Advice for changing city ordinance (northeast Texas - Texarkana)

My husband and I just moved to Texarkana, Texas (northeast corner of Texas) from Austin, Texas. We are used to backyard chickens being part of the culture in Austin, and now that we have land (quarter acre) we'd like to have our own chickens. Unfortunately the current city ordinance states that chickens are allowed within city limits ONLY if your property is designated as a farm or ranch and must be at least one acre.

I am now on a mission to change this ordinance to allow chickens to be kept at ordinary residential homes, such as ours.

I'm wondering if anyone here has suggestions on where to begin getting an ordinance changed. I know there is a lot of support in my particular neighborhood but it's difficult to gauge the rest of the city. Texarkana is full of people who have been here for generations, many of whom tend to be resistant to change (to put it lightly). But I'm hopeful that if I approach this correctly, it can be done.

My plan of attack so far:
- put together a "case study" of other similarly-sized cities that have successful chicken-friendly ordinances
- put together information to support the positive effects of backyard chickens on a neighborhood
- gather signatures from as many residents as possible to support changing the ordinance (though i'm not sure how many would be considered "enough")
- approach my city council with the above information and ask them to make the change


any other suggestions? any good links to information or data that would support my efforts? does anyone have experience with changing or creating a city ordinance in their town?

thanks in advance!

It sounds like you're off to a good start. I live in the Buda Kyle area, just south of Austin. Buda and Kyle allow chickens(Buda has more freedom) but our neighborhood doesn't. Our neighborhood is technically a city just because it has a very small city hall, no post office. We just attended a meeting and voiced our case. They agreed to let us keep out 7 hens and will discuss the ordinance change at the next meeting. Basically do your research and make sure to tackle why chickens are not allowed. Here's one I found by binging "change chicken ordinance" http://backyardfarming.blogspot.com/2010/04/tips-from-successful-chicken-ordinance.html

Has there been any change in these rules?