By MARY JANE SMETANKA, Star Tribune
Last update: November 2, 2010 - 7:55 PM
Bloomington's long-running chicken debate ended with a dispirited squawk for chicken lovers when the City Council on Monday approved an ordinance change that allows about 21 percent of the properties in the city to keep hens.
Set on making sure that neighbors are not bothered if the people next-door decide to keep hens, the council decided that chicken coops should be at least 50 feet from residential property lines. Council Member Amy Grady proposed the setback, which is half what it was in old rules that date from the 1950s.
"I have no problem with having chickens on lots as long as they don't bother the neighbors," Grady said.
People who want to keep chickens have been vocal, starting a Facebook page to support Bloomington hens in advocating for a 30-foot lot setback. Opponents have been just as active in letting council members know what they think, Grady said.
"We have to balance those who want them with those who don't want them," she said.
Council Member Karen Nordstrom said she saw allowing hens as part of the local food movement and "another step to making Bloomington a little better place to live." But Mayor Gene Winstead and council Member Vern Wilcox said they were not comfortable with having farm animals in a suburb.
Council Member Steve Peterson said he considered the 50-foot rule a good way to see how chickens work out. He assured chicken supporters in the audience that if no problems develop, perhaps the rule could be loosened in the future.
Bloomington resident Jeanie Mellem, who became the public face of chicken advocates when she was cited last spring for illegally keeping four hens in her backyard, said Tuesday that the decision was "silly." The new rule is so restrictive that few people will be able to keep hens, she said. A 30-foot setback would have allowed 96 percent of the residential properties in the city to have hens.
"It just doesn't make any sense to me at all," Mellem said.
She said she is not sure if she will be able to keep her chickens, and had contacted the city to see how measurements in her irregular lot would work. While she said she is confident she can find good homes for the hens if they need to go, she said she also is considering moving to another property that would be big enough to keep the hens she calls "the ladies."
Mary Jane Smetanka 612-673-7380
Last update: November 2, 2010 - 7:55 PM
Bloomington's long-running chicken debate ended with a dispirited squawk for chicken lovers when the City Council on Monday approved an ordinance change that allows about 21 percent of the properties in the city to keep hens.
Set on making sure that neighbors are not bothered if the people next-door decide to keep hens, the council decided that chicken coops should be at least 50 feet from residential property lines. Council Member Amy Grady proposed the setback, which is half what it was in old rules that date from the 1950s.
"I have no problem with having chickens on lots as long as they don't bother the neighbors," