaging six views per day and is expected to become one of the more popular posts. 


No doubt about it -- December 2011 has been a big month for local CLUCK: hitting 40,000 pageviews, an article published in Backyard Poultry Magazine and the first meeting of Manatee CLUCK. 


And clearly the blog has evolved from just a one-time, campaign-driven, local-focus resource to a site accessed all over the country and planet (over 2,000 pageviews from United Kingdom and Russia combined).


But one goal remains unmet, and that is relaxing restrictions on backyard chickens in unincorporated Sarasota County. That is a big target for the coming year. If you are interested in changing the county rules, please write to us at SarasotaCLUCK@ gmail.com or join the Facebook Group. 

Sarasota CLUCK Campaign gets National Attention in Backyard Poultry Magazine

The December 2011/January2012 Issue of Backyard Poultry features an article based on the lessons learned from the 18 month campaign to legalize backyard hens in the City of Sarasota. The article, One Dozen Tips to Legalize Chickens in Your Community, summarizes some of the successful strategies and setbacks experienced during the campaign. Backyard Poultry has now placed an online version on its website so that backyard chicken supporters will be able to access the tips for free without having to buy the magazine or find Sarasota CLUCK.

The One Dozen Tips Article is Based on the Experience in the City of Sarasota

The article features photographs by local artist Jean Blackburn. Two of the three photographs include Sarah the Buff Brahma (seen below). Sarah has already been featured in SRQ Magazine and in an earlier posting.

And one new (British) book characterizes Brahmas as "magnificently large, good natured and docile hens that make an excellent pet, as it is extremely ease to tame if handled gently". If you are looking for a mid-sized coffee table book for a chicken lover, consider The Illustrated Guide to Chickens by Celia Lewis. Beautiful watercolors accompany descriptions of 100 different breeds (and there is a forward by the Prince of Wales).

---------------------------------------------

There are several meanings of the word chicken and one is cowardly. We're not sure how cows feel about that, but shortly after the posting above went live, CLUCK received the following critical and anonymous email message and comment regarding the Backyard Poultry article: 

The first paragraph has an error. The vote was not 5-0 to legalize backyard hens, but 4-0. One commissioner was absent due to illness. Another mis-fact from CLUCK! 

It is true that the first unanimous vote was 4-0, but the second reading on the consent agenda (February 7th) was recorded as follows:

SCREEN SHOT OF CITY COMMISSION MINUTES DOCUMENTING
A 5-0 VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE ORDINANCE

So CLUCK stands by the article that the final vote to adopt was 5-0 and encourages those who take issue with chickens to have the courage of their convictions to identify themselves.

CLUCK Opportunity: Sarasota County 4H Poultry Workshop

Hey Kids (particularly those of you in the City of Sarasota where is is legal to have chickens)! Sarasota County 4H Poultry Workshop could be for you! Do you have chickens? Want chickens? You don't need to be a 4H member to participate. 

When: December 3, 2011 

Where: Sarasota County Extension

6700 Clark Road, Sarasota, FL 

Time: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Hands-On Instruction by Cindy Kinard

Topics Include:

Poultry Raising Basics Grooming and Showmanship

Record Books and County Fair Small Livestock Entry Forms

Bringing Your Poultry Project Is Allowed !

Please RSVP with Janie Besselman at 941-232-8420 or 941-907-0011 by November 28, 2011.

CLUCK Blog sets new record: 20,000 pageviews

What was once just a local chicken blog has caught on and is being viewed by chicken lovers and the chicken curious across the nation and planet. We started tracking pageviews last June and have been surprised at the responses. Pageviews peaked in January, the high-profile month the local City ordinance passed (see figure). Then numbers dipped in February as expected. But they started to rebuild in March (exceeding December) and the numbers for April (which is only 2/3rds over) have already exceeded total pageviews for January.The reason? With more than 130 distinct posts, the blog is becoming a go-to resource for people outside of Sarasota. 

Tampa Bay Online Covers Backyard Chickens

Feb. 25. Tampa Tribune reporter Michelle Bearden filed a story online: Chickens clucking their way to an urban yard near you. The story covers urban chicken activity in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota Counties.

Fine-tuning the City Code for Pet Hens

This morning I met with three members of the City Planning Staff to review their draft City Code changes that would allow keeping of backyard hens in the City of Sarasota. Staff has decided to process this as a change to the City Code, rather than approaching it as a Zoning Text Amendment.

Their initial draft was good, but differed in some respects from the CLUCK request, so we met to talk about what they had come up with.

