North Port Nixes Hens Again

Despite strong support from Commissioner Yates and Mayor Moore, the North Port City Commission once again sunk an effort to have staff draft a backyard hen ordinance based on the successful experience of the City of Sarasota. 

Commissioner Cook's objection to my being able to speak for more than three minutes signaled her continued, and strident, opposition to backyard chickens and Commissioner Tom Jones seemed concerned about the possibility of residents living in mandatory Homeowner Associations (such as Sabal Trace) being unable to prevent poultry. (The City of Sarasota makes it clear that mandatory HOA regulations take precedence over the Citys' ordinance.) That left former supporter Vice Mayor DiFranco, a former chicken owner, as the swing vote. 

Commissioner DiFranco argued that while she had supported backyard hens previously, contact with the community had convinced her that the majority of North Port residents opposed hens. 

Her argument was bolstered by the fact that only three North Port residents argued strongly for hens, and they were offset by three residents (including the ever-entertaining and feisty Buddy Hughes) who argued against. Another citizen thought chickens could be appropriate on large lots with tight regulation. 

Opponents frequently cited property rights ("I don't want to look at coops or cows.") and a concern about property values, although no information or testimony has been brought forward at any level that backyard hens decrease property values. In fact, a recent article documents the fact that chicken coops are being included in some real estate ads as amenities. 

One prominent Sarasota realtor has said "If your neighbor has three lawn ornaments or paints their house pink, that will have more effect on the ability to sell your house than if they have backyard chickens." 

Research presented in a comprehensive study of 100 cities that allow chickens concluded that: "As of yet, no studies have been done on how backyard chickens in particular affect property values, but given that communities express little concern that other pets, such as dogs or cats, reduce property values, and given research showing that pets and urban agricultural practices can increase them, there is little reason to believe that allowing backyard chickens will negatively affect them."*

Commissioners Moore and Yates will need more citizen support if they are to challenge Commissioner DiFranco's conclusion that the community support just isn't there. Of course, the majority of Sarasota City residents never said they favored chickens -- proponents simply demonstrated that allowing chickens posed no discernible threat to residents.

*Illegal Fowl: A Survey of Municipal Laws Relating to Backyard Poultry and a Model Ordinance for Regulating City Chickens by Jaime Bouvier 
Jaime Bouvier is Visiting Legal Writing Professor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. 

North Port: One Vote Short

On Monday May 13th, 2013, the North Port City Commission fell one vote shy of getting ahead of the pet chicken phenomenon, a vote they may come to regret. With Commissioner Tom Jones still not back on the dais, measures need a 75% (3-1) approval rating to pass instead of the usual 60% (3-2). As a result the group deadlocked 2-2 and the measure failed when Commissioner Blucher switched his vote from the first reading. 

Commissioner Blucher started the questioning inquiring if the chickens could just be wandering free-range when not in the coop. Commissioner Cook wanted to know if people who wanted chickens would have the obtain permission from the owners of undeveloped neighboring lots. 

Citizens speaking in opposition seemed to be using chickens as proxies for other complaints they have with the City or their neighbors. One gentleman complained about four or five families living on one house. Entertaining and erratic former Commissioner Buddy Hughes managed to talk about a shopping center, cholesterol, and her cats. She said she "looked it up on the internet" and found chickens were "noisy, smelly and poop all over".

Several citizens spoke in favor and several mentioned the wild birds and other animals found in their yards that should pose a well-contamination risk comparable to the one hypothesized by Commissioner Cook. They also hit on the basic fairness theme and their right to keep animals so long as they weren't a nuisance. Angela Funes deserves lots of credit for stepping up and working to organize supporters by creating the NP City Chickens Facebook page.

Once they closed the public hearing it became evident the measure was in trouble, even though staff had delivered what the Commissioners had asked for: a requirement to have neighbor permission without burdening permitting staff. 

