....because one person complained.
City to North Haven Gardens: No chicks
11:44 AM Wed, Jun 24, 2009
Mariana Greene/Gardening Editor
North Haven Gardens, which earlier this month took the unusual step of adding henkeeping supplies, housing and even juvenile hens to its gardening and landscaping inventory, has been told by the city the chicks must go.
NHG aimed to be a one-stop shop for urban henkeeping, taking advantage of Dallas' already burgeoning city-chickens trend (East Dallas has been adding backyard flocks at a fast pace for the last few years and Dallas-area city-chicken forums draw hits from all over the continent). Leslie Halleck, NHG general manager and herself a new chick mom, saw a niche and convinced NHG owners to let her fill it.
A few days ago, the owners were contacted by then-city councilman Mitchell Rasansky (whose successor was sworn in Monday), who warned them a constituent had made a complaint to the zoning department. Didn't matter that NHG had sought permission from code enforcement, health and environmental services, animal control and special events before embarking on this plan.
North Haven was visited by each department's inspectors, says Halleck, who signed off on their request. Rather than fight city hall, NHG cancelled its hen exchange for this Saturday. It will still hold the basic henkeeping class and still sell supplies for backyard coops, but Probst may not deliver presold chickens to NHG customers. In the past, Probst sold juvenile hens, or pullets, from a specially outfitted truck in NHG's overflow parking lot.
NHG's foray into urban henkeeping has been so successful that the store had to schedule extra how-to sessions to deal with overflow crowds who were turned away from the initial session.
Rasansky wouldn't reveal the name of the complaining constituent. But he explained to NHG that by contending urban henkeeping is a complementary component of organic gardening, growing one's own vegetables and composting the garden center is plowing new ground, setting a precedent, Halleck says.
NHG, a business established more than half a century ago, is allowed to remain in the North Dallas residential neighborhood under a grandfather clause.
"While we feel we are in compliance and received all necessary permission from several city departments to go ahead with the sales," Halleck says, "we are cooperating with the city to resolve the issue and move forward in the correct manner."
11:44 AM Wed, Jun 24, 2009
Mariana Greene/Gardening Editor
North Haven Gardens, which earlier this month took the unusual step of adding henkeeping supplies, housing and even juvenile hens to its gardening and landscaping inventory, has been told by the city the chicks must go.
NHG aimed to be a one-stop shop for urban henkeeping, taking advantage of Dallas' already burgeoning city-chickens trend (East Dallas has been adding backyard flocks at a fast pace for the last few years and Dallas-area city-chicken forums draw hits from all over the continent). Leslie Halleck, NHG general manager and herself a new chick mom, saw a niche and convinced NHG owners to let her fill it.
A few days ago, the owners were contacted by then-city councilman Mitchell Rasansky (whose successor was sworn in Monday), who warned them a constituent had made a complaint to the zoning department. Didn't matter that NHG had sought permission from code enforcement, health and environmental services, animal control and special events before embarking on this plan.
North Haven was visited by each department's inspectors, says Halleck, who signed off on their request. Rather than fight city hall, NHG cancelled its hen exchange for this Saturday. It will still hold the basic henkeeping class and still sell supplies for backyard coops, but Probst may not deliver presold chickens to NHG customers. In the past, Probst sold juvenile hens, or pullets, from a specially outfitted truck in NHG's overflow parking lot.
NHG's foray into urban henkeeping has been so successful that the store had to schedule extra how-to sessions to deal with overflow crowds who were turned away from the initial session.
Rasansky wouldn't reveal the name of the complaining constituent. But he explained to NHG that by contending urban henkeeping is a complementary component of organic gardening, growing one's own vegetables and composting the garden center is plowing new ground, setting a precedent, Halleck says.
NHG, a business established more than half a century ago, is allowed to remain in the North Dallas residential neighborhood under a grandfather clause.
"While we feel we are in compliance and received all necessary permission from several city departments to go ahead with the sales," Halleck says, "we are cooperating with the city to resolve the issue and move forward in the correct manner."
