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04-23-2012 EC Agenda PacketAGENDA GOLDEN VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road Managers Room, Monday, April 23, 2012 7:00 PM 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes — March 26, 2012 3. Request from Council to Study Section 10.32 (Clancy) 4. 2012 Planning (Baker) 5. Communications — Item #287 from Cathy Waldhauser (Staff) 6. Annual Report (Baker) 7. Program/Project Updates (Staff) A. TMDL B. 1/1 C. Private Development Update D. Decola Ponds E. Recycling Update F. Wetland Management 8. Commission Member Council Reports (Commissioners) MPRB CAC Meeting —April 10tn 9. Other Business 10. Adjourn GOLDEN VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting Minutes March 26, 2012 Present: Commissioners Tracy Anderson Rich Baker, Dawn Hill, Lynn Gitelis, Jim Stremel, Damon Struyk; Jeannine Clancy, Public Works Director; and Lisa Nesbitt, Administrative Assistant Absent: Commission Debra Yahle 1. Call to Order Baker called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. 2. Approval of Joint Meeting Minutes — February 27, 2012 MOVED by Hill, seconded by Gitelis, and the motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2012 meeting as amended to show the correct spelling of Commission Struyk's last name. 3. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes — February 27, 2012 MOVED by Hill, seconded by Gitelis, and the motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2012 meeting as amended toshowthe correct spelling of Commission Struyk's last name. 4. 2012 Planning Commissioners reviewed the possible priorities for 2012 identified at the last meeting. They narrowed the list to six categories transportation alternatives, solar panels, composting, natural area management, student/school projects and a green fair. Each commissioner ranked his/her top three priorities. Baker will prioritize based on the rankings and draft a memo to Council. The memo will be sent to each of the commissioners, via staff, for review and comments before the next meeting. The goal is to review the flan with Council at a Council/Manager meeting in May or June. 5. Program/Project .Updates A summary of the program/project updates is on file. Additionally, Clancy reported that the City's annual public meeting regarding the NPDES MS4 Stormwater Permit will be held at the June 19, 2012 City Council meeting. Staff will present the 2011 report at the public meeting. The report is due to MPCA on June 30th. MPCA is currently developing a new Draft MS4 Permit which will likely take effect in the fall of 2012. Staff is monitoring the progress of this permit as it nears completion. 6. Commission Member Council Reports Baker attended the March 6, 2012 Council meeting to request approval and authorization for the May to sign the letter to the Minneapolis Park Board regarding the Wirth Lake clean-up. Struyk reported that the Minneapolis Park Board Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) met on March 20th to review the design of the new North Wirth golf area. The next CAC meeting is April 10tH Minutes of the Environmental Commission March 26, 2012 Page 2 of 2 7. Other Business Stremel attended the City Engineers Association conference in January. One of the presenters spoke about the trend towards natural gas. His report on sustainable transportation in the City of Surrey BC is on -file. Stremel also shared an article about an agreement between Rational Energies HC, Inc and Hennepin County for Rational Energies to separate and recover metal and plastic recyclable materials from the incoming municipal solid waste stream and the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station. The full article is on -file. In preparation for the annual report to the Council, staff will review the minutes from 2011 and make a list of accomplishments which will be brought to a future meeting. 8. Adjourn MOVED by Stremel, seconded by Struyk, and the motion carried to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm. The next scheduled meeting will be April 23, 2012 at 7 pm. city of goldeni!".'l valley MEMORANDUM Public Works Department 763-593-8030 / 763-593-3988 (fax) Executive Summary For Action Golden Valley City Council Meeting April 17, 2012 Agenda Item 6. C. Direct Environmental Commission to Study Whether Section 10.32 of the Golden Valley City Code Should be Amended to Allow a Person to Keep or Harbor Chickens Prepared By Jeannine Clancy, Director of Public Works Mark Ray, PE, Engineer Summary Section 10.32 of the Golden Valley City Code prohibits animals and fowl keeping, transporting, treatment and housing in the City. At the April 10, 2012 Council Manager meeting, the City Council requested that the Environmental Commission: 1. Study the current ordinance and make recommendation as to whether or not the ordinance should be amended; and 2. If the ordinance should be amended, what amendments should the City Council consider? During the discussion, the City Council asked staff to convey to the Commission that they take into account the diverse views on this topic, and that they seek expertise from a variety of different areas. Based upon this direction, staff will work with the Commission to develop a work plan that will include: 1. Consultation with professionals (Animal Humane Society, Chicken Run Rescue, etc.) regarding chickens on private property in urban environments. 2. Discussion with Golden Valley code enforcement and police staff. 3. Review of ordinances for adjacent and other Twin Cities' metropolitan communities relevant to the topic. 4. Discussion with code enforcement staff for adjacent or metropolitan cities on issues and concerns relevant to the topic. 5. Discussion with Planning staff and Planning Commission relevant to land use issues. G:\Executive Summary\2012\Council\Chicken Discussion_041712.docx 6. Discussion with nature and wildlife professionals regarding potential environmental impacts and potential impact on other wildlife (coyotes, raccoons, etc.). 7. Discussion with legal counsel to understand legal issues related to neighbors consent on fowl keeping. 8. Conduct self-directed independent information and fact finding efforts as needed. The final product of the Environmental Commission will be a detailed report that covers all considerations related to chickens on private property. The report will include the data and information collected from all the research and interviews conducted, arranged by topic. The report will also include a summary of pros and cons of allowing chickens on private property in Golden Valley and a recommendation to the City Council. Attachments • Section 10.32 of the Golden Valley City Code (2 pages) Recommended Action Motion to direct Environmental Commission to study whether Section 10.32 of the Golden Valley City Code should be amended to allow a person to keep or harbor chickens. GAExecutive Summary\2012\Council\Chicken Discussion_041712.docx § 10.32 Section 10.32: Animals and Fowl -Keeping, Transporting, Treatment, and Housing Subdivision 1. Definitions As used in this Section, the following definitions shall apply. A. Farm Animals: Cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, swine, ponies, ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens, guinea hens and honey bees. B. Animals: Includes farm animals and all other animals, reptiles and feathered birds or fowl except dogs, cats, gerbils, hamsters and caged household birds. Subdivision 2. Keeping It is unlawful for any person to keep or harbor any animal, not in transit, except (1) animals kept as part of a show licensed under the City Code, or, (2) animals used in a parade for which a permit has been issued, or, (3) animals kept in a laboratory for scientific or experimental purposes, or, (4) animals kept in an animal hospital or clinic for treatment by a licensed veterinarian. Subdivision 3. Animals in Transit It is unlawful for any person to transport animals unless they are (1) confined within a vehicle, cage or other means of conveyance, or (2) restrained by means of bridles, halters, ropes or other means of individual restraint. Subdivision 4. Treatment It is unlawful for any person to treat any animal as herein defined, or any other animal, in a cruel or inhumane manner. Subdivision S. Housing It is unlawful for any person to keep any animal as herein defined, or any other animal, in any structure infested by rodents, vermin, flies or insects, or inadequate for protection against the elements. Subdivision 6. Trespasses It is unlawful for any person to herd, drive or ride any animal over and upon any grass, turf, boulevard, City park, cemetery, garden or lot without specific permission therefor from the owner. Subdivision 7. Trapping It is unlawful for any person to, by means of any device or contrivance, catch, trap, snare, or restrain any animal. Provided, however, that the Director of Public Safety or Director of Public Works may waive the prohibition in this Subdivision for the purpose of abating, nuisances. Golden Valley City Code Page 1 of 2 § 10.32 Subdivision 8. Enforcement Licensed peace officers, reserve officers, and community service officers, employed by the Department of Public Safety are authorized to issue citations for the violation of this Section. Source: City Code Effective Date: 6-30-88 Golden Valley City Code Page 2 of 2 city of goldvall� Y MEMORANDUM City Administration/ Council 763-593-8003 / 763-593-8109 (fax) ":�fi .... 1 ..,, 6-, .��:: et ,. sw,�tbt ..yrx #``.rg.w"+' "P, ,.�. ,.,"r'�*`v�^',�i""�`aals:�"„��.�,°5 k�rr��R"t,"�,. ��"... �i 7., i. „^, y�✓�'; Executive Summary Golden Valley Council/Manager Meeting April 10, 2012 Agenda Item 2. Allowing Chickens Prepared By Thomas Burt, City Manager Summary At a past Open Forum a number of residents requested the City Council to amend the City Code to allow residents to keep chickens. The Council requested that this item be placed on a future agenda. Attachments Material distributed to Council at a previous Open Forum regarding the keeping of chickens (26 pages) X(t ooini ; a f o('li (tf o51 -so v, 11'sid C:r v ),IIe. st It I heir c"ltu,itc (r.tic IdtI( N,, II I su,i c, t ❑ c huI (I I i,rint a t h.0 rI>nu tt ith i,ccE�iuz, t frit l.crn. ;1, t he tr.Cnt rllicl.cn tt'ttai,r,;tttrC ctruinur� t,t ,,it It( r Iwnnclstuul, ccuth� arc bt'run,inr;In i,n,r.!vn;;l, ,,Iruntut;,i��{tt tnurl,.tlt,rn,l v,lnut,.Ina,Icl.,..utl�.Innituilhtt,n;nilt_ IIit ret t ��i,u, .InE1 an nnah.�t: t! iu!;re�t iu hlc,il ntl jIII( t,,,,,lti h.Ice ret i.unil rutUrilnu,'11 Iu lh, t nthn�-i.E�.In fE,t < hi:Lcns, but nt,tn•. l o)pl,vchi, Lt r 1, tI ,tu.I!(ti,„ 1, cl., lot i Slui}d, I( J%(III 4y! � N _ Below: Hatcheries such as McMurray will ship 8 -day- old chicks, E5 to a box, via the U.S. Postal Service. Opposite: Photogragpher Matthew Sensont coop is thouyhtjully decorated, centrally heated (with a heat lamp), and aptly named La Cape aux FowL Best Backyard inm Getting Started Before purchasing birds or planning for a coop, it is important to check local regulations and homeowner association rules. Many, municipalities ban roosters (dov?t worry hens lay eggs without them) and limit the number of hens .a Household can keep. Some communities require signed agreements from neighbors, permits, or an appearance before the zoning board, while others have ordinances that restrict the size and .placement of outbuildings. Sometimes the rules are surprising—pleasantly. New York City, for example, has never banned hens, says Owen Taylor, the training and livestock coordinator for Just Food, a nonprofit that works to improve access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food in the city. "They're considered.pets, like cats.and dogs, so zoning laws do not apply," Taylor says. In communities that outlaw poultry, chicken activists are joining together to challenge the laws. Tracy Halward formed the Longmont Urban Chicken Coalition after her family was cited for illegally keeping chickens in their Longmont; Colorado, back yard. The coalition scored a victory when the city council voted to allow a pilot backyard -chicken program, and in March ;Zoog issued permits to fo residents, including Hahvard. Similar . grassroots movements have overturned chicken bans in Madison, Wisconsin; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Bozeman, Montana. So backyard flocks may become common once again. Choosing Breeds A decided benefit of keeping chickens is the opportunity to raise birds that.have beautiful plumage and lay unusually colored eggs. Many breeds come in two sizes -.'standard, also known as -large breed, and bantam; which are typically one-quarter the size of standard birds.lioZ do find in back yards, though standard chickens lay much larger eggs, than bantams and, because they weigh more, tend vo be -lass flighty. For dependable eggproduction, choose layers --lightweight breeds, such a$:A .. Atzstralorps, that were bred to.lay reliably. Dual-putpose'biitec'ds £c&0; and matt), such as Buff f g9ngt= . and &1vw Laced: Wyartd�otae4,,are heavier -than layers W_,U" better egg production than. broilers; breeds used prima Wfair Chickens are social creatures. It is wise to keep at least three hens, but they do not need to be of the same breed. The four listed here were chosen for their superior qualities as pets. All come in both bantam and standard sizes, do well in mixed flocks, and have lovely plumage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Buhl Orpington. Bred in England, these large, gentle birds have beautiful orange feathers and a docile disposition. They lay large, light brown eggs and handle cold weather with aplomb. ' Black Australorp. Originally from Australia, they have red combs offset by glossy black feathers that shimmer in the sunshine with a hint of green. Australorps are known for their curious nature 38 Organic Gardening Vol. 57:4 and sweet personalities. They mature early and reliably lay large brown eggs. Cochin. Introduced to the United States from China In the early I800s. Cochin look like balls of feathers. They aren't known for heavy egg Production. but the hens make an excellent addi- tion to a flock. botrefor their calm personality and their fun feathered feet. Barred Plynwoth Rock. A heritage American breed with striking black -and -white "barred" feathers. they lay large brown eggs that can sometimes have a pinkish hue. Very easy to handle and friendly. For more about breeds, check out Storey's Illus- trated Guide to Poultry Breeds (Storey. 2007). meat. Many layer, broiler., and dual-purpose breeds are available as standards or bantams. Most breeds lay either white or brown eggs, thoughthe tint Fan wary. Welsummers, a rare dual-purpose breed, lay:dark brown eggs. And both Araucanas and Amemucanas lay blue-green eggs, though.many of the chickens sold as these breeds are actually "Easter Eggers"—hybrid birds that may lay blue-green, olive; br other tinted eggs. When building a flock, consider the behavioral and physical characteristics and climate suitability of each breed. Rhode Island .Reds are a popular dual-purpose breed that.laylarge, light brown eggs, but they can be aggressive toward calmer birds -such as Brahmas..Breeds with. thicker plumage dd best in cold -,climates, while those without a lot of extra insulation, such as Silk es, a fabulously ornamental breed with feathers: that look more like fur, live comfortably in wa;mer climates. Coop Criteria A coop provides shelter for chickens, but, it will also be-*pact'of the landscape, so consider aesthetics as well as -the chickens' needs when planning for one. Debbie Hoffmann, who keeps chickens in her suburban-philadelphia back yard, paid a carpenter to bs d sty i.te coop with,a leaded sr fined -glass Rniddo ped~ a seating boxes. "I had to.go:before the ,. aaoniag lsoard`teion to have the hens," says Hoffmann: _yvoe.-r**.,aW6dby the decorative window and L:had no �` bls"tl.gvi [se*h.Online will turn:uploads ofinspiration- nCi feoo aS+tveral companies,:includu Wine OOPSAdd T nada, sell:premade hetihouaes. , st,basi"-&cooppust-protect:chickens froaa d al i+a ,d keep tise�i dry, warm in the -V. , ter; end Qool rx he Ae coisp. itsr`.fLshould have. wooden boxes,:frlIe&.id* , �.a 4tirh the pexis can lay their eggs:aae boxxfo ev:iro i:hee rsc theywdi share), a place to roosto€f tk gtaeo 'And �sr to 4,square feel of floorspace per: bird. #C l pthyy don't.like;". says':E.ouisiana State University<AgCtnter. t Theresia Lavergne,: ph D "If theygct stressed; arlli.a each other.." Cover the floorof-the 000 with* p : � p to:� s f01 and dust the.shavings vr*hc0iatosmweou%Y ` talions of lice and niites<;l�eplace>thg:. -. 1 4� Attach as ene' Wed outdoot stm the coop to.give 4bc hens a.piaEe croak wa a fiom tot, �*j*Wio them contained. le�RrFSra'kwiih it's not wiseto allow t�t eWt free +#i?iit, both for their: security and the ..brwAs "W+ng luckEns love to scratch the: groundlookittg , D ancYs s, ith tt regard for what plants might be in dItis JdisBfl i�{dnt fey txs ba a ani suburban areas; predators .come in all a sflvg u glad ?a: it otos to raccoons to hawks. -Danger can Ednrr7mam ficin, #loan :aliixvb i} li v so cover the run and bury its fencing RcEiO-OX; ' sti r f of o �Jle *inch hardware doth for enclosures ' • a slus yMiGs Fleur d'fleets �d of sicken : �Wdckraccoons can easily pull apart and wd� a yh� �- sq though. SUW bantam rooster. OrganicG,ardening.com 41 Starting a Flock ' Deciding what should come first, a chicken or an egg, is not just a philosophical question. Choosing to start a flock with fertilized eggs, chicks, or pullets (hens under i year old) is an important decision. Each option has pros and cons: ............................................................................................................................. EGGS Pros: Incubating fertilized eggs and watching chicks hatch is a fascinating experience, espe- cially for children. Cons: It costs $40 or more to order 10 fertilized eggs from a hatchery. The eggs need to be kept In an incubator at a specific temperature and . turned three times a day until they hatch. Expect a mix of roosters and hens. CHICKS Pros: Hand raised chicks are often very gentle. social, and bonded with their owners. Chicks are readily available from hatcheries and at feed stores in spring. The cost is typically around $2 per chick. Cons: Hatcheries usually sell day-old chicks only In lots of 25, which is more birds than most back- yard chicken keepers want or can legally have. The live birds are shipped via the U.S. Postal Service, and you must pick them up the moment they arrive. You can pay extra for a female -only batch, but roosters often find their way into the mix anyway. The chicks must be kept in a brooder for 5 weeks before they can move out to their coop. so there is some upfront expense. 42 Organic Gardening Vol. 57:4 Care and Feeding PULLETS Pros: At this age. it is easier to tell mate and female chickens apart, which nearly eliminates the risk of coming home with a rooster. Young hens, called pullets, can live outside in a coop immediately and will begin laying eggs within a few weeks, if they aren't already. Cons: Pullets can be hard to find (local farmers and 4-H clubs are a good bet, and some hatch- eries offer them), and there is often a limited selection of breeds. Pullets are also more expern sive to purchase and typically cost between $5 and $10 per bird. Chickens will dig up part of their diet—insects, slugs and snails, sand, and seeds—but you must also provide them with chicken feed. "Chickens need a quality balanced diet that's z6 to z8 percent protein and made specifically for their needs," says Phillip J. Clauer, a Penn State poultry expert, who notes that there are special diets for young chicks, growing birds, and layers. As a treat, scatter scratch—a mixture of grains and seeds—into the run, as well as organic grass clippings and vegetable scraps. Plenty of water is especially important for consistent Laying, says Clauer. "If a laying chicken goes without water for more than zz hours, it can go out of production for weeks." Special poultry waterers ensure that chickens always have access to fresh water. Chickens also appreciate human interaction. "This is going to sound weird, but they become your friends," says Debbie Edwards -Anderson, who, with her husband, tends a flock of hens in Brooklyn. "When I get to my garden gate, I yell out `Hey, ladies,' and one will run back and get all the others and they crowd at the gate with all their `awk, awl' greeting noises..`If`laoyr < are really affectionate in their own strange way.* Although hens can lay as long as they live (8 to zo years isa'r uncommon), they start producing fewer eggs after; to g years: W hen egg production drops to one or two a week, chicken owners are forced to decide whether to keep the older hens as pets or use them for meat. Edwards -Anderson's husband, Greg, who grew up with hens in his hometown of Selma, Alabama, is not squeamish about turning their hens, Hattie, Onyx, and Mildred, into stew when the time comes. But he suspects his wife will have a problem. "This is her first farm -animal experience," he explains. "They're like my babies and I love them," she concurs. • For more it formation, see Find It Here on page A Introduction "I can'tsay that I would have envisioned chickens as an issue, but I've heard from a lot ofteople about them, and it seems like it's something maybe we ought to pay a little attention to.'" - Stacy Rye, Missoula City Councilwoman It's happening right now in cities across the United States and Canada. Community members are organizing themselves into groups and approaching their:city councils about an important urban planning issue: chicken keeping in the city. This question of whether or not cities should allow backyard chicken keeping has increased substantially over the past 5 years as citizens become more interested in participating in their own food production. The issue has appeared recently before city councils in Missoula2, Halifa 3, and Madisoe, and a case is currently .pending in Ann Arbor, Miehigans. In many cases this interest in backyard chicken keeping has been met with much opposition and city councils often do riot know how to begin approaching the issue. The recent increase in, urban back chicken keeping has come about for three main reasons. First, the local food movement itself has become very popular which has sparked a new interest for many in backyard food production.. Since chickens are one of the smaller protein producers, they'fimell into a backyard food production -model. Second, rising energy and trans por ipt sts have caused concern over increases in food costs, and backyard eggs offer a:eheapper:solution as they do not have to travel far to reach the plate. Lastly, many citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about food safety, and with meat recalls and. other animal industry issues in the news, backyard chickens offer many a safer solution. For these reasons, backyard chickens have become ' Moore, Michael. Urban Chickens Scratching up a Controversy in Missoula.. Available online at http://www.ndssoula.corWnewstnode/226 Y Medley, Ann and Jonathan Stumph. Video: Missoula Squabbles Over Urban Chickens. Available online at http://www.newwosLncttcity./ardcleJmissoulas_urban chickcn_squabbleIC8/L.8/ 3 CBC News. Halifax to Study Chickens in Cities. Available online at http://www,cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/02112/chicken-report.html 4 Harrison -Noonan, Dennis. Urban chicken keeper; Madison, Wisconsin. Interviewed on April 8, 2008. s Kunselman, Steve. City Councilor (ward 3) Ann Arbor, Michigan. Interviewed on April 29, 2008. 