Commissioner Cook had a long list of complaints and concerns starting with her lingering disappointment that staff never took time to address the theoretical concern that chicken droppings could somehow contaminate wells. She wanted all neighbors to have to give permission, questioned compost, and alluded to some chicken problem in China. And then, apparently in a effort to show she was reasonable, suggested one chicken might be okay as pet and observed that she would be more likely to consider this if the gated communities wanted chickens -- which is roughly comparable to arguing that prayers should become a regular part of the school-day when atheists demand it. She finished by expressing concern that this "might open the door to zoning issues". 

Chicken owner and supporter Commissioner DiFranco spoke next, lamenting the fact that people are not taking care of their animals. She mentioned overbreeding and people walking away from their pets. She pointed out that even if North Port had as many code enforcement staff as Sarasota, the far larger territory complicated matters and made it more important that people police themselves. 

Commissioner Blucher observed that he had been non-committal to start with, but that he had heard from a lot of people since the first reading and had concluded "the majority do not want" chickens, without commenting on whether American governments exist to impose the preferences of the majority or protect the rights of the minority. He expressed concerns about enforcement and raised, for the first time, the issue of flies*. It was obvious he was going to switch his vote.

Mayor Yates, reading her peers, stated that 34 people had contacted the commission in support and only a handful opposed. She stated it was a private property rights issue and pointed out that banning chickens wasn't going to solve other animal issues in the City. She said it was unfortunate and sad that the measure was going down and repeated her plea to give it a try. But when the board flashed it was 2-2. 

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CLUCK's North Port chicken prediction: Chicken complaints in North Port will increase, possibly dramatically. There are two reasons for this: first, all the media coverage and outcome (chickens are illegal) will drive a wave of complaints about pre-existing chickens (that previously may have been thought to be okay) and 2) people who wanted to color inside the lines and supported a reasonable ordinance will simply give up on their government and just get chickens anyway. For people like Commissioner Cook and former Commissioner Hughes, this will elicit a "see, I told you so" response. 

The North Port chicken community will continue to grow and organize (the Facebook page has 51 "likes" as of this posting) and eventually, possibly when a new Commission is seated, the Commissioners will realize it makes more sense to provide reasonable accommodations for backyard hens so that code enforcement can focus on real problems like animal abandonment, pet hoarding, animal abuse, and cockfighting. 

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*FLIES

CLUCK wishes Commissioner Blucher had raised the fly issue sooner, since chicken waste can attract flies. Here is one chicken keepers experience:

I go for weeks or months with no noticeable fly problem. That convinced me my hens weren't creating a problem because their numbers are constant. Then all of a sudden there will be droves. At first I thought it was the weather - maybe drought suppressed flies. But eventually I realized my chickens were not creating the fly problem - they were the victims. 

Here's what I've figured out is going on: Some one throws out a lot of chicken carcasses from a barbecue, or they gut their fish when they get home, and they drag the garbage out to the curb where attracts flies that lay eggs. Or a raccoon or opossum gets hit by a car and crawls off to die. Soon it is crawling with hundreds, if not thousands, of maggots that turn into hundreds or thousands of flies. Those flies hatch out and need to find a place to lay their eggs. 

Here's where my chickens come in. The flies bred elsewhere show up in my yard, only to find tiny quarter-sized chicken droppings. Any port in a storm. So I end up doing the fly-trapping -- putting a stop to a fly problem generated by my neighbors or road-kill. Instead of chicken owners CREATING a neighborhood fly problem, they are the people motivated and equipped to STOP a neighborhood fly problem. 

North Port One Vote Away From Legalizing Chickens

The North Port City Commission, minus Commissioner Tom Jones, met on Earth Day (April 22nd, 2013) and the agenda included the first reading of a proposed ordinance that would allow backyard chickens in single family residential areas.


After fourteen open-to-the-public comments (that included testimony from four former City Commissioners!), the commission took up Ordinance 1013-03. Staff introduced the measure pointing out that it differed from the City of Sarasota approach by allowing more chickens (six instead of four) and restricting chickens in North Port to single family residential areas while Sarasota allowed chickens in "all residential areas".1

Mayor Yates, a known supporter, started the conversation asking where the inspections and permits came from since they were not in the City of Sarasota ordinance. The answer was that they were recommended by the Planning and Zoning Advisory Board. 2

The Mayor wanted to make sure that the prohibition on egg sales did not apply City-wide where if could affect Farmer's Markets. 