The staff gets big points for keeping this simple. Their approach is lean, without a lot of specifications that would complicate matters. Here in simplified (non-ordinance) bullet form are the heart of the eleven constraints they proposed:

• Residential Single Family areas only ( No condos, multi-family, or duplexes)

• Up to four chickens

• No roosters

• No slaughtering

• Chickens must have a covered enclosure

• They must be kept in covered or fenced enclosure at all times

• Must be set back 10 feet from all property lines

• Constructed to thwart rodents and pests

• Maintained with dry bedding and regular removal of wastes

• Feed kept in secure containers

• Deed restrictions, neighborhood by-laws, covenant deeds take precedence

First we clarified that the City Staff are NOT proposing a permit system. You don't need a permit to have a dog or a cat, and adding the tracking systems necessary to permit other pets is an added burden the City clearly does not need right now.

Second, we established that the City was not contemplating requiring the enclosure or coop to meet hurricane codes -- doing so would make coops or enclosures prohibitively expensive and require additional permitting.

We discussed the fact that some locales require sign off by neighbors, but staff was quick to point out many problems with this approach. Would that be the owner of the building or the occupant? What if a neighboring home is vacant? What if ownership changes? It was agreed that keeping a few hens is either a reasonable use or it isn't and having to involve neighbors on a case by case basis was needlessly complicating things. But implicit in the concept of neighbor sign-off is the recognition that success will depend on good neighbor relations. More on this topic later.

That got us involved in two other questions.

One was the question of numbers. In defending their choice of four, staff pointed to a CLUCK email mentioning three to six chickens and argued that many municipalities have settled on four. Their position was that four hens, laying four eggs a day would keep a family well stocked, since that works out to more than two dozen a week. More than two dozen a week, they posited, would be more than an average family might be expected to consume and several breeds can usually be relied upon to lay one egg a day.

I countered that despite what one email may have said, our official request was for up to six hens and that we had reasons for that number. First I noted that coop construction or purchase can be a major expense and the additional incremental cost for two more birds (from 4 to 6) was relatively minor. I gave the example of a chicken tractor that sells for $300 and can accommodate 6 small hens. If you only have four, the cost per hen is $75, but with 6 it drops by a third to $50 per bird. Staff seemed unimpressed.

Then I agreed that a family might consume all the eggs four hens produced and that was one big reason we were arguing for six. I said CLUCK wanted chickens to strengthen neighborhoods and that depended on excess eggs to share with neighbors. I knew from previous experience that presenting neighbors with a dozen multi-hued eggs with perky yellow-orange yolks really helped them appreciate the value of backyard hens. Those gifts led to visit to see the birds, and the visits led to neighborhood children wanting to see the birds, and that led to finding chicken-sitters to check on the birds and collect eggs when we went on trips.

So I think we agreed to disagree -- staff seemed to want to limit egg production to what a family could consume and CLUCK members had expressed interest in excess capacity to share with neighbors. Staff said we were welcome to argue for six before the board, and I conceded that four was a better number than zero when it comes to legally keeping pet hens.

A bit later I think some of the staff members had a minor epiphany when I pointed out that four hens don't each lay an egg a day ad infinitum. Staff assumptions had been based on the most productive varieties, but many people enjoy some of the more exotic breeds, which are not as productive when it comes to eggs. Decreasing day length (winter), molting, broodiness, and age all negatively affect egg production. So while four year-old leghorn hens might hit two dozen a week, an aging mixed flock of four with a broody hen in winter is not going to get anywhere near those numbers. In such a situation six birds would be needed to come closer to meeting household needs.

Returning to the challenges of hurricanes and neighbor relations, we discussed movable coops. Movable coops, like boat trailers, would not need to meet hurricane code. And like boat trailers they could be relocated if a bad storm threatened. Movable coops, particularly chicken tractors, are better for the birds, because they allow the birds to interact with new parts of the yard in sequence, like moving cattle to new pasture. Movable coops also keep coop size small. But perhaps the biggest benefit of movable coops results from the fact that they can be moved. A movable coop allows a neighbor to work with the chicken owner to minimize visual impacts. So stipulating movable coops obviates the need to require elaborate construction techniques and permits, is better for the birds, and will help with neighbor relations.

Our time was up and I was told that the City Code change would travel along with the Zoning Text Amendments it started with. That might mean going to the Planning Board by the end of the year and before the City Commission early next year.

Please feel free to comment on this evolving work (comments are moderated) and take the poll on the upper right.