4 increasingly popular, but not everyone likes the idea of chickens. living in their neighborhood. There are generally two sides to the chicken keeping issue; those who are for allowing Gallus domesticus in residential backyards, and those who are opposed. There are a variety of reasons why people want to keep chickens, ranging from having a safe source of protein to gaining a closer relationship to the food they consume. Those who are opposed to backyard chickens however, often express concerns about noise, smells, diseases, or the potential for chickens running loose. There is also debate between the two sides as to the appropriateness of chickens in a city environment and if chickens qualify as pets or. livestock. Chicken keeping in urban environments is nothing new, but it is now something that needs to be planned for in all major cities and small towns across the United States. As the interest in the local food movement continues to increase, and as citizens become more interested ingrowing their own food, municipalities will eventually be faced with the issue of regulating backyard chicken keeping within their city limits. Planning for chickens can either be pro -active on the part of the city council and planning staff, or reactionary as citizens will eventually bring the issue to city hall. Municipalities often do not know how to approach the chicken keeping issue; and this paper serves to provide some insight through an analysis of urban chicken ordinances from across the United States. Research Methods The main goal of this paper was to analyze how residential backyard chicken keeping is regulated through the examination of chicken ordinances from a variety of cities. To achieve this, data was gathered through the examination of residential chicken ordinances, as well as through a variety of interviews, newspaper articles, video footage, and other resources. Residential chicken ordinances from over 30 cities were gathered, however only 25 of the , cities allowed the keeping of chickens, so only those were used in the analysis (see 5 Introduction In the post -WWII. decades, many urban and suburban communities around the country instituted laws intended to distance us from our then -unfashionable rural roots. It was a time when neighborhoods were built without sidewalks, "ChemLawn" seemed. like a great name for a business, and keeping chickens in the backyard .served as an uncomfortable reminder of the fact Grandma used to slaughter a hen on the back porch every Sunday morning. Suburbanites seeded their lots with. grass, installed lawn sprinklers, sprayed and sprayed and sprayed, and .passed lawsprohibiting chickens in urban and suburban backyards., In recent years,. many O.0 close connectim t.611. ur, t< of living a rnv� experiencing.; around the nia;>k keeping of cht;�, ` It should cort i., .r• that many s .never prom% does, most. ,k i.% size lot. Ai -41 similar to us::.:;` chickens w:Iir.'tau community, orthttr x There are so many reasons to find a way -to 1co-ntinu.e to allow rather than prohibit chickens in the suburbs. Mor�mery's proposed "Ordinance Prohibiting farm Anirmals Within The City" (Farm Animals Ordinance) in effect prohibits them altogether, including those already present - and causing no problems -- here in Montgomery.' icy Montgomery Currently Was Chickens With No Problems There are currently chickens in Montgomery. The Mirza/O'Keefe household on Schoolhouse Lane, just a few hundred feet from City Mall, has four laying hens (Appendix H). The city has received no complaints about these family pets, The chickens are popular among the family's neighbors. When one recently expressed an interest in raising chickens herself, Cati O'Keefe decided she'd better check into the legalities before giving any advice. It costs quite a bit in both money and time to get started, and while she'd been willing to risk it herself based on her own perusal of online ordinances, she didn't want to take that risk for anyone else. Her inquiry sparked this new ordinance. The police, far from having received any. complaints, were unaware there were chickens being kept in Montgomery. CFM. has since learned of another household in a neighborhood not far from City Hall keeping chickens. They prefer to . remain under the radar, though, as they and their neighbors are very attached to their.hens. There.are likely other families quietly making the same decision right ,now. The Farm Animals Ordinance will outlaw the Mirza/O'Keefe chlckens anti drive other chicken -keeping households underground. Laws in Nearby suburbs Appendix A I•ists other communities here in Cincinnati which allow chickens, restrict them, -or seritlally prohib�it'thorn.--The;list of those allowing them: hclud-es:MatlWeA.and. Wyoming-, both of which have growing-corr#rurities : pf .chrd)en :k p`ers arid* bah of wh-1-h have had no.problems dssociatW vWth their chi*ken-keeping resid.-Of ts, according to city ernp#ayrie.quire only that chi , be contained, not create odors oJrpr amtary conditions, and A ��e kept for strictly c, ** 11.17Wcral purpd es.mer community is ct r la#ing changing thr ordinances regardrg ch1lcen-keeping, whtc#aa#y parallel Mont-gOm]ery's current ordinances.' Glendale, Milford, and 'terrace Park also "have essentially the same ordinance that Montgomery currently has: Chickens must be contained and must not create a nuisance or annoyance. Indian Hill relies on the Hamilton Co ordinances. Loveland only wants chickens not to create a nuisance. Sharonville specifies lots sizes of 20,000sf or larger and that chickens be kept 50 feet from the property fine. Mason and Springdale require large lots: chickens must be kept 100 feet from the property lines, which essentially prohibit chickens. 4 Only a few neighboring communities limit chickens in such a manner as to essentially prohibit them within their boundaries. Most of our neighboring communities, forbid problems that might arise with chicken keeping, rather than forbidding chickens themselves. And this has paid off for residents - those communities that allow :chickens tend to have on average the highest property values (Appendix F.) IfOW Current ordinances in Montgomery already provide -sufficient protection to residents. from possible problems with chicken -keeping. These ordinances include:90.04(13), which requires animals to be confined, 93.03, which forbids offensive animal odors., 93.04, which requires property be maintained, and 132.1.4, which limits noise between the hours of 10pm and lam, (Of note: typical hens are closed up in their coops between 8 and-9pm during summer months - earlier in winter --and' do not emerge until midmorning to ensure they lay their eggs in their nesting boxes before being released into their run for the day. While closed up in their coops, hens sleep.'and are silent.) Chickens and the History of Suburban Development Why Were1fl..ckensProbi:bited by Earlier Lawlma ers The birth of the modern suburb was a time when many of us were seelong to, d it e oelVes a s ptiisticarted and more like those in the cosii2 "ktlR11e torose In unfashionable rural small towns and frh"iir:.icffiw_... Th, car vvs;ayr:bol of that cosmopolitan lifestyle, s0,,*``eerie si wt lks - why,. after all, would anyone walk who col f to d ?i e? The sidewalk became a.symbol of poverty and becf�•ward,n t. Later generations regretted that decision and many have .retrof teed sidewalks and streetlights in their neighborhoods. The keeping of chickens and other food -producing animals was also unfashionable during the decades immediately foilowing World War ll, . and for similar reasons. The problem wasn't one of chickens -creating a nuisance; it was one of wanting to seem modern, cosmopolitan, and sophisticated. (Appendix G) What About Homeowners' Association Agreements? just as suburban communities sought to increase the desirability of their area by prohibiting unfashionable food -producing animals, developers sought to increase the relative desirability and exclusivity of their subdivisions within their communities by drawing up 5 agreements under which the residents of these sub -divisions would live. The first such agreements specified what kinds of fences -and . -outbuildings could be erected and where on a property; by the 90s some were including prohibitions of everything from vegetable. gardens to basketball hoops. The suburban ideal is a dynamic concept; as more people become interested in living a greener lifestyle in the suburbs, the idea of what is 'ideal' evolves to reflect the community's values. What seemed important in 1964 may seem counterproductive to achieving the 'ideal' suburban lifestyle in 2009. Many residents of subdivisions with HOAs drawn up years ago may find that some of the rules are ones they'd like to change. Fortunately, most of these agreements can be changed if the current residents wish to make such changes. In addition, many residents of Montgomery do not.live under any kind of HOA Agreement. In either of these cases, the city and/or police are not called: upon to enforce HOA agreements;; enforcement is handled under civil law. Arid no matter what the most restrictive of these covenants require, Montgomery has no g6vernmental need to reflect the requirements of even the least restrictive of such agreements. Chickens .For Montgomery's Proposed .Ordinance We.propose that chickens be removed from the Farm Animals Ordinance. If the city feels chicken -keeping needs to be controll.ed.more than is already adequate y addressed by current ordinances (90,04(13), which requires animals to -be confined, 93.03, which forbids offensive animal odors, 93.04, which requires property be maintained, and` 132.14, which limits noise between the hours of 10pm and 7am),. we propose that an ordinance pertaining only to chickens be created. Chickens For Montgomery proposes the following (CFM's Proposed Ordinance): 1. Single family homes within the City of Montgomery shall be permitted tb keep laying hens for household egg gathering. 2. Roosters are prohibited. 3. Chickens and their enclosures must be at least 15 feet from property lines and not visible from the street. 4. Enclosures must be attractive and well-maintained. R 5. Chickens and their enclosures must be kept in a neat, clean and sanitarycondition free from offensive odors, excessive noise, or any other condition that would constitute a nuisance. Backyard Chickens Are Not Farm Animals For thousands. of years, chickens, like dogs and cats, have lived alongside people in backyards large and small in cities and small towns. Unlike a half ton bull or 400 -pound hog, a six -pound hen is not inherently*a farm animal. The typical laying hen starts to produce at four to six months, lays nearly daily until. she is 6, and then lives another two years.. A crucial point is that for backyard chickens (unlike their counterparts on farms), the end. of productivity does not bring og the end of life. Commercial chickens are bred to.produce large numbers of eggs veryquickly and then to be culled and used for such things as animal food and fertilizer. Suburban hens, however, are treated as individuals. They are typically named; and when around age 6 they stop producing eggs, they are 'retired' and treated as pets for the remaining year or two of their lives. Chickens are friendly, social, :intelligent, affectionate, entertaining, low - maintenance , small, quelet, and inexpensive to keep. They. are quieter and cleaner thon most do.§s.. They uniquely offer suburban and city- dwetl g eh�ld x tft i rtu'fty to understa.rid a little tyre clearly vhdre ted c fr�i. And they offer all of us.tl:e opportunity to:pradu a`it e df our ownfood'. Backyard COGPs :are Attra0ive .a:nd Clean Unlike targe corrarn+erci61 poultry .operations or rural farms, people in cities and suburbs who keep:cllcicens to �thelr backyards;tond to keep them in attractive,. wellvM*rft,6 ned enclosures and -treattl4wr chickens asets. Backyard kyard coops .are no more of an inherent eyer�: then a trampoline, play structure, or hot tub, and in fact rnahy are.pc�rta.bie so that the chickens are newer in one place long. Appendix 8 contains examples of backyard coops on suburban and city lots. CFM's Proposed Ordinance requires that coops be attractive, well- maintained, clean, sanitary, and free of odor or other conditions that would cause.a nuisance. 7 Chickens Are Not a Nuisance Chicke-ns Are Not Smelly Chickens themselves do not smell. Any.possible odor would comae from their droppings, but S hens generate less manure than one medium- sized dog. The average chicken keeper is also a gardener, and (unlike the feces of dogs and cats, which carry pathogens and can't be composted) chicken droppings represent an excellent source of free organic fertilizer when composted. Unsanitary conditions can; -result in a buildupof-ammonia in large=scale operations, which is.why commercial poultry facilities often smell. This is not the case for small backyard flocks. CFM's Proposed Ordinance requires that chickens and enclosures be maintained in a sanitary condition free from offensive odors. Chickens are Not Messy Chicken enclosures used, in city and urban settings tend to be �. attractive and are easily maintained. Small flocks are managed with a minimum of tim,e.anenergy on the part of their owners. CFM's Proposed Ordinance requires that enclosures be attractive and well-maintained. Chickens Are Not eisy Hem are gyti:�t. birds It's only roosters that are known for loud mornl prowir g;; and raysters are not necessary for the ;producti.on of eggs... 1 v al cluck of hens.)s ge era y not :audile beyond 25 fleet.ore hers give a few squawks wile actuallyay9 an egg or bra gg t g about it afte*rward;: but.thrs noise 'is. very, shorx l ed and. iuch quieter than barking" dogs, fawn .=Wers, leaf blowers, pa.'!Wng trucks, children playing, .and other 6o n? non ne 0bborhiood sounds: CFM'sPraposetl Ordinance reAu4re that chi kehs `be ma�ta3ned rr� a X manner free from excessive n i e and that chickens aril hda ures be kept 15 feet from 'the property Tines, a distance at which Lott no al chicken noises are barely audible. ChickensftNot Annoy the Neighbors Both Madeira and Wyornin have multiple households keeping chickens, ordinances similar to Montgomery's current ordinance, and have had no problems with their chicken -keeping residents.. Madeira reports no complaints. Montgomery hasn't had a chickerLcomplaint since the 70s when a family in the Shadowhili neighborhood kept a rooster. The chickens currently being kept by Montgomery residents - we know there are at 8 least two such households, and in all likelihood them are more - have caused so few problems that the Montgomery Poi:ice-weren't. aware they. existed. Chickens Do Not Attract Predators to the Area Chickens, if left unprotected, are vulnerable to predators. But as the predators of chickens are the: same as those of the wild rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, small birds, and other local wild prey ani -mals already present in our community, they do not themselves attract predators to the area. Because chickens are penned up in the backyard (unlike wild rabbits, for instance, which hide from predators in tall grass, brush and shrubbery), the predators may be seen more often. Coyotes, fbr instance, are seen more often when they take a cat or small dog than when they take a rabbit. But the presence of chickens does not attract predators to the area; predators are already here. Many Residential Communities Allow Chickens Without Causing A Nuisance The more upscale the local community;the more likely they are to maintain relaxed ordinances: pertaining to chickens. The Farm Animals Ordinance currently being considered by the City of Montgomery is more like the ordinances for F61rfield and Norwood than it is; -like the ordinances for W,yominr lead Ira, Glendale, and Terrace Park, all of which have current ordfh—ances essentially identical to the current Montgomery orci naknce. CFM's Prapo d ord) ce of rs Montgomery residents protection in the unlikely c$se a- nei�g�r.W d: rhe chicke ns in an- irresponsible manner,. but aftws tie ge stpossrble freedom for m �rnbers of our community. Chickens. Do i et Phase a Public Wealth Risk The type -of Aura=n Influents that is contagious to hurn-ans hes not been found in North America..$ --d Flu is s,pread:=by contact with the contaminated feces of wild.- rni�g..atory waterfowl. So tht', key issues are sanitation and contact withwild ild birds. Unlil�e rural fa�rn birds which might co -mingle with migratory birds or drink from a sh-a.red-pond, backyard chickens are contained In an enclosure and watered,inside this enclosure. As reported in Newsweek Magazine (Appendix C): ..:as the Washington -based Worldwatch Institute (an environmental research group) pointed out in a report last month, experts including the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm a Animal Production have said that if we do see it, it' H. be more likely to be found in factory -farmed poultry than backyard chickens. As GRAIN, an international sustainable agrltulture group, concluded in a 2006 report: "When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, not the problem." Unlike cats and dogs which are prime vectors for rabies, parasites, and tick-borne diseases, backyard chickens actually keep your yard healthier for humans by eating ticks and other insects. Salmonella, which has been associated with raw eggs, is a problem with factory -farmed eggs, not with backyard chickens. Chickens and the Environment Water Quality and Runoff According to the OSU Extension Service (http:Hohioline.osu.edu/b8o4l804_3.html) the average laying hen produces .2 - .3 pound of droppings per day; as compared to the average dog which produces 1 pound (according to the. National Pet Alliance.) Unlike dog and cat waste., chicken droppings can be composted for use on gardens and reduce the reed for chemical fertilizers. Chickens reduce theneed for pesticrdes and. herbicides by eating bugs and weeds. By -their very `presence, °chickens discourage the use of chemical Fawn and garden sprays by their owners. Chicken keeping is likely to represent a -net improvement in water and runoff issues rather than the opposite. Issues of manure runoff from egg -producing chickens are associated with huge factory -style egg farms that generate tons of nhanure each .day in a very concentrated. area. For those of us who wish to continue to eat eggs in a sustainable fashion, low-density backyard chicken keeping is the solution to runoff issues, not the problem. Gardeners using commercial organic fertilizers are very likely to be using chicken - manure based products, and those keeping chickens will have less need for even these. So keeping chickens won't increase even the net amount of organic fertilizers used; chicken -keeping gardeners will simply be producing it themselves rather than purchasing it. Greenhouse Gas Emissions In 2008 the City of Fort Collins, Cplorado changed their city ordinance to legalize backyard hens. At the time, a thorough investigation was conducted on the environmental impact of residents keeping chickens. 10 .1; At that time, Environmental Planners in Fort Collins' Department of Natural Resources concluded that backyard hens would not significantly impact .greenhouse gas emissions. (Appendix K There's no reason to believe this would be any different here in Morttganlery. Living Sustainably Increasing numbers of us are interested in living more sustainably, and many communities, Montgomery included, are encouraging citizens to reduce waste and consumption of resources. Backyard chickens allow us to reduce our carbon footprint -by producing some of our own food. Every food item we can produce organically and on our own property - just outside our back door - is one less item that must be shipped to us and shopped for. Every item of food we raise ourselves represents a step in livings greener, more sLLstainable, lifestyle. People who have backyard chickens are less likely to use chemicals and pesticides in their yards and gardens because it's healthier for their chickens. In return the chickens eat weeds and bugs that normally plague unsprayed yards. Composted chicken manure is one of the most efficient natural fertilizers and is provided for free with no need for transport. Backyard chickens eat grass clippings which might otherwise end up in the landfills and food scraps which might end up in the garbage and sewage. C h.i�-s and Property Values Local Reslt.o.r.s say that the presence of an attractive, well-maintained backyard chIcken coop is no more likely to affect values for neighboring: properties than the presence of an attractive, well- maintained backyard rabbit hutch. (Appendix E.) Irl addition, some prospective home owners may be attracted to a community with: a :progressive stance on green issues such as chicken keeping, ft's impossible to know which stance is more likely to attract rather than repel the greater number of prospective home buyers - the one that encourages conformity, or the one that encourages sustainability. In fact, the areas with the fewest restrictions on the keeping of chickens tended to have the highest property values. (Appendix F.) Lot Size Doesn't Matter Chickens require very little,space. Shelter for four or five hens does I1 not reqp1re any more space than that represented by many kitchen tables, and a run of 4 square feet per hen is sufficient to (kms1hem, happy and healthy. Households allover the country art .:k10". Jfng chickens on city and suburban lots, Whether a backyard.c.ken- keeper has a quarter of an acre or three hundred, he is likely to keep his hens in an enclosure with the same small footprint. In order to assure the smallest of lots or unusual lot configuration doesn't mean chickens can be near enough to neighboring properties to cause an annoyance, CFM's Proposed Ordinance requires that chickens and enclosures be 15 feet or more from property lines, which is the distance at which most normal chicken noises are -barely audible and the distance required for other setbacks. Chickens Are Educational Chicken keeping offers suburban children the opportunity to learn where their food really comes from and about healthy, sustainable, nutritious food. They* will see first hand how kitchen scraps become garden fertilizer which in turn produces beautiful vegetables. Instead of simply hearing., "Rieduce,. Reuse, Recycle,"* they will actually experience it. Suburban kids can participate in 4H or FFAprograms through keeping chick6ns: In a: suburban yard. Chickens .and, E. -m ergen-cy Preparedness Many 99vernmerits. are**giornrnunity members to prepare for emergencies wtiat6y.tr the Cause.. Man � members. of.our..C.Omm. unity Y recently ex ce'd, 07sth-w. .4 the effect-Sof an area w�41.r ...n.r.guency on food W, -X 4�t.W Am. w4s: p4d.y#� lig, r%--pMW_1dt n tafft, Arty - 1� -rd to e- avx, . Wdj ty W ., J - ; . fresh eggs th v dflelectricW refri geratiom: Oat i hens hVio our C m kya, d W1111 0, m Unity be. 4"qr6 food self -suf rlcieat-.