Commissioner Blucher questioned six, not four and wondered if the permitting would necessitate adding staff.

Commissioner Cook seemed disappointed in staff responses to PZAB concerns.

Commissioner DiFranco asked about the current staffing levels of code enforcement and animal services.

Mayor Yates pointed out that no permit was needed in Sarasota and people could have dog houses, bird cages, potbellied pigs, and parrots in North Port without getting a permit. Commissioner Blucher countered that a there was no North Port permit for a goat either (because goats are illegal). 

The Commission then took testimony from the public, which ran about three to one in favor of chickens.   Those arguing in opposition tended to use two lines of argument, enforcement challenges and property rights, although there was one individual who cited bird flu in China as a reason not to act. The majority of those speaking in opposition were adamant that chickens are "farm animals" and not pets.3  Planning Commissioner Maturo earned a rebuke from the Mayor when he rudely began to attack the testimony of an earlier speaker. 

Former Commissioner and current PZAB member Fred Tower testified that he was neither for nor against, but that he had talked to a relative in Oshkosh and there all three neighbors had to give approval.

At the close of public testimony, Mayor Yates passed the gavel to Commissioner Blucher and added language prohibiting sale of eggs "at a residence". She argued that "all had been said" and the City should give it a try because it was working well in Sarasota. 

Commissioner DiFranco offered a balanced response, noting that chickens are a lot of responsibility and that she feared chickens would be abandoned after the novelty wore off. She was concerned about enforcement and stated she couldn't support six.

Commissioner Cook revealed she had a chicken as a child, but that not all chickens were docile. She went back to the list of PZAB concerns that she felt had not be adequately addressed by staff. 

Commissioner Blucher stated that he had problems with this proposal from day one. He enumerated a number of concerns including staff needed to enforce, six chickens being too many, and the fact that North Port, unlike the City of Sarasota, already had an area (the Estates) that allowed chickens. But he tempered his comments with an observation that he wasn't worried about noise and thought it would be a good thing for kids. 

Since Commissioner Jones was absent, passage would require 75% of those present to vote in favor (more than the usual 60%) and it was pretty clear six chickens weren't going anywhere. 

Mayor Yates tried to amend to four chickens, but there was a parliamentary question. That got sorted out yielding an amendment to reduce the number from 6 to 4 and requiring approval from neighbors. Commissioner Cook stated she was still not on board, citing the cost to regulate and the possibility that chicken droppings could contaminate wells. Staff was empowered to iron out details prior to the second reading on May 13th at 1:00 pm and both the amendment and main motion passed three to one with Commissioner Cook voting Nay.

1 That turned out not to be true. The City of Sarasota clearly states chickens are "accessory to a residential single-family structure".

2 Actually a PZAB member at the April 4th meeting asked staff if permits would be required, and a staff member answered in the affirmative. That was the start of permitting being added.

3 That argument suffered a serious blow later in the Board discussion when Commissioner DiFranco revealed that she owned a "pet chicken". 

North Port to Consider Chicken Ordinance

Today a North Port Commission workshop inched the City one baby-step closer to considering a change that would allow backyard hens in single family areas.



Commissioner Jones has been hospitalized, so only four commissioners were present to discuss the staff presentation.

The discussion started with public testimony that included a young home-schooled girl that corrected a number of common misconceptions about chickens. Another speaker wanted to correct some statements that had appeared in print. If there was to be a fee, she favored a one-time fee, not an annual expense. She also thought chicken tractors were a good idea. Another speaker talked about the need to limit the idea specifically to chickens and not poultry in general. Finally, CLUCK advocate Jono Miller offered the assistance of the organization that led the 18 month campaign to revise the City of Sarasota's chicken rules.