- May 10, 2011
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***URGENT LAST CHANCE. ATTEND JULY 22 BOARD MEETING. CALL YOUR SUPERVISORS!******
The meeting to vote on the zoning amendment (unless postponed) is July 22, 2015 at 2:00 PM at the County Administration Center, 700 H Street Rm. 1450 in Downtown Sacramento. You have to call 72 hours in advance to be sure there has not been a time/date change. I am updating as more info comes in.
The Proposal to Ban Crowing Fowl on Urban Residential Properties in Sacramento County encompasses more than just a restriction to 10,000 square feet of property. Depending on your zone: Those living on lots greater than 10,000 sqft, REGARDLESS OF LOT SIZE, must get rid of all crowing fowl within one year of the vote's passage. The FAQs state that Old Town Fair Oaks, due to its collection of "feral" roosters, will be exempt but not its residents. Yet, when you finally read through all the pages of this proposed legislation, this exemption is not specified.
The Supervisor who initiated this fiasco is Susan Peters, who claims to have been awakened at 3 AM by a peacock and declared subsequent war on all crowing fowl. Why didn't she just ask her neighbors to keep their bird in the garage at night? Maybe it was "feral".
This legislation will cause an unprecedented chicken dumping event of mass proportion. Fair Oaks Village already has experienced a doubling of its "feral" chicken population due to the rooster restrictions enacted by neighboring communities. The fact is there are already chickens being dumped throughout the county. This is NOT a humane act!!! Chickens who were former beloved pets that presumably had a source of good food, water and shelter are suddenly thrown into chaos in an unfamiliar territory. Existing roosters will launch bloody attacks on the new bird for hours on end. The unfortunate hen is de-feathered and raped repeatedly all day long. There is a scarcity of food and clean water (especially with the drought) and little or no shelter that is safe from the elements or predators. Many roosters do not survive the attacks and if they do they are often maimed or blinded and ultimately killed by cars or predators.
By making this revision to the old chicken zoning law, the County is forcing people to choose paying $50 at the animal shelter to relinquish their fowl, finding a sanctuary or other party willing to accept roosters, participating in illegal animal dumping (if you are caught you can be cited a $1000 fine) or euthanizing the bird(s). There has been no ecological study by the County on the impact all these dumped chickens will have on sensitive green belts or any cost estimates as to the damage they will cause residential, public or commercial properties. And what will this amendment ultimately cost tax payers?
The County claims that there have been many complaints over the years. Yet, 311 says that Animal Control does not accept crowing complaints, only dog barking. Before Animal Control the Sheriff's Dept. handled the calls in their copious free time while responding to real crime events. And the calls they received were not necessarily categorized as to type of noise nuisance. So, where do they get their data? I have always asked my neighbors if my rooster bothers them. They always say no...but other neighbors' barking dogs really do. Barky dogs aren't surrendered, why roosters- especially ones who aren't bothersome? Why not continue to deal with crowing as a Noise Nuisance issue rather than changing the zoning ordinance? Why punish good hard working folks that can't afford paying store prices by taking away their sources of good food and garden fertilizer?
P.S. None of us property owners with 10,000 + square feet were notified by mail of these proposed zoning changes and there are more animal keeping changes then just the crowing fowl ban. We only just found out within the past couple of months by word of mouth from friends. Don't you think we all should have been notified sooner? Were they planning to tell us after the vote? It makes us wonder if there is a hidden agenda.
The meeting to vote on the zoning amendment (unless postponed) is July 22, 2015 at 2:00 PM at the County Administration Center, 700 H Street Rm. 1450 in Downtown Sacramento. You have to call 72 hours in advance to be sure there has not been a time/date change. I am updating as more info comes in.
The Proposal to Ban Crowing Fowl on Urban Residential Properties in Sacramento County encompasses more than just a restriction to 10,000 square feet of property. Depending on your zone: Those living on lots greater than 10,000 sqft, REGARDLESS OF LOT SIZE, must get rid of all crowing fowl within one year of the vote's passage. The FAQs state that Old Town Fair Oaks, due to its collection of "feral" roosters, will be exempt but not its residents. Yet, when you finally read through all the pages of this proposed legislation, this exemption is not specified.
The Supervisor who initiated this fiasco is Susan Peters, who claims to have been awakened at 3 AM by a peacock and declared subsequent war on all crowing fowl. Why didn't she just ask her neighbors to keep their bird in the garage at night? Maybe it was "feral".
This legislation will cause an unprecedented chicken dumping event of mass proportion. Fair Oaks Village already has experienced a doubling of its "feral" chicken population due to the rooster restrictions enacted by neighboring communities. The fact is there are already chickens being dumped throughout the county. This is NOT a humane act!!! Chickens who were former beloved pets that presumably had a source of good food, water and shelter are suddenly thrown into chaos in an unfamiliar territory. Existing roosters will launch bloody attacks on the new bird for hours on end. The unfortunate hen is de-feathered and raped repeatedly all day long. There is a scarcity of food and clean water (especially with the drought) and little or no shelter that is safe from the elements or predators. Many roosters do not survive the attacks and if they do they are often maimed or blinded and ultimately killed by cars or predators.
By making this revision to the old chicken zoning law, the County is forcing people to choose paying $50 at the animal shelter to relinquish their fowl, finding a sanctuary or other party willing to accept roosters, participating in illegal animal dumping (if you are caught you can be cited a $1000 fine) or euthanizing the bird(s). There has been no ecological study by the County on the impact all these dumped chickens will have on sensitive green belts or any cost estimates as to the damage they will cause residential, public or commercial properties. And what will this amendment ultimately cost tax payers?
The County claims that there have been many complaints over the years. Yet, 311 says that Animal Control does not accept crowing complaints, only dog barking. Before Animal Control the Sheriff's Dept. handled the calls in their copious free time while responding to real crime events. And the calls they received were not necessarily categorized as to type of noise nuisance. So, where do they get their data? I have always asked my neighbors if my rooster bothers them. They always say no...but other neighbors' barking dogs really do. Barky dogs aren't surrendered, why roosters- especially ones who aren't bothersome? Why not continue to deal with crowing as a Noise Nuisance issue rather than changing the zoning ordinance? Why punish good hard working folks that can't afford paying store prices by taking away their sources of good food and garden fertilizer?
P.S. None of us property owners with 10,000 + square feet were notified by mail of these proposed zoning changes and there are more animal keeping changes then just the crowing fowl ban. We only just found out within the past couple of months by word of mouth from friends. Don't you think we all should have been notified sooner? Were they planning to tell us after the vote? It makes us wonder if there is a hidden agenda.
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