� utnder any circumstances. Chickens. anid the Economic Crisis The cost of food has risen dramatically lately, including the -cost of high-quality protein -rich ..n.Ut-rie.nt-d-ense food such as pastured eggs. Pastured organic, eggs cost $4 a dozen at Pipkin's. in comparison, four or.five. backyard hens will require a total of about $60 in feed each year and lay about 120 dozen eggs between them, depending on breed. and age. That's a savings of over $400 a year. 'In addition, an egg provides about 7 grams of protein, which means those. 120 dozen eggs. - obtained at a cost of $60 per year will supply the complete protein needs of the average woman. The ability to raise some of your own food can help provide a greater sense of security in insecure 12 times. Code Enforcement and Burdens on Government According to the Montgomery Police, Montgomery hasn't received a chicken -related complaint since the 70s, when a family in the Shadowhill neighborhood kept a rooster and the city received noise - related complaints. We know that there are at least two families in Montgomery keeping chickens currently; the police have received no complaints. Currently both Madeira and Wyoming allow chickens (under similar ordinances to Montgomery's current ordinance), do have households raising chickens, and have no complaints related to chickens. There is no reason to believe that chickens in Montgomery will generate_ any more complaints than those in Madeira and Wyoming. CFM's Proposed Ordinance forbids roosters and doesn't require inspections or permits. Such. an ordinance will generate no .significant burden on govemm. nt.:In-tl e.absence of complaints - which experience both herel in Montgomery and in similar communities such as Wyoming'and Madeira .hasahown is the likeliest outcome - will generate NO burden on government. The Urban/Suburban Chicken Mov{ernent Chicken° keeping is very popular among those who are concerned about the erivironment, among those concerned about foots -safety and security, and among those interested in self-sufficiency .and preparedness. Dozens of newspaper and magazine accounts of communities which have changed their laws to allow chickens have been written. Several environmental and educational organizations here in Cincinnati are offering classes in Beginning Chicken=Keeping, and these have :proved popular. Montgomery, never, having prohibited chicken - keeping, is one of an elite class of communities lea,ding the way in promoting sustainable living. Let's not change our ordinances now to prohibit chickens at the sametime the rest of the nation is doing the opposite. 13 mure man 17 million birds.) ' "" `-C" LI It! Siaugnter of But avian flu has not shown up in wild birds, domestic poultry or people in the United States. And, as the Washington -based Worldwatch Institute (an environmental research group) pointed out in a report last month, experts including the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production have said that if we do see it, It'll be found in factory -farmed poultry than backyard chck ns. As GRAIN, an international sustainable agriculture group, concluded in a 2006 report: "When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, 0ot_the.pr-oblem." Many urban farmers are taking that motto to heart. In New York, where chickens (but not roosters, whose loud crowing can disturb neighbors) are allowed in limitless quantities, there are at least 30 community, gardens raising them for eggs, and a City Chicken Project run by a local nonprofit that aims to educate the community about their benefits. In Madison, Wis., where members of a grass-roots chicken movement, the Chicken Underground, successfully overturned a residential chicken ban four years ago, there are now 81 registered chicken owners, according to the city's animal -services department. "There's definitely a growing movement, says 33 -year-old Rob Ludlow, the Bay Area operator of BackyardChickens.com and the owner of five chickens of his own. "A lot of people really do call it an addiction. Chickens are fun, they have a lot of personality. I think people are starting to see that they're really easy pets --and they actually produce something in return." 20 which operates the New York Chicken Project. "Most of the world keeps chickens, and they've been doing so for thousands of years." - Historically, he's right. During the first and second world wars, the government even encouraged urban farming by way of backyard "Victory Gardens" in an effort to lessen the pressure on the public food supply. (Until 1859, there were 50,000 hogs living in Manhattan, according to Blecha.) "It's really only been over the last 50 years or so that we've gotten the idea that modernity and success and urban spaces don't involve these productive animals," Blecha says. There are a host of reasons for the growing trend. "Locavores" hope to avoid the carbon emissions and energy consumption that come with transporting food. Chicken owners and poultry experts say eggs from backyard chickens are tastier and can be more nutritious, with higher levels of supplements, like omega-3 fatty acids. Their production cost is cheap: you can buy chickens for as little asa couple of dollars, and three hens will likely average about two eggs a day. You can also use their waste to help revitalize a garden. "There've been recalls on everything from beef to spinach, and I think people want to have peace of mind knowing their food is coming from a very trusted source," says LaBadie. "As gas prices go up, and people realize how food is connected to oil and transportation, they are bound to realize they can get a higher quality product cheaper if they get it locally." Keeping a chicken is relatively easy, too—assuming you don't get too attached. (That's a talk Mackin says she had with her kids early: these chickens aren't pets.) They'll eat virtually anything—"pork products, string cheese, even Chinese takeout," she laughs—and they feed on bugs and pests that can ruin a garden. They can withstand harsh weather conditions. (In one oft -told tale, a Maine woman lost her chicken in a blizzard and found it, a day later, frozen solid with its feet stuck straight in the air. She thawed it and administered CPR. The chicken made a full recovery.) And much like New Yorkers; not much bothers chickens grown in urban environments. "[Those] raised in a really controlled environment like factory farms are very fragile, both physically and emotionally," says Blecha, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., with her partner and six chickens. "My chickens, I mow the lawn a foot away from them and they don't even look up from their pecking." But even urban chickens, who can live more than five years, can die easily: from predators like dogs or possums, catching a cold or sometimes for no apparent reason at all. Once, one of Mackin's chicks got stuck in a glue trap. She drowned it, to put it out of its misery. "That was really sad," she says. (Mackin doesn't name her chickens, for that very. reason.) 22 But the overall experience seems to be positive for everyone. "We have people calling weekly to say, 'This is really cool'," says Patrick Comfert, a spokesman for Madison's animal -services department, where the chicken ban was reversed in 2004. "Chicken people love it, the neighbors don't care, we have no complaints." Minneapolis enthusiast Albert Bourgeois sums up the appeal. "Chickens are really fun pets," he says. His flock is named Cheney, Condi, Dragon, Fannie and Freddie. The next one, he says, will be Obama. URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/168740 23 Appendix D: Greenhouse Gas Emissions 24 r 44, . ƒ � ��2 25 .. � Appendix E: Letters of Support To whom it my cwncem, This Ietter is in reaponse to the Question of whether a home owner keeping chickens affects the property values of adjoining neighbors. It is true that the overall character of a neighborhood, including the appearance and upkeep of the homes, affects property values. Most home buyers will view poorly kept homes within a. neighborhood as a negative. This includes lack of maintenance, unpleasant odors and excessive noise among other things. Chickens or a chicken coop do not necessarily present any more problems than a dogldog house or a rabbit/rabbit hutch. Tice issue is the view from neighboring properties, noise and odor. Assuming a chicken coop.is kept clean and free of odors, is properly maintained just as you would a garden shed or wood fence, and there is not excessive noise, the situation should not negatively affect the neighboring properties. Any pet, whether a dog, cat or chicken, can ornate a nuisanot for the neighbors if the pot owner does not control noise, contain the pet to their yard and property dispose of waste. Phase feel free to contact we if you have questions or would like further information. Deb IAFrance Realtor®, Accredited Buyer Representative, Certified Relocation Professional, Senior Housing Specialist w�yy Member of tha Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors K/I.517n Results Plus 5181 Natorp ScUlevard, Suits 140 Mason, Ohio 45040 ® Office: (513) 228-5000 Fax: (513) 2294010 • W am", I urOWOW W OPOW 26 27 Od a C �002 appN Naapp$`oh4►S�MCpaAXl 0r00 osM r 0 yxartwr,"w0 C""0 a0I 0k� �r nK J My�13 µnx'0atC0.1rtlG 1Oe n9 0 a 0 4O*" a AaaoJxR kH�l41µ �q a 40pf' a oµe , rt 6 06 H 7p0,it aDI rtx4aooloft apA / / xH9rtAa �N tip pN01110yXMa0 i. ad Ito asopdanmw Or OOpr0�A 0 1 a 0 dp !f SL d 7 GG a �M It rpld flOA d 90'. ran a d0A Orppµ0r►f A �. M/ gDotil �w pPilo �n ltn 1 (roODno O0o o s000Hr lilt 00 opo"a cg048001oonnn"o x1 204�ocprtI <d Oct�Oµe1%6 10 dG'�OH1M40 p' 0 OA W QOM 0trw 0µ ON 04G44 �� Mp is Ofir n1 0 0 tl a 9! gp 6 27 Appendix A 25 Ordinances Analyzed City/State # of birds Roosters Permit/ Enclosure Nuisance Slaughter Property line Details or unique permitted allowed permitcost required clause oermitted restrictions re ulations Los Angeles, unclear only if 100 unclear unclear Yes unclear 20 ft from owners CA it from home, 35 It from nei hbors nei hbors Rogers, AK 4 No $5/yr Yes Yes inside only 25 ft from neighbors house Keywest, FL unclear Yes None Yes Yes No No as fertilizer, feed must be stored in rat proof containers Topeka, KS unclear unclear unclear Yes Yes unclear 50 it from nei hbors house South 6 No $25/yr Yes, Yes unclear Yes On trial basis till Portland, ME building November 2006, only putt 20 permits issued till required yearly evaluation Madison, WI 4 No $6/yr Yes Yes No 25 It from nelahbors house New York, No limit No Yes No Yes unclear No NY Albuquerque, 15 1 per None No Yes Yes No NM household Portland, OR 3 without unclear $31 one time Yes Yes unclear unclear permit fee for 4 + Seattle, WA 3 unclear unclear unclear Yes' unclear 10 It from property 1 additional chicken per line 1,000 sq it of property above minimum Spokane, WA 1 per unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear 90 it from property Chickens allowed in 2,000 sq it line multi -family zoned areas of land San Antonio, property unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear 20 it minimum 5 birds allowed 20 it TX line from another from home, 12 birds at dependent dwellina 50 It. 50 birds at 150 ft Honolulu HI 2 unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear Oakland, CA unclear No unclear unclear unclear unclear 20 ft minimum from another dwelling St. Louis, MO 4 max. unclear $40 permit unclear unclear unclear unclear without for more than it 4 birds San Diego, 25 unclear unclear unclear Yes unclear 50 it from Feed must be stored in CA neighbors house rat proof container San Jose, CA dependent only permit Yes unclear unclear Ranges from 0 to <15 it - 0 birds allowed, on coop to roosters < needed for 6 50 It, determines 15 to 20 it - 4 birds, etc, property 4 months or more birds # of birds up to 50 ft = 25 birds line old Austin, TX unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear Yes 50 It from neighbors house Memphis, TN unclear unclear unclear Yes Yes Yes unclear Feed must be stared in rat proof container Ft. Worth, TX based on unclear No Yes Yes unclear 50 it from <1/2 acre w 12 birds, lot size nei hbors house >1/2 acre • 25 birds Baltimore, 4 unclear Must register Yes Yes unclear 25 it from Coops must be mobile MD with animal neighbors house to prevent waste build control and up, minimum 2 sq Dept of Am ft/bird Charlotte, NC based on unclear $40/yr Yes Yes unclear 25 it from property minimum 4 sq. ft/bird, lot size I line no more than 20/acre Missoula, MT 6 No $15 permit Yes Yes unclear 20 it from Feed must be stored in neighbors house rat proof container Boise. -ID 3 No unclear Yes unclear unclear unclear San 4 Unclear No Yes Yes unclear 20 feet from door Francisco, or window of CA residence 17 Chicken Ordinance by City (Updated 4/6/12) Prepared by: Bryanna Vidden, Planning Intern Anoka Permitted, 4 bird limit Blaine Permitted in agricultural zones (651) 675-5000 Burnsville Permitted, 4 bird limit (651) 450-2500 Chaska Permitted in agricultural zones (763) 4944-6000 , U 3 •, Eagan Permitted in agricultural zones ron-: -l/) 6.. 4 YW uF� Inver Grove Heights Permitted in most zoning areas 739 Maple Grove Permitted, number allowed varies by lot size Minnetonka Permitted, 5 bird limit ( 7=453.4'` New Hope Permitted, 4 bird limit 0@48 006*0 lio aid Osseo Permitted -no city ordinance concerning chickens ftftted to most`zprtin yP, Richfield Permitted, 3 bird limit Robkislale P'`itneeded Roseville Permitted 10,00"M "Malmo Shoreview Permitted w/license, 4 bird limit ',... .. St Paul Permitted w/permit 3) 576-2700 3)784-6700 Golden Valley I Not permitted (763) 593-8000 (952) 4485--x9(200 (651) 675-5000 (651) 450-2500 (763) 4944-6000 , U 3 •, (952) 939-8200 ron-: -l/) 6.. 4 (763) 531-5100 739 (763) 425-2624 (612) 861-9700 ( 7=453.4'` (651) 792-7000 a (651) 490-4600 (651) 266-8989 Golden Valley I Not permitted (763) 593-8000 REASONS NOT TO PURCHASE CHICKS FROM HATCHERIES: REASONS NOT TO PURCHASE CHICKS FROM HATCHERIES: Breeding always displaces existing animals who need homes. 60 % disposed of as waste Since they are of no value in the production of eggs, a quarter billion male chicks a year are disposed of at the hatchery. Males, 50% of the chicks hatched by hatcheries and commercial egg breeding facilities, are killed as soon as their sex is determined at a day or two day old. The unwanted males and deformed females are suffocated in the garbage or macerated (ground up alive) for fertilizer or feed or they are sold for meat production. Only hens are wanted for their eggs. There are no laws to protect the chicks from any cost-efficient (read: cruel) method of disposal the producer chooses. Poultry is exempt from humane slaughter laws. At a facility like McMurray's Hatchery, this amounts to 80,000 chicks per week, 40,000 of them doomed from the start. Mistaken for hens, a few males slip through the sexing and wind up in hobbiest's shipments- sometimes intentionally included as live "packing material" to be discarded as the recipient sees fit. It is difficult to determine the sex of most breeds until about 6 months so it is no coincidence that most roosters are that age when they are abandoned or headed for a stew pot. 30 to 80% die In transit Baby chicks are transported in the mail and subject to heat, cold and food and water deprivation. They suffer and die in airline transport all the time. Unlike human passengers and companion animals who fly in weather -controlled, ventilated compartments, day-old chickens, ducks, geese, partridges, pheasants, guinea fowl, quails and turkeys are shipped like luggage. These birds do not travel as "cargo," like your cat or dog, but as mail, this being the cheapest way for hatcheries to fly them for use as Easter gifts, science and 4-H projects, breeding, cockfighting, backyard poultry keeping, -target practice, or whatever the buyer wants to do with them. In nature, when chicks hatch under a mother hen, the earliest hatched chicks must wait for all the chicks to hatch. They survive by absorbing their yolk nutrients during this time. A clutch of chicks normally hatches between 24 and 48 hours " not 72 hours. Held in commercial incubators, the earliest hatching chicks shipped to customers as airmail may already be 36 hours old even before they are loaded onto the plane. For this and other reasons, including excessive heat, excessive cold, poor packaging, and being banged around in their boxes, chicks in airline transport die all the time. An average of 30 percent to as high as 80 percent of birds arrive dead, according to the airlines. Unlike human passengers and companion animals who fly in weather - controlled, ventilated compartments, the chicks are shipped like luggage " because it's cheap " according to Post Office rules established in 1924 to accommodate the hatchery lobby. When to these problems the fact is added that many flights include extended layovers, it is clear why so many chicks, even if they survive the flight, die soon after reaching their final destination. The stress, including lack of food and water, has left them too weak to eat and drink. Birds with dehydrated internal organs do not recover. The best thing that people who truly love chickens in a responsible manner can do is to adopt one or more birds from a humane society, shelter or rescue group such as Chicken Run Rescue. Thanks to United Poultry Concens for contributing to this information. Figure 1. Increased Demands on Chicken Run Rescue for Placement of "Urban Faun" Animals 350 YM 25tt 200 1 ?t) Rcrcnex lilt) i �F Surrender Requests 5(} . tel 'q? '113 V4 '05 '06 '07 't Rt IN 'lo ') l Rescues: animals taken into Chicken Run Rescue rescue program from Minneapolis Animal Care and Control, Animal Humane Society. private individuals (discontinued in 2009). wildfire rehab clinics Surrender Requests: animals Chicken Run Rescue was requested to take into rescue progr rn tions Minneapolis Animal Care and Control. Animal Hurnune Society. private individuals (discontinued in 2008). wildlife rehab clinics. NOTE: Surrender requests does not include birds being disposed of on local tin•ums or Craig's List where it is common to dispose of birds in minter and get new ones in the spring to avoid having; to provide winter shelter. The birds on these lists represent the overwhelming maiority disposal activity. 001-2008 CRR was able to meet demand and help every bird who needed it. 2008 rescues spiked due to large groups of birds taken in cocktig)rting seizures. COMMON REASONS FOR SURRENDER* •-- don't want anymore Prost !rare had birds less 1/1,111 rear! egg laying decline, no shelter, predators, too much work, cost, heed too mom ISN • moving 143 • rescued or stray in vard/animal control can't catch 105 • seizures or neglect / abuse 105 • pups its a rooster 75 • school hatching project 37 • behavior 14 • health 6 other unwanted gift. not allowed. tornado *hacrd o11 (lata co11tlWed siartinq in .101;9 Chicken Run Rescue chickenrunre%cue.org 2012 Figure 2. Veterinary Expenses Incurred by Chicken Run Rescue for Urban Rescues as Indicator of Poor Care s9.ama 1 t►n CRR's mission regarding vet care: To improre the ynalitt• of medical care availahle to chickens ha' prorieing the ve):r hast veterinia-v interventions cn'etilable inr they birJs ht our card. By investing in the services olskilled and supportive veterinarians. a boob of knowlectge. e�rpericnve and respeti.lnr the hirds is hcing httilt that will help other chick-eits in the litture. Common health issues encountered with Chit rescues requiring vet care: • Inadequate Shelter: frostbite, hypothermia, heat stress, infectious disease, injury, parasites, foot problems, stress • Improper Food: emaciation. dehydration, nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, feather loss, reproductive disorders • Pour Breeding Practices: dellonnities, organ failure, neurological disorders, blindness, intectious disease, mutilation (debeaking, pinioning) • Overcrowding: stress, injury from aggression, over mating, feather loss, infectious diseases, injury, parasites, lack of access to shelter, food and water, rest • Caging: feather loss, sirexs, injury Chicken Run Rescue chickenniareseuo,org 2012 5s.000 140 VOW t'_{) 56.000 zo y 100 e s5mo �¢ a ti xu 54.000 -: tin 53.000 f 40 S2.000 r [xpenws S 1.000 " 21) ,,.. ..;., Re vues T- .. -' 0 *01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 'Ah '01) '10 '11 CRR's mission regarding vet care: To improre the ynalitt• of medical care availahle to chickens ha' prorieing the ve):r hast veterinia-v interventions cn'etilable inr they birJs ht our card. By investing in the services olskilled and supportive veterinarians. a boob of knowlectge. e�rpericnve and respeti.lnr the hirds is hcing httilt that will help other chick-eits in the litture. Common health issues encountered with Chit rescues requiring vet care: • Inadequate Shelter: frostbite, hypothermia, heat stress, infectious disease, injury, parasites, foot problems, stress • Improper Food: emaciation. dehydration, nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, feather loss, reproductive disorders • Pour Breeding Practices: dellonnities, organ failure, neurological disorders, blindness, intectious disease, mutilation (debeaking, pinioning) • Overcrowding: stress, injury from aggression, over mating, feather loss, infectious diseases, injury, parasites, lack of access to shelter, food and water, rest • Caging: feather loss, sirexs, injury Chicken Run Rescue chickenniareseuo,org 2012 Figure 3. Casualties of Urban Farming Ward 9 Page 6 of 6 t i, �.l i PT p. KIN agog m m O h u O c o L 0 ++ N m.0 c� s c "o CL u c � � a L ro 4j ro' C 0 4v C CL CL Y c O Oa m u c � � a E 0 u i O ro � t +L+ M v z 3 m o t tv Lo. .a 1° c c o, v d ro � ro ro 47 -o ro0 to E 0 L C u M � v � N t 3 vi E 3 � o _ a m `o N � � L a Q L c o ro V ,S O O ' ro H i N C G ro Y '' j O �C co > N E 3 N rl O N O 1-4 L Q Q M d "D ai tA M s 0o a c a +j O c N O ,° a m 3 O' N d C O N 10 .c N G1 Nin c O E O1 d d1 4 x d N 76 v m m ..d i Na N E 'O G! G !O L O C OZ -1 o U I- m 3 a V m t C aJ 0 3 0� -o to •5 r- 00 0 N Q. Q N O C O L R O t C c a a a 41 �o a t O 4.1N C O 4- f6 V a E a a O CL a c �o a c �a V c a a X a a 2 ° �» C 0 � (\ Wo 7§tw o ■ o / E § ■ 2 & k k r e o 2 4A 2 V @ e &ter 2 § J § § %2& �2am g��E k+j '0 — o � 2» � � + k - E § § t; 2 0 k E o 0 Jƒ M E 7 (S) Casualties of Urban Agriculture Pagel of 3 2. The quaity Of We of the hapless adnale being raised In the sty Is a race to the same boHan One as the "megacarp".Tia Wing creature morphs Into an egil/meatmadeae and the bott0nt One cf "cheap eggs err nmr or the pmflt for a 7actuy %mt'bemrnas a distinction without a dlNe um Marry dines have no standards of are for the animals whatsoever leaWg the quality orate In Ineaperiehoed hands. Googa "deep mops" and get an Idea of what kind of shelters people care up with. Dower, for Instance, Is an the brink of Passing an on irsloce that A allow anyone tr, keep a chickens end two gals with no permlas ori needed from nalghbms. The birds an be horased In an unlre it ted un -Inspected bmk with a mare 1 square foot Per bled, advocated by the toast "sustaksabk FPA" enthuidests.. FPA (Pond producing arnklWA) ss Trow they refer to the animals so the idtvrdual animal has been reduced to a meant to an ed. The photos In this album document the a n Non OF birds we haver rexuad who have all come horn tact and ervlonmeras. 3. Our sarsdsary Is located In a a densely populated kure city neighborhood with the highest Incidence of murders, shots fired, abandoned property, kavest income, multl aapancy dwelOnps and high tumover rerual areas. This area ranks highest In demand for animal -01101 alk for bass, fighting, and cruelty/negfectto children and ahtmak and dornestic abuse. To sweeter the pot, we were out wmhdng In the yard with our re aces One sunny nwnlg two weekends ago and got to hear the hantic shrieking squeal of a Chat httpJ/www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150602336545201.676806.47501678520081... 4/10/2017 Casualties of Urban Agriculture Like ,..o,. -x �+. Rhart t%<;c;., i%�burr€.,. U.�•+u err• r .a-'.i•c� r -'n :':. Ucdw»t P..:, lesc•:3 Sponsored Removes Skin Tags Safely M ski ae'rH;f�g:tmh0 Discover how 10 remove your skin was. moles. _ and warts safely, no k surgery, burning or scarring, easily and nahaaily.300% Guaranteed Find Kaftis at Zaygxzxocn Find a Mise selection of the latest Keats stiles, dross ad colors at e',", 7apposcom Kos, Past4 n tree shipping and free -� returns. Whole roods Market Edina Our 4th store In hYnnesoa Is bigl We're lava opening Nw III?i usl 2,34" Vw tx* . its ruculous to corKlder ads to Socia Security while malnakes recaNe tax subsidies. Click"Oke d you agree. RWT it, Metro Dentatmre The photos in this album document the condition of birds we have resarad who have all come from backyard erNaanents IktM coreorOffering ldental W064 reo seniors. Early nrhormnkug, avenins and i1 �1r d As oweslm mlstaterrenpne oInch to the left an our Wel, dmrly states, Chicken Run �y f, �ntrrae ibs Rescue fosters an evolution in critical though about who k food and who is ttknd aafkday AIL through rescue, rehabilltahon, adoption and educatlan. New Gama on Facebook This page Is Intended to be a sofa plana for people who watt to lam about dadaens and Bubble Witch Sap - The for those who cam about them for who thWr, ars, not for what can betaken frau torso new, Bubble shootal In cher ward4 seeing than with a fresh perspedfve as worthy IrdfvNua3s are Cddk esti play now. Im Waairg: ti" Cbarorrarts advoca" killing snarls are dIbnOw, Wmx, deeply uninteresting and represent the ubkpahous sIa quo and are Inappropriate for this p Anyone who $. 5,n for Wrinkles aeyt respect dot Is not welcome to participate here r amrdy, we aro too busy wring lir tool mom swises an the anInals who have bean abandoned by urban agrarian anthusints (756 rescues to tic miracle. Flea � and a S007b krcneeae In surrender requests since 2009) to rmspand to such posts- h $8.00 tick erases takes precious line away from lhoss who have already suffered erwWh. wrini '� wrinkles! For people who wart to mnsder a Wfeart perspective, ham we a Pew thoughts to pander. 1&P,ifkt37 treopx 7�.c ;to,s. i. Thee is no diflemoce to the kd v)dual annual being idled between a "heartless megsoorp that ares nothing far the ainab" or a mini -warm be nest door. Fear is their, pain is pain, blood is blood and dead is dead. 2. The quaity Of We of the hapless adnale being raised In the sty Is a race to the same boHan One as the "megacarp".Tia Wing creature morphs Into an egil/meatmadeae and the bott0nt One cf "cheap eggs err nmr or the pmflt for a 7actuy %mt'bemrnas a distinction without a dlNe um Marry dines have no standards of are for the animals whatsoever leaWg the quality orate In Ineaperiehoed hands. Googa "deep mops" and get an Idea of what kind of shelters people care up with. Dower, for Instance, Is an the brink of Passing an on irsloce that A allow anyone tr, keep a chickens end two gals with no permlas ori needed from nalghbms. The birds an be horased In an unlre it ted un -Inspected bmk with a mare 1 square foot Per bled, advocated by the toast "sustaksabk FPA" enthuidests.. FPA (Pond producing arnklWA) ss Trow they refer to the animals so the idtvrdual animal has been reduced to a meant to an ed. The photos In this album document the a n Non OF birds we haver rexuad who have all come horn tact and ervlonmeras. 3. Our sarsdsary Is located In a a densely populated kure city neighborhood with the highest Incidence of murders, shots fired, abandoned property, kavest income, multl aapancy dwelOnps and high tumover rerual areas. This area ranks highest In demand for animal -01101 alk for bass, fighting, and cruelty/negfectto children and ahtmak and dornestic abuse. To sweeter the pot, we were out wmhdng In the yard with our re aces One sunny nwnlg two weekends ago and got to hear the hantic shrieking squeal of a Chat httpJ/www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150602336545201.676806.47501678520081... 4/10/2017 (-')} Uasualtxes of Urban Agriculture Page 2 of 3 pig baling slaughtered It the back ya 4MONFAV1100 6aac hsnr whew I rays standing at I�� s'<f Px u�tiR 1St aaaf That scud rings in retry memory Very One, I step out or cry back door and every tine I boli at that fence I picture that scene, we have no choice but to Nva here. We on in the dty and should have the right not to ban the sanctity of aur home violated like that. 4, for those who have the starch for bony, Igmwran�a„ indialleremce and denial just Google "back yard ridden slaughter' and am and read what death is Nix In the tends or in urban agrarian Do -R Your -Siler and kragkre having thit goktg on in the back yard AM to yOas Woo VWW out trlding yra vegetable garden. Ir this doesnt sound like mnati ft you'd want In the back yard wd: door, get involved in your dtys policy planning aadfor adopt some chickens and set an womple of wbat kind of dM they doom If slatghterholllm did have glass walls, or adjoining back Yards, a plant based diet ought to look piety dam I terestng to a kit more people. Arid nett time somebody says 'sustainabk , ask then 'Sustainable for who? I ShIle € lei pff)izv Ike this. ,P Tiffany Young Great title for this photo album. There are SO now " casualties to the 'Urban forming' craze Ridiculous hresprsibliky (nuns so much suffering. Thank you far sharing. ;�V 2011 at 11rsCtxy 1„se L Susan Tillman Thinks forieAing it Nle It isl ' sy ', ?011 a tt:47krm Lite 1 Vitra Nelson hen, daft sono sad... poor things! Do they get around aright If they have to have t or 2 feet amputated? W�s,(011a,12:0 .Aa•LVe Susan Dietz -Amick Wowl Very wed spoken. Thank you far nvhat you have shared. Like Chicken Run Resm,- Hit KPra- see the April P post on Mit wad afMiss 1� Manor dustbathNp. Cal Is dokq good- stay tuned in on his progress, i4� 3; 701 t. n 12»3am Li•:'e 3'mhal Aslagtry So very wrongl Thank you to all who are helping these poor bhft rn;y 3, �a�u at ..1lkn urs Lindsey Smith Thank you for all you do, i am mrternpWV a arta change In order to wools with and help anknais, and Images Nle tliese help me headze wits bportad ki Pre. Katie cr;mals tank you for all you dol Riry 3, 70119 u:?)barn Ura Mary Taylor Thais you, for continuing your rescue work and exposing that having backyard birds for eggs Isn't a piece of cake. Lik,:. rl Keith Akrt Tactics For the plc mL People In Denver (which Is antenty contanplatlrhp a backyard clikkens and goats ordinance) need to see this sort orting. ;0.::7 3, 2011 • i 1O;05rrn . Lwt - Tim Anderaaon Agree with Kelth. People In Oaldad, CA also need to no the disturbing realities of backyard liralock as compared to the softened happy Imagery the urban 'Farmers” put out Like Denver, Oakland Is working through the process of eastnp reab k: ons on all drum of livestock and slaughter. I=1x► 3, 24) 12 -,fie. '7, --et , °_ike Vasile Stwiescu Thank you for tis :�:y L',:011 dU2:54lsn Like Rally PJfsabeth Wood Tiakdk you for helping Own and sarlog thele smriell - _- Hay 17, 2011 at 11;31;Xt Like Alison James They have band a Rind Indeed len you- thank you and keep to HE loving and activism. AN birds are near and dew to my heart 5ept's1 �. ;ct ?4, h; It c210:04am i_ ke Form Lanham These phoms and Outs make me sk k to think that people can be so ruelllt - 9T.+,nuv ". J11;.°� lo'I •.,r: • Ltk. Ann Litchv Martine Tank you for loving irk protecting these beautiM • ' behks! S-?W,amk1x 44. Zili 0 Vvs 4 m' L*k Canty Ristic So wad communicated. Inn a chicken rescue organ cam in South A6fw, and +sally, relate to what you have wntben hen. S,,A- tip. -r 78: k,ike Chat http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150602336545201.676806.475016785200&... 4/10/2012 (D) l;asualties or Urban Agriculture Page 3of3 Bareyn;; Z.irrtmeimatr .._� _ Rock of dlldrerl friends A fd wafte In our backyard and sleep In e wh.aeaxscaop+tnty _....� are our buddies, chickens are adrodinary beL..s: 1. Alli rr 3 Ga:r U4:e , A Craim Taltrx v I need to say here, that nm backyard chicken owners beat their birds far better than this, they usuaAy Vent thein Hke beloved Pets, and care for thorn weL Than there are those who neglect The cs* difference between them and a factory farm owner is the nurnber of birds Injured, makned, or WNW. Nerdy an Improve hent, as you here sagged adl The bottom tax PARE FOR YOUR ANIML.S, be they Hv AOCk or Pats, 2017 , E:ahil,h (Us) Cleat httpJ/www.facebook.eom/medialset/?sera.10150602336545201.676806.475016785200&... 4/10/2012 From: Kim Culbertson Date: February 27, 2012 4:57:16 PM CST Subject: Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendments Dear Minneapolis City Council Committee on Zoning and Planning, For a recent account of a commercial "urban farm" in the Seward/Longfellow neighborhood that resulted in complaints about a nuisance to neighboring residents and businesses, and concern for the birds left in the 100 degree weather, please see this article in the Twin Cities Daily Planet: hftp*//Www.tcdailyplariet,net/news/2011/07/�""`9/Chickeris-rnove- rninneapolis I also endorse the prohibition of live slaughter as proposed in Title 20, Chapter 537 Section 537.110, This particular prohibition is long overdue. This activity is impossible to regulate for humane and hygienic compliance and has no place in a city. The potential for extreme animal cruelty is present and neighboring residents cannot escape the heartbreaking and distressing sights, sounds and smells of Include Community Gardens in the prohibition, Past experience with the Theo Wirth Children's Garden covered by Fox 9 News (http://wwwmyfoxtwincitiescom/dpp/nov,,S/chickens-stolen-from-garden- prograrn-aug-5-20 10) resulted in birds having been stolen at least 3 times from this program dating back to 2008, and the birds were left unattended and vulnerable not only to vandals but to a park full of predators. There should be no animals left unattended in a public place. The enclosure they had been living in was a sad embarrassment to the neighborhood. Include Farmers Markets in the prohibition. Heart of the City Farmers' MaiRet i San Francisco last year announced that live bird sales are no longer allowed. (http,//www.sfbg.com/`2011/02/15/playirig-chicken) Efforts are also in place to stop similar violations at the Richmond, CA farmers'markot, the last known Bay Area farmers' market to continue to allow live bird sales. The mark is currently under investigation by Contra Costa Animal Services for anir-nal cruelty. I 1710 not S-1, CoUrl an 67771171711 V 7�117,77nlcs ot 71,17cliture as WroposM7rT—rTYM wi i i 20, Chapter 537. Fish are animals. These intensive confinement farming practices share many of the sarne humane and hygione issues as raising [arid animals for food. My Credentials: LUMOMWOM Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association (Co -Chair of the State Fair Surgery Suite Committee) 22Na�� Association of Shelter Veterinarians I FIR no 2 7.9-3 11 i = 10 years in animals sheltering, specializing in pet overpopulation and cruelty investigations SMMM=IIIEEM�• kENTILORIMMUMMKI N*aso -1 =011119 MIN i [W-PS•UI=fjII#1I Thank you for considering these comments. I have seen first-hand the negative results of animals being raised for food --abuse, neglect, and cruelty, I VvOuld not want Minneapolis to be a city where this is accepted. Respectfully, January 20, 2012 Aly Pennucci, As a small business owner in the 4th Ward of North Minneapolis for 18 years, I would like to commend the City's efforts to create an environment conducive to commercial and residential farming, marketing, and gardening as healthy and positive urban activities,. I have read with interest the proposed Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendments. I have owned and operated Camden Pet Hospital at 1405 44th Ave. N in Minneapolis since 1994, but Camden Pet Hospital has actually provided high quality care for North Minneapolis pets for over 30 years. Our clinic has taken an active role in community education and involvement when it comes to city animals. Our mission is to be an advocate for the animals throughout their entire lives; to -be compassionate, understanding, and thorough in our care and to always exceed the expectations of our clients and of ourselves. I am particularly pleased to support the proposed amendments that will prohibit the keeping of animals in commercial "Market Gardens" and "Urban Farms" and that "Live slaughter shall be prohibited". I highly recommend that the keeping of animals be prohibited in Community Gardens and Farmers Markets as well. - I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of chickens and other domestic fowl in Minneapolis. Some of them have come to our clinic through regular clients, through Minneapolis Animal Care and Control, or through Chicken Run Rescue (CRR). I serve on the Advisory Board of CRR and treat many of the birds in their rescue program who all originate from urban situations. My family also shares our home in Andover with 14 companion chickens, all of whom were adopted from CRR. I did not realize the commitment and care these animals would need when I first adopted but soon learned that there is much more that I thought, both in time, finances, and facility care. Our clinic website even features a picture of one of the first roosters i adopted who was rescued from North Minneapolis. I have observed, first hand, the condition of many birds and other "farm" animals that have been kept in the city and found illnesses, deformities, diseases, parasites, and injuries from poor nutrition, inadequate housing and shelter -all due to ignorance or neglect. Keeping such animals properly in an urban environment requires an extremely high degree of knowledge, resources, space, labor and commitment to do right by the animals. It also requires an extraordinary effort and resources to effectively regulate and enforce good standards. If needed, I would be happy to provide more detailed information on the individual animals I have seen as patients. To sum up - I support the following sections of the Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendments: Title 20, Chapter 536 Section 536.20 Market Gardens "(5) Keeping of animals is prohibited." Urban Farm support "(1) Keeping of animals is prohibited" Title 20, Chapter 537 Section 537.110 (2) Live slaughter shall be prohibited. I recommend that the keeping of animals be prohibited in Community Gardens and Farmers Markets as well. I am also concerned about the consequences of allowing an expansion of aquaponics or aquaculture for the same reason I've listed above - poor care and lack of oversight can cause enormous suffering and unexpected consequences to the community. Again, congratulations on a very good plan for a greener Minneapolis, and for having the foresight to recognize that edible plants are a great fit for a healthy urban environment. Animals with special needs are not. Sincerely, Cynthia Fetzer, DVM Iam aware that on March 1, 2012, the Zoning and Planning Committee will review the Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendment. i ask that you please make no compromise or concession with respect to four prohibitions involving animals: 1. Prohibition on keeping animals in community gardens; 2. Prohibition on keeping animals in market gardens; 3. Prohibition on keeping animals on urban farms; and 4. Prohibition on live slaughter, residential and commercial. I am aware that those who support including animals in urban agriculture believe local animal control authorities may be called upon to ensure the health and welfare of farm animals in urban settings. I expect they are not aware that in Minnesota at least, the state has not delegated to local animal control agencies this kind of authority. Small scale or large, the business of animal agriculture Is regulated by the state. The authority to monitor the health and welfare of animals used in agricultural production is delegated to state agencies. These agencies are funded by the state and staffed by veterinarians, several of whom are trained in public health and epidemiology. If a disease breaks out in urban flocks, even backyard flocks, it will be these agencies that have the legal authority to respond, not animal control. The depth and quality of information contained in the comments of Chicken Run Rescue and veterinarians Kim Culbertson and Cynthia Fetzer is of a quality not likely received, by any city council in the country. Please use that information, state agricultural law and policy, and common sense to finally and unequivocally reject any proposals to amend our zoning code to allow animal agriculture in Minneapolis: Keep the prohibitions on keeping animals. Keep the prohibition on slaughter. Thank you for your consideration. Amy B. Draeger 2935 Buchanan St. NE Chair, Minnesota State Bar Association Animal Law Section Member, Minneapolis Animal Care and Control Advisory Board (2009-2011) Member, Minneapolis Dangerous Animal Working Group (2007) F*ui3Oed 20 01. Every year, domestic fowl, mostly chickens, are impounded by Minneapolis Animal Care & Control and. 5 Metro Area humane societies. These birds are victims of neglect, abuse and abandonment, used for eggs, slaughter, fighting, ritual sacrifice, "nature lessens,: or discarded after a hobby no longer holds interest. After their release from impound, Chicken Run provides the birds with love, shelter and vet care., locates and screens adopters within 90 miles of the Twin Cities and transports the birds to their new homes. Chicken Run Rescue is the only urban chicken rescue of its kind and depends entirely on donations and sales of art merchandise to continue helping chickens. There is a special need for rooster homes. Don't breed or buy- Adopt! There are never enough homes for iisplaced animals. MANNUIM From: Chicken Run <chickenrun rescue@ comcast, riet> Date: March 27, 2012 11:06:52 AM CDT To: kevin.reich@minneapolismn.gov, cam.gordonCa)minneapolismn.gov, diane.hofstiede@minneapo,;mn,gov, barbara.iohnson@minneapolismn.gov, cioii.st'nauels(-x)mit)neapolisnin.gov, robert.lilligen0a minneapolismn.gov, lisa.goodman@i-ninneapolismn.gov, elizabeth,gliddon(q�minneapolismn.gov, john.quiricy@minneapolismn.gov, Gary Schiff •# i! meg.tuthill@minneapolismn,gov, sandy.colvinroy@minneapolismn.gov, betsy.hodgesOq minneapolismn.gov Cc: "Aly M. Pennucci" <aly.pennticciCa)minneapolismn.gov> Subject: Comments on Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendment to Minneapolis City Council Re: Comments on Urban Agriculture Zoning Code Text Amendment ht llw_WW.minnear)oJismn.gov/cped/Drr ie�:fa/ urban jng We offer this comment as Ward 4 residet its / business owners and founders of a non-profit animal rescue organization, Chicken Run Rescue CRR is a primary stakeholder in any policy or ordinance, affecting animals intended for agricultural purposes in the City. We have invested $76,701,36 since starting CRR in 2001, not including Substantial wages lost from our small business. We urge passage, of the Urban Agriculture Zoning is Text Amendment as drafted by CPED. The prohibitions on the keeping of animals and slaughter should not be weakened. To aid in our organization's planning, we recently inquired about the status of chicken permit applications to MACC. As of March 2012, over 400 permits have already been issued (up from 26 in 2001) and 3-5 new applications arrive per week. CPED confirms that the increased number of site plans being submitted f review is significant. MACC staff is working, diligently but is months behind in processing paperwork and performing inspections. The City lacks the means to regLilate and enforce what is currently allowed, I 1. Increased Demand for Placement of "Urban Farm" Animals httwL 4ww-w...ghjckenrunreSCL je, 2. Veterinary Expenses for Urban Rescues as Indicator of Poor Care htt ://www.chickenrunrescue.l.prgQj. rhart.pof 3. Casualties of Urban Agriculture AJ. --- . .. ........ 6Z -a,52 Recent developments regarding urban chickens support the prohibitions - Fire in south Minneapolis backyard chicken coop, 2/27/12 chickens. -SIMMS= - delays of one year or more from application to first inspection - permit inspections delayed as much as 6 months The prohibitions on the keeping of animals and slaughter should not weakened. I Regards, Mary Britton Clouse Albeit S. Clouse 2023 Lowry Ave. N Minneapolis, MN 55411 612-521-9921 chickenrunrescueCc�)comcasl. net [a With regard to any possible revisions to Chapter 70, we request that CRR be involved in the drafting of the revision. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL REGULATION OF URBAN CHIGVENS http.LL,�,�Lw—w,chick e—nrut)tes!�u–o-.QigLcLii-cke,ri(;aL�jqquirerev2310, df �P - CRR wrote this document at (tie request of Minneapolis Animal Care and Contro,� in collaboration with MACC staff. It had b6en used as a model by neighborhood organizations in Denver, CO and Oakland, CA and has been endorsed by farm animal sanctuaries all over the country. There is no other document like it. The last page of it contains the specific. information that will be needed for the revision Af Chapter 70. sanctuaries. - 0 9 a - Artist / Animal, Steve Baker, Emeritus Professor of Art History at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, pub. University Press, MN release date 2013 - Chicken, Annie Potts, Associate Professor at and Co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human -Animal Studies at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. pub. 2012 by University of Chicago Press, hV0.�/p es ucliica edu/uoQks/oo__k/d_istribu ted/Cibol 2343207.1itnif The Dark Side of Backyard Chickens, Joyce Slayton, Chow Magazine, San Francisco, CA, 2/1/2012 ht Ap://Wv w.chQw.caM/food-newa/1.04glZ7/the- - Crowing about Chickens, Jim Williams, Star Tribune, March 15, 2011 - City Chickens, A children's nonfiction book by Christine Heppermann about Chicken Run Rescue, a unique animal shelter in Minneapolis., published by Houghton Mifflin, Release date 5/2012.it -Chickens ( hristine-Heppermanidpl 547518307 - Petfinder's Ask the Expert Forum - Chicken Adoption and Care, Online advice column, January 17-24, 2011 - Southwest Metro Magazine, Southvrest Metro Animal Rescue Groups 0http*//sQqthwe�stkp-et-(QmQ.-c-Q(t)�/��iA.rt[PLE:�/��io—ut-hw --r scue- 09pla - The Backyard Chicken Fight, Gretchen Anderson, Mill Park Publishing - Animal Humane Society Pet Dish I Chicken Run Rescue Helps B- irds Find New Homes- Save a Life— Adopt a Chicken!, Julia. Williams, Associated Contont, November 4, 2010 - Abandoned Chickens Call Minneapolis Home, Animal News, 6/24/10 - Interview with Chicken Win Rescue, The Pet Playground, AM950-KTNF, 815110 Chickens Feed Controversy in the Suburbs, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8/21A 0 Who Cares About City Chickens?, Encyclopaedia Britannica Advocacy for Animals, 8/23J10 blip - _,joceCc.yjjritaL a�Lyc.qq 10�0 /yih --garps-about- Ctnica. om/b!(?gL -c city-pj thickens/ - Animal Gaze- BBC hnpL//,,vww.bbc.cc!.uk/devgn/coL,t nt' rticle,' Video: Foster care for fowl, Nikki TUndel, Minnesota Public Radio htto:Hminnesota,Dublicradio.oro/disDiay/Web/2009/10/22/urban-chickens/ - CITYPAGES/Southside Family Nurturing Center visit Chicken Run Rescue http://www.citvDaaes.com/slideshow/View/28421514 - ANIMAL SHEI-TERING MAGAZINE, HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), NOVEMBER -DECEMBER 2009, .http./,,Www.animaisheitering.or /resource library/magazine _grticp,5 ov ec_20DQI - Fricyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, Marc Bekof, VOIUMe 1, Art, Animals and Ethics - WCCO-TV htti)://wcco.com/pets bAQkvard.chickens.popularity.2.1108725.htmI Access/ Ch. 14 hU.1/wwkv.youtube-cQm/watch?v;:— mCR8PnVC84 - A Good Egg http://www.startribune.com local/1159 996.htmi Radio mnartists : Mary Britton Clouse hjjpjM,ww..mna rtists-.or /article.do?rid=144657 - I-- I _".., . . .. .... . ..... ......... 'g ............................................. . ............ . . . ........ . ......... . ............ .. .............. 0 Mary Britton Clouse Chicken Run Rescue Minneapolis, MN dhjqKQnrLtnrescue @D comcast. net bM://www. chjckenrun[qac�u!2.�ctfiDdELr. o h tip—* L6m_vv_-.g h i c k e n r u ri rpacu @�. p rg Subscribe to our free quarterly Chicken Run Rescue Adoption Chronicles https://app.e2ma.net/app/View:Jain/Signupid:l415034/acctldA 406131 null Page 1 of 2 People in Minneapolis who love chickens have reason to celebrate. On April 2nd, urban farmers joined the Mayor at Dowling Community Gardens to s pn an amendment to urban farming regulations mandating that all chickens in the city — in fact all animals — be safe from harm and well cared for bythar guardians. With the passage of the new law, chickens are viewed by the city more like companion animals, and less like livestock. In order to assure that residents give chickens the best possible care, Minneapolis only allows such "farm" animals to be kept on residential property. The permitting process for small animals like chickens will continue to be refined to Improve the care required for these animals. Moving forward, animals can't be kept on a community garden, market garden, or urban farm. And the most crucial safeguard? Slaughtering animals Is prohibited. The codes up until the amendment were vague, poorly written and barely enforced, causing much animal suffering. So what caused the charge? Si: c 2001, countless examples of neglect, ahandonment and abu f<s of captive animals have been compiled by aNcken Run Rescue, a local organization that provides care for the outcasts of urban fanning. It took many years and many lives, but city planners eventually saw that Ile 3d m&.%. policy and urban animal fanning do not mix. City Council recognized that it lacked both the resources to Insure protection of the animals, and the means to control the proliferation of urban animal terms. One example is the JD Rivers Garden Project, hosted by Theodore Wirth Perk. The children's summer program decided that chickens would be a good addition to their urban garden. They built chicken enclosures by hand using scavenged materials such as chain link fence, old doors and beat up plywood. The chickens were often left unattended in the public park with only a ramshackle coop to protect them. It was certainly an educational experience for the young students In the summer program, but the lessor reamed was not the one inten led. During the summer when chickens lived at the park, loges were repeatedly vandalized, and one day the chickens disappeared. Neighbors watched he drama unfold over the course of the summer, and children attending the programs disowered that the chickens they had named and cared for had been stolen, their hand -built enclosures broken open. As one neighbor wrote in a letter to City Council, captive animals in public places are easy targets for predators — of both the human and animal type. Many of the problems associated with keeping *farm animals" on city lots are caused by Ti odc£F', =+nn .'eke. ur cken coop icreak r: coio inadequate laws that should prohibit keeping them in the first place. At Chicken Run Rescue, one of the only places that accepts abandoned chickens In the region, the rate of people looking to surrender timuanted civckens "inr.easad almost 800% since 2001. And these numbers don't factor in the countless other animals given away on cmigsilatorg, local "poultry swaps,' or killed by owners when they are no longer desired. Nonetheless, by discouraging the use of animals solely as Woultural 'production units,' tiro safeguards Minneapolis created will at least prevent the worst abuses. As ales across the country consider urban farming laws, many Ideas emerge to debates over food access, food justice, and sustainability. Sometimes people think that getting chickens might be a good way forward, but many important questions often get overlooked. Justice for who? Sustainable in what ways? When residents add animals to the€r uman farms, the scale and intensity of activity on that plot of land becomes increasingly problematic. Examples of animal abuse, neglect and + n6onment unci ease when animals are kept on urban farms, as Minneapolis has learned the hand way. AN of this is in addition to the routine harm done In all forms of animal agriculture. Male chickens are killed as a matter of course because egg familiars don't profit from them, and male goats are slaughtered so that their mothers can be milked without babies 'stealing" the milk Rabbits only have one use on an urban farm. For these and many other reasons, progressive cities such as Minneapolis have made it clear that community gardens, market gardens, and urban farms http://www,onegnmplanet.org/animalsandnature/slaughter-free-city-vrogress-for-chickens... 4/10/2012 Excerpt from the CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Minneapolis Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED) DATE: March 1, 2012 TO: Steve Poor, Planning Supervisor — Zoning Administrator, Community Planning & Economic Development - Planning Division FROM: Hilary Dvorak, Interim Planning Manager, Community Planning & Economic Development - Planning Division, Development Services Mary Britton Clouse (2023 Lowry Ave N): My husband and I own a small home based business and we also run an animal rescue called Chicken Run Rescue. In 2001, we began a partnership with Minneapolis Animal Care and Control as an approved rescue group to foster and placed domestic fowl and other farm animals who are surrender, seized or picked up as strays, We've held a Minneapolis small animal permit since 2002. In 2007, we became rescue partners with the Animal Humane Society to provide the same support for animals brought to their shelters. These were all animals that were all typically associated with food production. We know a lot and we've seen a lot. As a matter of fact, we've been asked to come and give assistance to neighborhood associations in Oakland California and in Denver Colorado where both of those cities are considering issues regarding urban farm animal production. I just wanted to call your attention to that we keep very careful records of each and every animal, it's very important to us that each and every animal, their history, where they came from, what kind of condition they were in. Chicken Run Rescue is the only urban farm animal rescue organization in the country. We did send comments to Aly. In those comments there are two charts, one is a chart that illustrates the increased demand on Chicken Run Rescue for placement for urban farm animals. It has increased exponentially since 2009 so we really understand the issues surrounding this and the ramifications. The other chart, we were trying to think of another way to quantify what we have observed in the condition of the birds we have taken in to our rescue organization. Because we have to track our expenses very carefully, there is a chart tracking our veterinary expenses for our urban rescues as an indicator of poor care, the problems that can arise with inexperienced or inattentive... to make a long story short, this is a terrific plan when it comes to vegetation production, but the issues when they involve animals really bring a whole other host of issues. I did make some recommendations with the wording of the draft ordinance, recommending that Chapter 70, which is the animal control regulations for small animal permits, needs to be updated. In general, we support it as written, but there are a few concerns in regard to... I'm delighted to know that the recommendations are going to prohibit animals in commercial urban farming situations. Feral Chickens: another problem with backyard chickens Posted on April 25. 2011 by Keith Akers Somehow, amidst all the glorious success stories that supporters tell about cities who have promoted backyard chickens, feral chickens never get mentioned. The problem of feral chickens represents another problem for supporters of the proposed "food producing animals" (FPA) ordinance. Feral chickens have proliferated in New Orleans ever since Hurricane Katrina. However, lest we think that this problem is unique to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Honolulu Star -Advertiser recently gave some advice on how to deal with feral and nuisance chickens in Hawaii, and feral chickens are now reported in Lakeland, Florida. More than 600 chickens are estimated to be in northwest Lakeland. The chickens are pretty smart and fast so they are hard to catch, according to some of the chasers. "The chickens, this is their woods," chicken chaser Clayton Keene said. "They go underneath houses and cars and in trees. They know where to escape from YOU." Of course, this could never happen in more northerly cities like Denver or Minneapolis, because chickens are tropical jungle fowl — they wouldn't make it through the winter. This doesn't mean that chickens won't be abandoned in this manner, though. It just means that they'll die of frostbite or exposure. Is this the kind of future that Denver has? In ten years, will animal control be chasing down feral chickens, or will abandoned chickens turn up dead of the cold? Is this something we want in our neighborhoods? Stay tuned. UPDATE May 5, 2011: 1 imagined that this could not happen in northern cities, but evidently it does. In 2009, a South Philadelphia block was colonized by chickens. They evidently could survive the winters, because they had evidently been around for several years at that point. Animal control tried to round them all up, and got a few, but ultimately failed. And there are feral chickens in the Bronx New York also. This could be Denver's future, and the way things are going, probably will be. Coop d'etat A South 'hilly street has gone to the birds. by Isaiah Thompson Published: }un 17. 2009 [ AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME ] A pack of wild chickens has colonized the 600 block of Pierce Street in South Philadelphia. Everyone on the block knows about them — it's impossible not to. From the roosters' first early -morning cock-a- doodle-doos to the final muffled clucking of the brood as it settles down for the night, the chickens make a din that can be heard on either side of the block and, indeed, from a few blocks away. They're everywhere — lurking in the tall grasses of the block's vacant lots, clambering over the concrete walls that separate neighbors' yards, seeking out friendly humans with a bite to eat, escorting the chicks, like ducklings, across the road. No one knows how many there are. "Once, I counted 40!" shouts a kid who lives on the block, but a nearby group of adults shake their heads: He could never have counted them, they say. Not that 40 is a crazy number. This spring there are babies everywhere, and residents report finding eggs stashed in their yards. The chickens have already colonized both sides of Pierce, and residents say they've seen — or at least heard -- chickens on neighboring blocks, as well. The population, it seems, has become self-sustaining. The chickens mate, they lay eggs, they find their own food, raise their own young. They seem to be relatively safe from predators and other urban fauna. "What's interesting," muses Jaime Antonio Jr., "is that we have a lot of cats on the block, and they don't mess with them. You'd think they'd kill them." At night, the chickens ascend the neighborhood trees and brood there, safe among the branches. In the colder months, they somehow manage not to freeze. "In the winter, they just sit up in the trees with snow on them," comments resident Sarah Pohlman. "It's wild." Or, rather, they're wild. The chickens don't belong to anyone and no one, officially at least,takes care of them (they do have, shall we say, friends). They're just there, and most of the neighbors have gotten used to it. Whence came these chickens? The answer, according to everyone on the block, is fairly straightforward: They came from whoever used to live at 531 Pierce St., now rented as an apartment under new ownership. "This guy used to live there, and he had chickens," explains Jaime Antonio Sr. When the man went to jail, Antonio Sr. says, he left behind at least one hen, which Antonio Sr. took upon himself to look after. "I come in, I give it water and food every day," he explains, "but then the house went to the bank, so I just open the door and let it out." Meanwhile, Antonio Sr. says, there was this other guy, a block down, who had a rooster (neither still lives in the area, he said). "I guess they got together." Public records do list as a previous owner of the house on Pierce one Luis Felipe Jimenez, who was charged in 2005 with the manufacture or possession with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, to which he pled guilty and served some time. The house later became the property of the sheriff. In any case, residents agree that the heavy chicken presence on the block is only a few years old, but that the chickens have been astonishingly successful in that time. This was particularly evident, say residents, when animal control arrived last year to collect the fowl. No one seems to know who -called the authorities, but nearly everyone on the block remembers that they came — and that they failed. Sarah Pohlman, who now rents at the very house where the colony supposedly originated, remembers it well: Hearing the chickens in the underbrush of a vacant lot, she says, the authorities began cutting the grass and proceeding forward."But they forgot that chickens can fly," says Pohlman. "When they got to the back they were like, oh ... where's the chickens?" Chris Marshall, who lives a few doors down, remembers it, too. 'They had little cages and they were chasing them and kind of laughing the whole time, because they obviously never dealt with that before," he recalls. "And the chickens were kind of winning." "[Animal Control] took like 15," says Antonio Sr. "But now there are many again." For some, the growing chicken population on Pierce Street is at best an annoyance. "I have very mixed feelings about them," admits Pohlman, who's lived on the block for about two years. "They're novel and they make it feel less like a city. But they are smelly and they do crow about every seven seconds in the mornings." Marshall, another relative newcomer to the block who has in the past called authorities about the birds, has his own reservations. The "worst it ever got," he says, is when a hen refused to leave her eggs, which she had laid in his yard. "I sprayed a hose at her and she wouldn't move. Maybe I'm a mean person, but I got a stick and said, TH kill your babies!' I destroyed her eggs and she finally got up after that. But that was after trying hard to get her to leave." Kim Wolf, public relations specialist for the Pennsylvania SPCA, which currently holds the contract for Philadelphia animal control, says that most of the agency's poultry -related calls involve animals being kept by individuals, which she says is illegal."But we do encounter chickens who have escaped from captivity and are living in a neighborhood," Wolf says. "It doesn't happen often, but when it does happen we respond and attempt to capture them," "It depends on how feral the chickens are," she adds. "They can be very hard to catch." Once the birds are caught, says Wolf, the agency works with local farms to try and "re -home" them. "There are actually a lot of options for re -homing chickens," she says, but "there are fewer options for re -homing roosters." Meanwhile, it's not at all clear that residents on the block want anything of the sort. Take Keo Lo, a longtime resident originally from Cambodia, who admits the chickens have more or less occupied her backyard. "I can't go back there, there's too many of them!" she says. But she likes them — they're her alarm clock, for one thing ("When it's a rainy day, you don't wake up," she laughs). More importantly, her kids like them. "I'm used to them," says Lemwannd Loet, 14. "If they weren't there, I'd feel weird.." Indeed, almost everyone I talked to on the diverse block — from whites to .African-Americans to Cambodians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans — expressed a kind of live -and -let -live tolerance for the chickens. Even some of the old-timers, who have lived in the neighborhood their whole lives, seem remarkably laissez- faireabout the whole thing. "I don't mind'em," says Freddie Reitano, an Italian -American resident who moved to his house on Watkins in the mid-1950s (hauling his things by horse and carriage, he says). "As long as nobody complains, it's OR with me. I got a rabbit downstairs. I'm an animal lover myself." Mike was concerned about ending the requirement for dogs to be licensed, yet he favors chickens which will most likely attract coyotes, raccoons and skunks and if you speak with any vet they will tell you that domestic animals are most likely to come into contact with rabies via raccoons, but most notably skunks. When cruising the internet for ideas for chickens coops they tell you you should completely enclose the chickens to keep out predators that climb such as raccoons. Seattle's Experience with Backyard Chickens Hens Backyard livestock supporters often tout the success of other cities who have allowed backyard chickens or goats. Seattle is often held up as just such a success. But is it? If you just talked to city officials, that might be the impression you get. So i talked to Tiffany Young, a member of the Duck Rescue Network and backyard fowl rescuer. She alerted me to several things about Seattle that you won't get from the backyard chicken people. Z. Owners are often ignorant of how to protect their chickens. Seattle Tilth sponsors a "city chickens' coop tour. Tiffany took the tour and reports that "seven out of the ten chicken coops I saw during a Seattle Tilth coop tour were not fully predator -proof." She added, "Two of those ten homes mentioned losing ducks or chickens to predators and having a hard time keeping them safe." The biggest problems, evidently, are doors that don't fit tightly to their frames, chicken wire used instead of hardware cloth -wire, and no tops on chicken runs. "Chicken wire is bad because raccoons work in groups and scare birds up against one side of the coop," says Tiffany. "Then they grab them through the wire and chew off the heads through the wire." Seattle has a long way to go in educating backyard chicken owners about chicken coops. 2. Chickens will suffer from disease due to the ignorance of owners. If you look at the Yahoo group "Seattle Farm Co-op," you will find many owners dealing with the numerous health problems that chickens will get. One chicken had an upper respiratory infection; the owner debated which vet to consult while treating them with an Internet remedy. After finally visiting the vet, the chicken was given antibiotics and the vet said that the chicken had nematodes, and the whole flock was infected. Another owner reported a chicken, one year old, which had previously had no problems, suddenly become listless. Thinking she was egg -bound (the hen is unable to pass a formed egg), the owner soaked her bottom end for 20 minutes in warm water, tried to locate the egg, and inserted mineral oil via her vent. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the chicken died a while later. A third owner dealing with another apparently egg - bound chicken tried various home remedies; another more knowledgeable person on the list advises the owner to consider consulting a vet, or slaughtering the chicken (killing chickens in Seattle is legal), One thing that chicken owners are often oblivious to is that "natural" chickens do not just spontaneously lay eggs every day. They are descended from tropical jungle fowl who lay a clutch of eggs perhaps every six months. They have been hybridized so that they ovulate constantly. Naturally health problems can easily result from forcing the chicken to churn out eggs constantly, which causes suffering for the chickens. "Egg binding" and a prolapsed uterus are two of the more common problems. "Uterine prolapse" means that the uterus pushes out through the vent area, which can lead to painful infection and a slow, agonizing death. As this forum demonstrates, many chicken owners are unaware of these kinds of issues when they get chickens. So here is my question: if the current Denver "food producing animals" ordinance passes, is there any kind of cruelty to chickens in our backyards that will be illegal? If an owner willfully refuses to treat a diseased chicken, is that a problem? If an owner leaves the chickens out in the cold to freeze, is that a problem? Inquiring minds want to know. 3. Unwanted animals will proliferate. It is common sense that a lot of chickens are gong to wind up unwanted due to age or disease. "Vegan biker" from Seattle has this to say: Seattle Animal Shelter already takes In 20-30 unwanted roosters and some hens per year, and local area veterinarians are dealing with an increase in surrendered, sick urban hens from people who don't want to pay vet bills for "food animals." Approximately 80% of coop owners are already above the current limit [which at that time was 3 chickens per household]. When I called the Seattle Animal Shelter, the person answering the phone said that they "wouldn't have any idea" how many chickens came into the shelter each year. Mary Britton Clouse told me recently that many shelters don't have good records even of dogs and cats that come in, much less statistics on "exotic" animals. But this doesn't mean that the Seattle Animal Shelter will be the preferred method for dealing with unwanted chickens. Tiffany adds: I have personally rescued two chickens this week and an additional 4 ducks for a total of 6 domestic fowl this year, so far. Easter is when it gets really insane, so it's just getting started. So far this year for me, one chicken was found caked with feces, another was found wandering loose in North Seattle. One duck had an infected, untreated dog bite which left him crippled. Two ducks were dumped at a park and one ended up with septic arthritis — both had serious respiratory infections. Actually THREE ducks were dumped but one died/disappeared before anyone called for help for them. And this reflects only the chickens and ducks that we can account for. How many others have been lost without the benefit of being rescued? The Animal Shelter is likely not seeing the main brunt of the problem. So this is Seattle's glowing success with backyard chickens. There appear to be a growing number of problems with unwanted animals, animals that may (out of ignorance) be neither euthanized nor treated, animals that are abandoned, animals that are as a rule not protected from predators, and owners that have no idea of the suffering they are causing. The city (doubtless with plenty of other issues) has no way of tracking the problems. They would not even know about predators or inadequate shelter or veterinary care. This is not just a problem for vegetarians. I drive a car and I need my car to be maintained and repaired. But that doesn't mean I want to live next door to an auto repair shop. The same thing goes for food producing animals. If predators, cruelty, and disease are part of the process of getting eggs and dairy, then that's one thing; but to have predators, cruelty, and disease next door is another matter entirely. Casualties of Backyard Livestock Agriculture Hens Figuring out how to live with a pet can be a challenging experience, just because animals are different from humans. Even in the case of dogs and cats, which are common enough in our society so that knowledge of their care is very widespread, figuring out their proper care is not trivial. But dealing with a new kind of animal, like chickens and goats, can be a major challenge. if you try to spread the acceptance and adoption of this kind of animal, a lot of people are going to get it wrong. Chicken Run Rescue in Minnesota runs into this sort of problem all the time. They have posted some photos on their Facebook page. These sorts of problems don't show up on the radar screen of city officials because, of course, no one files a complaint. Who is going to complain? The chicken, perhaps? Unlike a mistreated dog, who may howl until they become a nuisance, a mistreated chicken may never come to anyone's attention. Even the owner may be unaware of it. The animals may die, or be abandoned. City officials in cities that allow backyard livestock will merrily report that all is fine, the backyard chicken enthusiasts will be pleased, and other cities will be tempted by this "positive experience" to adopt similar policies. Here are some concrete and recent examples of what happens to abandoned animals. Ola the duck Oia's feet 1. Ola, a duck, came in to the sanctuary covered in feces and with frozen feet. Ola's feet bear witness that her past life was dirty AND cold. She lost the toes on both feet but with special accommodations is able to swim in shallow water, although she has difficulty climbing out. Cal's foot Cal had to have one of his feet amputated 2. Cal was also left out in the cold. His feet were frostbitten and will have to be amputated (one down, one to go in the picture on the left). He also was infested with lice and mites (right). Says Chicken Run Rescue: "Our vet is an avian specialist with 38 years of experience and he is continually amazed at how adaptable and resourceful birds can be after traumatic injuries and good care." Miss Manor's feet Miss Manor demonstrates that 1 square fooi is not enough 3. Miss Manor also came in with frostbite (left), though she is now making good use of what she has left. Before Mary Britton Clouse recently came to Denver, Miss Manor was photographed on one square foot of paper, and this photo was shown at a local neighborhood meeting. Sundari Kraft, a prominent local proponent of backyard chickens, has defended the one square foot standard as an adequate amount of coop space. Poco Capello injury 4. Here is Paco Capello's reminder of a former overcrowded life (left). What this demonstrates, I think, is that there is widespread ignorance of what chickens need. Chicken Run Rescue sees the results of this kind of ignorance all the time. Denver will see it too, if this ordinance passes, whether or not it gets officially registered as a "problem" for the city. "There is no warm fuzzy way to go about doing egg production, period."— Michelle at the Peaceful Prairie Sanctuanr, Next Door to Livestock — Another Neighbor's Reaction Posted on May 13. 2011 by Keith Akers Hens Sundari Kraft is the most visible proponent of the proposed "Food Producing Animals" ordinance which would drastically reduce the limitations on backyard chickens, ducks, and goats. Earlier i reported that one of her neighbors, Roseanne Jelacic, has written to City Council objecting to the ordinance based on her own experience with Sundari as a neighbor. Now, it turns out, another of Sundari's neighbors, Lynn Herwick, has done the same thing some days ago. She sent me a copy of her letter to the City Council and gave permission for me to reprint it here, which I have done below. I'm reprinting it because (a) the letter was sent to all the members of City Council and (b) it illustrates the kinds of problems which may be common if the ordinance passes. In itself, the objections this letter raises aren't that serious and wouldn't warrant a blog post. "Harrassment of wildlife" is actually what the Colorado Division of Wildlife recommends to deal with predators — though backyard livestock certainty exacerbate the problem, and we will doubtless be seeing more of these critters if this ordinance passes. There are worse things than dumping animal waste in the dumpster without bagging, although it seems to have caused problems in this case, and could really be a problem in hot weather. The point is, though, that you can multiply this letter by many times if this ordinance passes. Most backyard chicken, duck, and goat enthusiasts will be even less informed than Sundari Kraft, and what can we expect from them? I am writing in response to Denver considering the change of the taw for Urban Backyard Farms. My concerns and issue on this matter is the following: The harassment of wildlife (foxes) in our area that have coexisted with us for years are now being chased from our neighborhoods from the people who own chickens and goats. Point in fact on Sunday April 10th my neighbor Sundari Kraft and her husband were chasing a fox down our street away from their yard. To me that is wildlife harassment and as these animals are only doing what comes naturally to them in searching for food for survival. My other concern is the smell and attraction of flies due to the bedding and poop smells of these animals. Our neighbor who says she is a good urban farmer should abide by the rules of the dumpsters. Her and her husband will dump the waste from their backyard directly into the dumpster. Denver Waste management asks that all waste be put into bags before dumping. If they were using their own dumpster maybe it wouldn't irritate me so much but the fact is they use the dumpster at my end of the alley. So I get to deal with the flies and smells and you know that smelt does not go away after the city has taken the trash. Has Denver given any thoughts how these new Urban Farmers are going to get rid of their animals' poop and bedding that they use? I love the way on the Urban Farm Website how "The poop of a chicken is the very best natural fertilizer you can use on your lawn or in your garden." is very misleading since chicken poop is one of the hottest fertilizer (has too much nitrogen and wilt burn your yard or garden) means you have to wait to apply it your yard or gardens. Where will these Urban Farmers store all of this chicken poop for up to two months at least if they are able to spread it out. Otherwise it could take up to a year or longer to cure in a pile. Last my biggest concern is not everyone will be a good Urban Farmer and neighbors should have a say if they want a urban farm next door to them or not to deal with the smell and flies. Please do not relax the rules for food producing animals those rules keeps us all good stewards for the land and city of Denver. Sincerely Lynn Herwick Next Moor to Livestock — One Denver resident's experience Posted on April 7. 2011 by Keith Akers Hens If the ordinance currently before the Denver City Council to allow virtually anyone to keep chickens and goats passes, what would this mean for Denver? Denver currently allows chickens and goats in residential areas but only under highly restrictive conditions, and probably fewer than a dozen households have the permits to do so. Roseanne Jetacic is therefore one of the few people in Denver to live next door to someone legally keeping chickens and goats. Last Monday she sent an e-mail letter to all the members of the Denver City Council concerning her experiences. After receiving her permission, I have reprinted it below (deleting only contact information). Ironically, her neighbor who is keeping the chickens and goats is none other than Sundari Kraft, one of the main proponents of the new proposed ordinance. I have written about my own views on backyard chickens and goats on February 27, March 21, and March 27. Kate wrote about it on February 14. Roseanne Jetacic was previously interviewed on this same topic on a "Colorado Matters" program that aired on July 2, 2010, which you can listen to at this link: http: / /www. cpr. org/ article/ Does,_Livestock_Belong_in_Denver%3F r - - - - - w - - - - M From: Roseanne Jelacic Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 11:08 PM To: Sandoval, Paula E. - City Council; Faatz, Jeanne R. - City Council Dist #2; Lopez, Paul D. - City Council Dist #3; Lehmann, Peggy A. - City Council Dist #4; Johnson, Marcia M. - City Council Dist #5; Brown, Charlie - City Council District #6; Nevitt, Chris - City Council Dist V, Madison, Carta A. - City Council Dist #8; Montero, Judy H. - City Council District #9; Robb, Jeanne - City Council Dist. #10; Hancock, Michael B. City Council Dist. #11; Boigon, Carol S. City Council At Large; Linkhart, Doug;- City Council Subject: New Food Producing Animals Ordinance and the Rights of Denver Homeowners / What i Have Learned Dear Member of the Denver City Council, Sundari Kraft, a key player in the effort to pass a new Food Producing Animals ordinance, is my neighbor which means I Live right next door to her urban animal farm. Close proximity to an urban animal farm has been instructive. I am determined to share what i have learned and to speak out for the rights of Denver home owners. I implore all Council Members (and, in particular, Council President Nevitt, who is championing the ordinance that Kraft and Sustainable Food Denver wish to pass) to carefully read and take to heart what I have learned: 1. Anyone whose property sits adjacent to an urban animal farm should expect an increase in the population of birds in their yard. With an increased population of birds comes an increased level of bird excrement. In my case, the adjacent Kraft farm has NO trees in its urban farm yard. I have a few trees and, attracted by food on the urban animal farm, hungry birds sit in my trees and, as they wait to swoop down into the Kraft farm yard, fill the space below my trees with their droppings. Never having consulted me, Kraft uses the wooden slat fence (that separates our backyards) as one wall of her goat and chicken pen. Focused on the Kraft urban animal farm, birds also sit along the top of this fence with their birdy business ends overhanging my side; this means that it is my side of the fence that is whitewashed in bird droppings. The floor of Kraft's goat and chicken pen Is covered in loose hay which works its way through the bottom and sides of the ageing wooden fence slats. Sometimes, accompanied by small round turds of unknown origin (goat, perhaps?), hay falls into my yard. By saying NO to that urban animal farm next door, your home -owning constituents can avoid having their fence whitewashed in bird -droppings and a turd -laced fringe of hay along the urban -farm -side of their yard. 2. My dog, who lived here before the farm existed, does NOT appreciate the goats and chickens who moved in next door. He runs along the fence (and therefore through the bird droppings) crying and sometimes barking at the urban farm animals. This is beyond unpleasant. By saying NO to that urban animal farm next door, your dog -and -home -owning constituents can avoid this blood - pressure affecting situation and the bird excrement their canines might track into their homes. 3. Just as real farms do, urban farms generate odors. While not in evidence each and every day, when they arise, farm smells are disagreeable. By saying NO to that urban animal farm next door, your home -owning constituents can avoid the unpleasant aroma of animal -pens. 4. Goats do two things very loudly: (1) baa -bray -shout when they need to be milked, and (2) pass gas. And chickens, I have learned, sometimes descend into paroxysms of screeching and clucking out of the blue and for no apparent reason. By saying NO to that urban animal farm next door, your home -owning constituents can avoid having their peaceful backyards invaded by rude noises. 5. Fox and coyote live in the city of Denver. I have seen both on my street. By saying NO to that urban animal farm next door, your home -owning constituents can avoid inviting fox and coyote onto their streets and, perhaps, into their yards. I earnestly RECOMMEND that ANYONE who lives or might live adjacent to ANYONE who decides to house chickens and/or goats on their property have the right to NOT APPROVE/ DISALLOW/JUST SAY NO TO/GET RID OF that urban animal farm next door. Toward this end and in plain speech, please: - Describe your efforts to inform ALL Denver home owners of the new Food Producing Animals ordinance and to solicit home owner feedback. • Provide the impact statement and/or study that details how, if approved, the new Food Producing Animals ordinance affects Denver home owners. Publicize and make available to all Denver home owners a clear description of the rights they relinquish if the new Food Producing Animals ordinance is passed. Explain guidance you have sought and received from animal rights organizations and/or animal experts, and will incorporate into the new Food Producing Animals ordinance, regarding the amount of space required to house farm animals - humanely — in an urban back yard. When Sundari Kraft knocked on my door three years ago and asked if I would mind if she obtained some chickens and goats, for me, a city dweller, her question brought to mind the pleasant sight of a children's petting zoo. With that delusional thought in my head, and now much to my regret, I said I would not mind. Please know that i would NEVER say yes to urban farm animals living next door to me ever again! And, to the extent possible, may what I have learned stand as a warning to others. As more urban animal farms crop up, the more neighbors of urban farmers there will be. Once these neighbors to urban farmers, your constituents, figure out what they are in for, you will hear from them. Very sincerely yours, Roseanne Jelacic Why the Big Deal about Chicken Coops? Posted on April 14. 2011 by Keith Akers Hens The proper size of chicken coops in the proposed Denver ordinance on "food producing animals" (chickens, ducks, and goats) doesn't sound like that big of a deal. Decide on a reasonable standard, then put the phrasing in the ordinance. The coop size is not the entire space allocated for chickens, by the way. In the proposed ordinance, chickens get both a coop and a pen, and the pen size was expanded from 10 square feet to 16 square feet in the current draft, which is reasonable. But what about the size of the coop, where they are protected from the elements and from predators, and where the chickens will spend a good portion of their lives? In fact, there is a fair standard for chickens, agreed on both by chicken enthusiasts and humane welfare advocates: it is a minimum of 4 square feet per chicken. Chicken Run Rescue, probably the only urban chicken shelter in the United States, puts forward this figure (it's page 9 of their "Recommendations for Municipal Regulation of Urban Chickens"), which has been endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States. It's also mentioned in "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow, 2nd and 3rd Editions, and in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Raising Chickens," by Jerome D. Belanger, who started the Backyard Poultry magazine in 1979. Sustainable Food Denver (namely, Sundari Kraft), however, has argued for the figure of 9 square foot per bird. To give you an idea, 1 square foot per bird is essentially the amount of space that a laying hen would have on a "factory farm," where they are debeaked and confined in tiny "battery" cages. Amazingly, though, in the latest City Council committee hearing on April 5, even this minimal requirement was eliminated entirelyl instead, vague language was inserted requiring "adequate enclosed shelter space," and stating that "adequate shelter must be provided to protect the ducks, chickens or dwarf goats from the elements and to prevent wildlife or other predators from gaining entry." Well, a battery cage would do that. This is obviously a bunch of nonsense. Chickens need protection, and there is a fairly common sense standard available. It appears that Sundari Kraft really wants to keep the standard lower. The chickens may be better off than on factory farms, but how much better? Especially in winter weather, they are going to be inside a lot. These are not going to be happy chickens. The average person in Denver does not want to have unhappy chickens in their back yard, or next door, either. In fact, I question whether even the average chicken enthusiast wants to keep unhappy chickens. I have met four people in recent years (outside of my organizational connections such as through Transition Denver), who have either expressed interest in keeping chickens or (in one case) actually kept a chicken illegally in Denver. Alt of them wanted to keep the chickens as pets until the end of the chicken's natural life. I suspect that it is only a minority that wants to exploit chickens, extracting the maximum number of eggs from them with the least amount of space and expense, and then having them killed as soon as they stop laying eggs. The standards that Sundari Kraft advocates certainly cater to this approach. Coop size for chickens shouldn't be a controversial item in this bill. We should be fighting this battle on different terrain, over issues of predators, noise, smell, disease, and the like. This ordinance will help ensure that cruelty towards animals becomes normal. It shouldn't be in my back yard, and it shouldn't be in anyone's back yard THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE GETTING CHICKENS: Mary Britton Clouse Founder, Chicken Run Rescue, Minneapolis, Minnesota Whether a fad or enduring change, living with chickens presents both opportunities and challenges to rethink our relationship with the most unjustly treated land animals on the planet. Will familiarity engender more respect for them as sentient individuals and reshape our behavior towards them or will they continue to be viewed as a means to an end at our whim? The opportunity for ethical evolution lies in enabling us to learn first hand that chickens are intelligent, gentle, vivacious individuals who form lifelong emotional bonds with each other and other species. They are warm, silky and lovely to hold. Their genetics and instinctive behaviors are remarkably little changed from their prehistoric ancestors, the dinosaurs. Amazing. They are primarily ground dwelling birds who are very home centered and can thrive in a typical urban backyard and home. They coexist happily with compatible dogs and cats and have life spans of 12 -14 years. Chickens are better adapted to living with us as companions than their exotic kin, parrots, who suffer terrible physical and psychological stress in captivity. A shift in critical thought about who is "food" and who is "pet" could mean a less violent world for the chickens and other animals trapped in a food production hell hidden from view ("free range" and "cage free" birds meet their factory farmed cousins at the same slaughter plants). Each year in the US, over 10 billion chickens suffer from intense confinement, cruel handling and painful terrifying deaths. Although they represent over 95% of the animals raised for agricultural and other purposes, chickens are excluded from protection of anticruelty laws, humane slaughter laws and laws that regulate experimentation. The challenge of increased interest in backyard flocks is to insure that people who have good intentions about creating a more "sustainable" world make an informed choice before they make the commitment: Inconvenient Truth: Only hens are wanted for eggs. Roosters are the most cruelly treated sex of the most cruelly treated species on earth. Since they have no value In egg production, a quarter billion male chicks a year are disposed of at the hatchery- killed as soon as their sex is determined at a day or two day old. The unwanted males are suffocated in the garbage or ground up alive for fertilizer or feed or are sold for meat production. Unwanted baby roosters are often shipped as "packing material'. There are no laws to protect the chicks from any cost-efficient (read: cruel) method of disposal the producer chooses. At a commercial hatchery, of 80,000 chicks hatched per week, 40,000 of them never see the light of their second day. Whether they are purchased by an individual or a corporation, directly from a hatchery or a local supplier who purchased them from a hatchery, the same industry benefits, and the roosters are killed. • Chicks are transported in the mail and subject to heat, cold and food and water deprivation. They suffer and die in airline transport all the time. Breeding displaces existing animals who need homes. Our Minneapolis based rescue and adoption organization, Chicken Run Rescue, has been overwhelmed with inquiries from people wanting to find homes for roosters they have "accidentally" purchased or bred. As nature would have it, they are 50% of the chickens hatched. Unfortunately, this surprises alot of people too late. • Egg laying peaks at 18 months. Hens are customarily discarded and replaced when laying declines. • Instead of purchasing purpose bred chickens from hatcheries or feed stores, consider adopting a bird who needs a home. We hope to expand Chicken Run's mission to include arranging adoptions for "retired" hens from local free range organic providers. Not many people realize that even the "free range, organic" hens are sent to slaughter (or worse) at the age of about 18 months once their productivity declines. • Vet care is necessary and expensive. We spend on average $300 per year per bird. • Chickens are descended from jungle fowl. Minnesota winter shelter needs to be moisture proof, insulated and have a heat source (ours coop up in our basement for comfort and energy efficiency). Toes, combs and wattles are subject to frostbite which is extremely painful and can be lethal. No one would accept a dog's ability to "survive" extreme weather as an acceptable standard of care. • Daily egg laying is biologically unnatural and unsustainable. Chickens in nature produce two or three clutches per year. Selective breeding for egg laying has produced birds prone to reproductive disorders like prolapse, egg binding, and calcium deficiency. Spend half an hour in a room of chicken enthusiasts and one of those topics will come up. • Chickens are prey species and need serious protection from Minnesota predators Raccoon, Dog, Coyote, Fox, Mink, Opossum, Rat, Owl, Bobcat, Hawk, Snake, Weasel, Ferret, Fisher and Marten. We hope that the human/chicken bond will evolve. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice". Collective Position Statement on Backyard Poultry Background In the past year, shelters and sanctuaries in urban and suburban areas have witnessed a dramatic increase in the intake of chickens, particularly roosters. Hatcheries producing day-old chicks for shipment to feed stores and individuals are backlogged with orders. The desire to raise poultry can be linked to organic backyard farming as well as a desire to have direct access to food (eggs and, in some cases, meat). As a coalition of animal sanctuaries interested in the welfare of hens and roosters, we have created this position statement on the keeping and raising of chickens. All of us have been inundated with calls to take in hens and roosters who are a) no longer wanted; b) not the correct sex; c) not legally permissible. As organizations with limited resources and space, it is no longer feasible to take in even a small percentage of these unwanted animals. Even with placement assistance, most of these chickens, particularly roosters, do not find permanent placement. This leaves municipal dog and cat shelters the task of taking in, housing, feeding, caring for, and inevitably killing healthy, adoptable chickens. Problems associated with urban backyard flocks Hatcheries are like puppy mills: When animals are reduced to commodities, their best interests are pushed aside in favor of 'profit. Hatcheries that produce chicks for backyard flocks treat chickens and their offspring in much the same way puppy mills treat breeding dogs and their puppies. There are no legal requirements dictating how breeding hens and roosters are housed, meaning they may be crammed into small cages or sheds without outdoor access. Shipping day-old chicks is cruel: Most chickens purchased are bought from hatcheries or feed stores (these chicks originate from hatcheries). Hatcheries ship day-old birds through the postal service without any legal oversight. Young chickens are deprived of food and water for up to 72 hours and exposed to extremes in temperature. As Dr. Jean Cypher, a veterinarian specializing in avian medicine states, "A day-old chick can no more withstand three days in a dark crowded box than can any other newborn." Other experts in avian medicine and behavior agree that transporting day-old chicks in boxes for the first 2472 hours of life is cruel and medically detrimental to the birds. Chicken sexing is more art than science: Using data collected from sanctuaries and rescues that field calls daily about unwanted chickens, we estimate between 20-50% of purchased "hens" are actually roosters. Depending on breed, visually identifying a rooster can take weeks to months. Roosters maybe unwanted and are often illegal. Male chickens are generally unwanted for two reasons: They don't produce eggs and they are rarely legal in urban or suburban settings. Hatcheries may use rooster chicks as packing material, regardless of whether they were ordered. Most incorporated or urban regions that do permit chickens only allow - hens, not roosters. Unwanted roosters may be abandoned to the streets, slaughtered, or end up in a municipal shelter to be killed. Very few find their way into a permanent home or sanctuary. Chickens attract rodents: Even the cleanest coop is attractive to rats and mice who enjoy the free bedding (straw and shavings) and food. Rodents are generally viewed as pests and their presence is unwanted by chicken owners and neighbors. Lack of professional medical care: Avian medicine has made progress but there are few vets specialized in the treatment and care of birds. Veterinarians who do treat poultry are often expensive, with the average vet visit starting at a minimum of $100. Concerns with new ordinances allowing backyard poultry Enforcement costs: Municipal shelters run on a tight budget dealing with animal cruelty cases, dangerous dog calls, and the normal day to day operation of their facilities. Adding an extra burden, like enforcing chicken licensing laws and related complaints, is unwise amidst current economic concerns. Slaughter. The average chicken guardian is ill-equipped to "properly" stun and kill a chicken. Further, slaughtering can be traumatic for neighbors, including impressionable children. If chickens are to be permitted in urban areas, they must be protected from cruel mistreatment as much as "traditional" companion animals like dogs or cats, including a ban on slaughtering them for consumption. Roosters will be killed: Creating new ordinances permitting chickens creates a market for killing 50% of all chicks born in hatcheries. Urban and suburban areas considering chickens generally ban roosters, yet male chickens comprise half of all chicks born. Hatcheries mail roosters as packing material, and sexing of chickens is more art than science (see above). When residents purchase chicks from hatcheries or feedstores and end up with roosters, they will be put in the position of having to rehome the bird(s). Most roosters are not rehomed and end up abandoned or dumped at shelters, where they are invariably killed. Suggestions if you are considering a backyard flock Make sure it's legal: If you live in an unincorporated area, contact your planning department and ask about the zoning requirements regarding poultry. If you live in an incorporated region, contact the city clerk for information on ordinances regarding chickens. Adopt. Avoid the cruelties of the hatcheries by adopting birds already in existence who need homes. Check out www.petfinder.org for animals available at your local shelter. Visit www.sanctuaries.org or www.farmanimaishelters.org and contact a sanctuary near you about adopting birds. If they do not have birds, do not give up. Sanctuaries and rescues receive inquiries daily regarding animals needing homes — ask that you be contacted If one of these calls occurs. Do your research: Chickens can be wonderful companions. While they are relatively easy to maintain, they do have special needs. Be sure to research housing, predator proofing, diet, and medical needs. Some things to be aware of- - Some breeds of chickens are cold -sensitive: Hens and roosters with large single combs are prone to frost -bite in cooler climates. Make sure adequate housing accommodates birds in both cool and hot temperatures. - Predator protection is vital: Chickens should be locked up at night in a safe enclosure that prevents access by all predators, including dogs, raccoons, aerial predators, rats, cats, wild canines, weasels, etc. During the day, animals should be housed in a fully -fenced enclosure or yard with proper protection from aerial, day -time predators and neighborhood dogs and, in the case of small bantams, large domestic free -roaming cats. - Veterinary care is critical: Avian medicine is still considered an "exotic" practice and, as such, is more expensive. A one-time visit may start at $100. 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O 0 0 'a) v O V -v �- __ O V to om V i Y 'p 0 U. m ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <tracy.anderson@wellsfargo.com> Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 10:57 AM Subject: chickens To: mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov Dear Council Member Freiberg, I understand that chickens are on the agenda at the next council/manager meeting. As the owner of a home in Culebra, Puerto Rico where chickens (and roosters) are allowed to roam freely -1 can tell you from personal experience it is a nightmare. I cannot imagine that any citizen of Golden Valley would want our town to become a Banana Republic. Leave the chickens to the country ---or Minneapolis. I am quite happy buying my cage fee eggs at Rainbow. Additionally, many of the lots in Golden Valley are less than 9,000 sq ft ---pretty close quarters to allow farming. Tracy Anderson 612-270-2473 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dean Knutson <deanarlene65@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 3:07 PM Subject: Chickens in Golden Valley To: Dean Arlene Knutson <deanarlene65@gmail.com> We are strongly against any ordinance that would permit raising chickens or any other live animals in Golden Valley for personal use or for sale. We do not object to pet ownership for companion purposes. Golden Valley is a suburb of the major central city in Minnesota, it is NOT farm land. If people want to raise chickens, in our opinion, they should buy farm land in the open countryside where farming is practiced. Dean and Arlene Knutson 1109 Welcome Circle Golden Valley MN 55422 Tel: 763-544-5116 From: City of Golden Valley [mailto:no-reply@wufoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2012 9:32 PM To: Cityhall Subject: Email the City Manager's Department [#103] Name * Email * Donna Fields cdfields97@msn.com Comments * As per the Letter to the Editor in the New Hope/Golden Valley Sun Post, I am in favor of having chickens (not roosters) in Golden Valley, MN. I would some day like to have chickens in my Golden Valley back yard. Regards, Donna Fields From: City of Golden Valley [mailto:no-reply@wufoo.com] Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 5:20 PM To: Cityhall Subject: Email the City Manager's Department [#102] Name * Email * Jenny Waldron 0ennyfwaldron@gmail.com Comments * I think Golden Valley residents should be allowed to raise chickens. Forwarded message ---------- From: Kathy Smith <katsmith007@aol.com> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 10:10 AM Subject: proposal to change city code on raising chickens To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov, jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanIon@goldenvalleymn.gov Dear Mayor Harris and Council Members: As residents of Golden Valley, my husband Daniel and I would like to support the proposal to allow residents of the city to keep chickens. As homeowners we are actively pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle within the city. We feel that raising chickens, like gardening and other environmentally friendly home and yard care, is another way residents can participate in their own organic and natural food production while also living more gently and sustainably on the earth. In addition, sharing extra eggs with neighbors helps to build caring neighborhoods and better community connections. We heartily support the changing of city code to allow this pursuit of personal freedom and food production responsibility. Sincerely, Kathy and Dan Smith The Rev. Kathryn C. Smith 612-708-6289 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dan Smith <dsmithl081@aol.com> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 10:21 AM Subject: chickens To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanlon@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvallymn.gov Dear Mayor Harris and Council Members: My wife and I support the changing of city regulations to include raising chicken in Golden Valley. Raising chickens is an easy way for residents to contribute to community well being by sharing eggs with neighbors. It is important to my wife and me to produce as much of our own food as possible. This would also be a way for us to continue our pursuit of living in a more sustainable manner. I support this change and support my neighbors in raising chickens in our community. Sincerely, Dan Smith ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <christinejohnson77@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 11:54 AM Subject: Keeping chickens To: "mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov" <mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov> I have been a resident of Golden Valley for 4 years with my husband and 4 children. We live on Quebec Ave. on the creek. We would love to be able to keep some chickens on our property. I grew up on a hobby farm and raised chickens, ducks, pigs and cows. Chickens are a great animal to keep and are allowed in a large number of cities, including Minneapolis, where the yards are much smaller. The benefits to raising chickens not only include a "local" source of eggs, but a natural pest control and an organic fertilizer. Because we have small children and live on the creek we do not use any form of fertilizers or chemicals to treat our lawn and by having chickens we would receive the benefits of the natural fertilizer and weed control that chickens provide. We have some fruit and vegetable gardens and would also receive the benefit of natural non -chemical pest control. It would also be an excellent way to teach our children about caring for animals and where their food comes from. We currently drive to a farm to purchase organic free range eggs. I understand there may be some concerns to allowing chickens in the yards of homes within the city limits, but I think the concerns are minimal and worth addressing. Chickens in general are not noisy. Hens only make a small noise when actually laying the egg, and if they are in the coop while laying it should not be heard by neighbors. Some may say that smell of the droppings may be a concern, but with a small flock that is not an issue. And lastly control by the city. As with anything there will always be people who try to break the rules, but I think that the people who want chickens and go thru the trouble of getting a coop, feeding, and caring for the chickens, it will be the people who really want chickens and want to care for them properly. I hope that you will reconsider your decision and allow residents to have chickens. Thank you, Christine Johnson 1020 Quebec Ave. N. 763.545.9?37 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Moncrieff Diane <diwebbmo@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 1:44 PM Subject: Pro Backyard Chickens in Golden Valley To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov Cc: jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanlon@goidenvalleymn.gov Dear Mayor Harris, Before your election to the office of Mayor of Golden Valley, you knocked on my door in search of my vote, and we had a brief conversation about what would be your goals as Mayor should you be elected. I asked you what you thought about the idea of people keeping chickens in Golden Valley, and we discussed the issue of cities needing to evolve with changing social and environmental scenarios. What may have seemed like an ordinance that made sense many years ago may no longer make sense in the context of living today. To be more specific, there is a movement today toward growing and eating one's own food, and we must reexamine the ordinances that are getting in the way of allowing citizens of our city to do so. I live in Golden Valley and would like to have the right to raise a few chickens for eggs on my property. Please take the time to consider these points that debunk a few common myths about chickens... 1. Chickens are not loud and disruptive. Roosters are noisier, but it is not necessary to have roosters to have hens that lay eggs. Roosters could be prohibited. 2. Chickens are not messy and smelly when cared for properly. Six chickens produce the same amount of waste as one medium dog. That waste can be composted and used as fertilizer. I will point out that cities do not commonly prohibit dogs, cats, or house birds. 3. Chickens do not attract vermin when food is stored properly and kept in clean, enclosed, well maintained conditions. 4. The Minnesota Department of Health cites NO health hazards or concerns regarding backyard flocks. There are no permits required for backyard chickens from the state Ag Department, Health Department, or Board of Animal Health in MN because they involve such a small number of birds intended for home use. In addition, many cities including large urban ones allow backyard chickens, and the movement is growing. For an interesting list of such cities, check out this site http://tinyurl.com/64wcava It is my hope that you will acknowledge the changing needs of our populace and our place, that you will not hang on to outdated ordinances that no longer make sense, and that you will work to tear down barriers that prohibit people in Golden Valley to pursue growing and eating their own food. Thank you, Diane Moncrieff 2465 Xylon Ave. N. Golden Valley, MN 55427 (763) 546-8884 If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <CHallo4713@aol.com> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 3:38 PM Subject: Chickens in Golden Valley To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov, jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanlon@goldenvalleymn.gov Dear Mayor and Council Members, I strongly object to the proposal to allow raising chickens in Golden Valley. This is an inner ring city and not a farming community. Soon people would be exaggerating the permission and be raising chickens for the sale of eggs. This would increase the number of raccoons in the area. If they get chickens, the next request would be for raising turkeys, goats and ponies. We would be awakened every morning by the crows of roosters! Use your heads and say NO! Al and Carol Halloran 5735 Golden Valley Rd 763-544-2611 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: lay Eisenberg <luvmy78@comcast.net> Date: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 7:27 PM Subject: RE: Raising Chickens in Golden Valley To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov, jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanlon@goldenvalleymn.gov Honorable Mayor and City Council Members, Although I understand that for some people raising chickens in their backyard suggests a healthier, additive -free, lifestyle assuming fresh eggs and meat will be safer and more cost effective relative to local supermarket offerings. Nevertheless, I am opposed to any chicken ordinance within Golden Valley city limits. It is important to consider potential health risks associated with chickens. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) "It's common for chickens, ducks, and other poultry to carry Salmonella, which is a type of germ that naturally lives in the intestines of poultry ... and is shed in their droppings or feces." "While it usually doesn't make the birds sick, Salmonella can cause serious illness when it is passed to people." "Live poultry may have Salmonella germs ... on their bodies (feathers, feet, and beaks) even when they appear healthy and clean. The germs can also get on cages, coops, hay, plants, and soil in the area where the birds live and roam. Additionally, the germs can be found on the hands, shoes, and clothing of those who handle the birds or work or play where they live and roam." In the article "Domestic poultry and avian flu" (Public -Health -Seattle & King County) it is noted that "People with backyard poultry should practice good disease prevention measures" ("biosecurity"). Because of the above health-related concerns associated with live chickens; possible negative effect on community well-being; that live chickens can attract undesirable pests and predators to chicken feed and breed in that area where there is food; and possible negative impact on home values that a chicken coop may have; I am unequivocally opposed to raising chickens in Golden Valley. All good wishes, Jay Eisenberg ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dana Evans <dana55422@netscape.com> Date: Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 10:54 AM Subject: Fw: Chickens and other things To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov, jclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov, mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov, dscanlon@goldenvalleymn.gov In retrospect, chickens that are well -confined and humanely maintained in small numbers can't be any more annoying than some of the neighbor's kids. But like anything else, I think it needs to be done with any eye toward consideration of the neighbors and humane treatment of the animals. My sister and her husband kept chickens for two years in rural Wisconsin before they decided they didn't want to deal with them over the winter any more. Also they had more eggs than they could give away. Dana ----- Original Message ----- From: Dana Evans To: sharris@goldenvalleymn.gov ; iclausen@goldenvalleymn.gov ; mfreiberg@goldenvalleymn. gov ; ppentel@goldenvalleymn.gov ; dscanlon@goldenvalleymn.gov Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 3:23 PM Subject: Chickens and other things I see that you are scheduled to re -open the discussion on chickens in Golden Valley and DeDe Scanlon has solicited input for tomorrow's meeting. As a resident, I am opposed to people keeping chickens in this city. Golden Valley is a first ring urban suburb. There are plenty of more rural outer ring suburbs with more land per household which could support more farm animals. Citizens of GV already complain about the deer; what happens when the chickens get out and get run over? We have plenty of grocery stores nearby from which to purchase eggs cheaply and there are plenty of farmer's markets and directories of local farms which can produce farm fresh eggs for contract. When I moved here some 20 years ago, Golden Valley seemed to have higher standard of city living. I've been disappointed in the relaxation of this standard in the last few years. People regularly leave their trash and recyclables out for days without penalty. They park their extraneous business vehicles and trailers in the streets or on lawns for days. Recently I read that GV intends to allow the grass in some parks to go unmowed up to 3 feet because they need to mow the Little League baseball fields instead. This makes it very tough on allergy sufferers (who suffer already from rain gardens and outdoor firepits) and I think it is a violation of the contract between the city and taxpayers. Why have a park you can't use? Sincerely, Dana Evans Memo To: Golden Valley City Council From: Golden Valley Environmental Commission Date: April 17, 2012 Re: Recommendations for 2012 Golden Valley Environmental Commission Priorities The Golden Valley Environmental Commission devoted portions of its February and March meetings to brainstorming, articulating, and prioritizing the following set of topics as possible foci of the Commission's efforts during 2012. As the Commission has done with topics in the past, it would be our intention to study and provide recommendations for Council action regarding one or more of these topics. Because the Commission serves at the direction of the Council, we respectfully submit these recommendations for Council consideration, and request that the Council respond with its guidance regarding 2012 Commission priorities, either from among these topics or others as the Council sees fit. First Priority: Transportation Alternatives • Identify actions to improve the transportation and recreational alternatives of commuting non- resident employees of large GV employers, and to incent employees to engage in alternative and mass transit options • Identify actions to promote use of transportation alternatives by GV schools and students • Identify actions to improve biking and walking opportunities in GV (e.g., bike lanes & sidewalks) • Identify improvements to bus routing and other community transportation options in GV, and begin planning access to Bottineau Line • Identify improvements to better meet the needs of GV seniors and others in accessing shopping and mass transit connections (explore possibility of support/collaboration with Hennepin County Active Living Initiative) • Identify actions to promote GV citizens' understanding and use of existing transportation alternatives (e.g., Five -Cities Transit Program) Second Priority: Composting • Institute city-wide kitchen waste collection • Amend composting ordinance to include schools, businesses, and multiple -family residential developments • Study city -sponsored composting, as was implemented in Hutchinson Third Priority: Natural Area Management Plans • In collaboration with Parks and Open Space Commission, develop proposal for hiring consultant to create a city Natural Area Management Plan as a follow-up to the 2002 Natural Resource Inventory • Convert current Natural Area Management practices into a Natural Area Management policy • Identify opportunities for educating GV residents about the use and management of the city's naturalareas Fourth Priority: Pilot Project of Solar Panels on City Buildings • Investigate availability of financial resources and expertise to assist city with test installation • Develop plan for a test installation • Use Edina's recent installation as an example Additional Priority: Promote student/school projects Additional Priority: Develop green fair section of home remodeling fair City of Golden Valley, MN: Transportation Services For Seniors Page 1 of 1 YOU ARE HERE: Home > Parks & Recreation > Seniors Program > Transportation Services Transportation Services For Seniors Five Cities Transportation Program Five Cities provides Golden Valley residents (age 60 and older) rides to city -sponsored activities and social services, congregate dining, and major shopping excursions. Home pick- up is also provided. A donation of $4 per round trip is suggested, or purchase a four round-trip ride pass for $14. Pay the driver with cash or check made payable to "First Transit." To make a reservation to ride, call 763-531-1259 (8 am - 3:30 pm) at least 48 hours in advance. Five Cities goes to Cub Foods every Wednesday, Walmart every second Tuesday, and Target every fourth Friday. PRISM Express PRISM Express offers curb -to -curb transportation service to Golden Valley residents age 60 and older, or physically disabled adults under age 60. Rides are provided for medical appointments, personal shopping, banking, etc. A donation of $5 per round trip is suggested. To schedule PRISM Express transportation, call 763-529-1252 at least three working days in advance, between 9 am and 3 pm. Five Cities Transportation 763-531-1259 www.5citiesmn.org PRISM Express 763-529-1252 www.prismmpls.ora © City of Golden Valley, 2012 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN 55427 763-593-8000 1 TTY: 763-593-3968 http://www.goldenvalleymn.gov/recreation/seniors/transportation.php 4/23/2012 5 Cities Senior Transportation Program - Frequently Asked Questions Page 1 of 2 5 Cities Senior Transportation Program. FAQ rn I1�� Horne 13&Frequently Asked Questions About Us Which Cities Are Included in the Program? The cities included in the program are Brooklyn Center, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, and Robbinsdale. Schedules Volunteers Who May Ride? Persons of all cultural backgrounds, 60 years and older residing in any of the five cities being serviced by the program. Photos Where Can You Go To? Your Safety City sponsored senior clubs and senior activities, senior dining, shopping centers and grocery stores. FAQ How Can You Reserve a Ride? Find your day and trip on the Five Cities monthly schedule for your Other Programs city. Schedules are available from the transportation office or building manager's office. Then call 763-531-1259. Please call for a ride 24 hours in advance. If you must cancel, please call the office ift Links immediately. Contact Us How Much Does a Ride Cost? Suggested donation of $3.50 per round trip with punch pass or $4.00 cash. Punch passes are available in $14 or $28 amounts and may be purchased from the Five Cities drivers. No one will be denied service due to inability to pay. Who Do I Call? For information, call 763-531-1259. r For reservations, call 763-531-1259 Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m =_ Reservations and Cancellations? A bi-monthly schedule will be mailed to you. Make your reservation at least 24 hours in advance. Your reservation is required. You may call in one month's reservations. Cancel your reservation if unable to ride the bus. Note: Please be ready for the bus at the specified pick up times. http://www.5citiesmn.org/FAQ.htm 4/23/2012 5 Cities Senior Transportation Program - Frequently Asked Questions Page 2 of 2 Are Lift Equipped Vehicles Available? Yes, all vehicles are equipped with lifts. If you need a lift, always inform the office when making your reservation. How is The Program Funded? The Five Cities Transportation Project is Funded: Under contract with the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging, Inc as part of the Older American's Act Program. By the Participating cities of Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Golden Valley and Brooklyn Center. ' With rider donations. 5 Cities Senior Transportation Program Last modified Tuesday January 25, 2011 © 5 Cities Transportation Please read our Disclaimer http://www.5citiesmn.org/FAQ.htm 4/23/2012 Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 11:33:38 AM (UTC -06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) To: Public Works Subject: Email the Public Works Department [#287] Name * cathy waldhauser Email * cwaldni bitstream.net Are you reporting an issue at a specific No location? * Comments * This is a message for the Environmental Commission in support of more onsite or community composting. The current zoning code only allows for one compost bin per home, regardless of size. I would like to see this changed to allow more than one bin, or a maximum size. Community composting would be nice too, but maybe better offered with another nearby city with more land. Ditto for free wood chips. 2011 Report of the Golden Valley Environmental Commission Prepared by Rich Baker, Chair April, 2012 In accordance with Section 2.50, Subd. 4 of the Golden Valley City Code, the Golden Valley Environmental Commission submits the following report of its 2011 Activities and 2012 Proposed Activities, organized by the Commission's Duties and Responsibilities. Summary The primary focus of the Environmental Commission during 2011 was completion of the City's Curbside Recycling Program and Residential Solid Waste Study. Asa result of the work by the Commission, the City Council took action on approving the new contract for municipal recycling services (City recycling program) and adopting new waste hauler requirements. The Commission also received monthly program and project updates from staff. Updates provide the Commission with an opportunity to review and provide input to staff from an environmental standpoint, and to identify issues the Commission might want to address. The Commission believes that it provides a valuable service to the City and Staff and looks forward to continuing to serve the City's environmental needs. City's Recycling Program The Environmental Commission provided input on the City's curbside recycling program and had a number of requests to be explored as part of the contract negations. Items requested were: • Curbside pick-up of electronics • Environmentally sound practices and efficiency • 100% revenue sharing • A selection of wheel containers • Added materials as recommended by MPCA. The City's new curbside recycling program incorporates all of these requested items. Curbside pick-up of electronics is being offered by the contractor, for an additional fee. The recycling service is every other week, which means less truck traffic on City streets and associated vehicle emissions. The City has 100% revenue sharing from the sale of the recycled materials. Residents can choose from three different cart sizes to meet their recycling needs. Finally, the program includes the recommended materials from the MPCA. Residents can now recycling plastics #1 through #7, which includes many more plastic types (retail bags, caps on bottles) than previously available. The Environmental Commission also requested that as part of the new program rollout, education about proper cart storage requirements be included. Staff did integrate cart storage requirements into multiple communication mediums during the rollout. Finally, the Commission identified a goal to expand the recycling program to commercial and apartment complexes. The City Council took action on this in the spring of 2012 and staff is currently ironing out the final details of offering services to commercial and apartment complexes as part of the City's recycling contract. Solid Waste Hauler Regulations Environmental Commissioners wanted to ensure that waste was properly disposed of in Golden Valley. To do this, City Code, Section 6.35, Subdivision 2 was completely re -written and included the following major provisions: - All properties in the City must contract for disposal of waste - All waste haulers must be licensed by the City of Golden Valley - License requirements include: - Haulers must offer separate yard waste containers - Haulers must haul yard waste April 1 to November 15 - Haulers must offer valet (walk up) service as a contract option GAEnvironmental Commission\Annual Report\2011 GVEC Annual Report.docx PROGRAM/PROJECT UPDATES TMDL No updates 1/1 Inspections are now being done 3 days/week due to increased demand. APWA National Journalism Award—The City of Golden Valley has received notification that it has been selected as the winner of the American Public Works Association's Exceptional Performance in Journalism for 2012 for its Inflow and Infiltration Communications Plan. The award will be given to the City at the APWA International Congress and Exposition in August 2012. The City of Golden Valley's Inflow and Infiltration (1/1) Communications Plan was selected because it demonstrated effective communications techniques in education of property owners, real estate professionals and contractors about the environmental problems associated with clear water entering the City's sanitary sewer system. The plan also supported the City's strategic approach to 1/1 reduction. In addressing 1/I, the City used multiple media sources including City newsletters, educational videos, flyers, community meetings, press releases and its website. These strategies aided in developing consent among stakeholders and support from community leaders for the City's 1/1 Reduction Program. The Minnesota Chapter of the American Public Works Association sponsored the City's application for this award. Golden Valley's Public Works and Communications staff wish to recognize many who have worked to make this program effective including staff members from many City departments, elected officials, the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services and Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS Breck School Remodeling Breck School has applied to amend its PUD permit to allow for the demolition of a small portion of its existing building (which currently houses the "upper school" and the media center) and construct a new section of building in its place. Breck School has received preliminary approval for the PUD amendment from both the Planning Commission and the City Council and final approval from the Planning Commission. Breck will be going before the City Council seeking final approval on May 1. If approved, Breck School hopes to begin construction in June. Harold Avenue/Rhode Island Avenue New Home Construction Lakewest Development Company has received a number of variances that will allow nine new homes to be constructed on Rhode Island Avenue, between Harold Avenue and Highway 55 (just west of the Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church). The current homes sit on two lots of record each. The developer intends to demolish all of the homes along Rhode Island Avenue, most of which have been vacant for two years, and replace them with new homes. The variances will allow new, modern homes to be built on the smaller lots. Demolition of the existing homes is expected to begin later in April, with construction slated to begin at the end of May. Bottineau Transitway Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) The Bottineau Transitway DEIS is entering its final phase. In June, Hennepin County will select its "Locally Preferred Alternative" (LPA) route alignment. It will either select the "D-1" alignment which travels through Golden Valley or the "D-2" alignment which travels through Minneapolis. Prior to its selection, the County will hold a public hearing. For more information about the public hearing, and the study process in general, visit www.bottineautransitway.org. Once an LPA is selected, Hennepin County will ask the Metropolitan Council to adopt the Bottineau Transitway into its master plan for regional transit and transportation. DECOLA PONDS The Phase 1 report was presented to the City Council at the April 17th Council/Manager meeting. A meeting with the City Councils of Crystal, New Hope and Golden Valley is scheduled for May 7th at the Crystal Community Center to discuss DeCola and other area surface water issues. RECYCLING UPDATE Staff has received and reviewed the recycling tonnage report from the City's hauler, Allied Waste, for March 2012. Recycling tonnage continues to significantly exceed 2011 levels. A phone log report from Allied Waste also shows that residents are calling to request larger recycling carts. Staff has received a number of complaints about litter and will continue to try and educate residents about overfilling their carts. When loose items are placed at the top of the cart and the lid cannot close, these items can fall out due to wind or when the cart is emptied. Also some residents are still incorrectly placing items next to the carts, all items need to be in the cart for service. Finally, some residents are placing their carts in the street for collection. Carts in the street can pose a safety hazard as well as an operational challenge for snow plowing or street sweeping operations. All carts should be placed outside of the traveled roadway. A recent City website article (that also posts to Common Place) addressed these issues. To view the page, go to: http://www.goldenvalleymn.gov/newsarchive/index. php/2012/04/13/city-offers-tips-to- minimize-littering-on-recycling-day/ Finally, a staff member gave a recycling program presentation to local Girl Scout Troop (Troop 15360) as part of their Earth Day activities. This was the third such presentation to a local Girl Scout troop. WETLAND MANAGEMENT No updates From: Damon Struyk fmailto:damonstruyk@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 1:05 PM Subject: Brief Summary of April 10 Wirth CAC Mtg. (Next Mtg. April 24) Hi Folks: Last evening's Wirth CAC meeting focused on planned improvements to south Wirth (south of Hwy. 55). There was presentation, and SOME discussion, as well as opportunity for public input. As of the writing of this email, it appears that the meeting's materials are not yet available online (http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1150#update). Please keep checking back on this link, and I will also try to alert you when they are. Of some interesting note: The plans for the areas immediately surrounding Wirth Lake have changed since the plan the CAC submitted over one year ago (which was approved by the MPRB). I have to admit that, overall, I am pleased with the changes, with some exceptions or reservations. I'll hold off trying to explain everything in great detail until you can actually SEE the proposed plan. But, apparently there is an archeologically significant site on the eastern side of Wirth Lake (a brewery was once there) and the MPRB insists it cannot build there. Consequently the current proposal is to build a single large capacity picnic shelter within the required offset of the Wirth Lake shoreline. This, we were told, would require a variance from the city of Golden Valley. A number of CAC members (myself included) did not eagerly embrace this idea. I don't know, but given previous feedback from the Golden Valley community it seems doubtful that such a variance would be granted in any event. However, I believe the demand for a new and large picnic shelter in the eastern vicinity of Wirth Lake likely makes one inevitable. The question is 'Where?' [As a brief aside to this, and just FYI, one of the other CAC members (who is a STRONG proponent of the picnic shelter) said to me last evening (and I'm paraphrasing just a bit to keep it clean) "I'm supporting you on the dog park, you better support me on this."] For those of you who were concerned about a proposed new maintenance yard and building near the northwest corner of Wirth Lake (southeast corner of intersection of Hwy. 55 and Wirth Pkwy.), it's my understanding that this facility is deemed no longer necessary and will be removed from the final plan. In the areas of the park south of Glenwood (which I refer to simply as Butler and the Bog) trials were the primary focus, and of these the proposed off-road cycling trails in the Bog area proposed by MOCA probably received the most attention. As with the large picnic shelter by the lake, I believe they're inevitable. However, I was a little surprised by the extent of the trails proposed last night. I understood they were to be merely 'corridor' trails used as a means of riding north and south near the parkway. However, the plan last night showed them more as separate 'loop' trails encompassing more area than I was led to believe. Frankly, I don't know how to come down on this one. It has its supporters and opponents amongst you. It, among several other matters, should have some more discussion. We were also briefed on storm damage (the May 2011 tornado), clean up and potential reforestation. I was underwhelmed by the defense of the work that was performed and the proffered 'opportunity' we now have. But there is some hope -- some -- that appropriate reforestation measures and management will be undertaken in the near future. This is not an exhaustive list of everything covered last evening. Rather, these are just some items which past experience as shown me may be of interest to the majority of you. Finally, I believe that serious discussions amongst the CAC will take place, or at least begin at the next CAC meeting on April 24. I'm concerned about the time allotted and the ground we have to cover. And we're supposed to reach consensus on issues, too. I'm hopeful we'll have the appropriate time for a thorough discussion of all matters. Please keep in mind moving forward that Wirth is a regional park and the efforts underway are in large part aimed at attracting MORE users to the park and meeting regional demands. I'll do the best I can. As always, please feel free to contact me with any question, comments or concerns. Respectfully, Damon Struyk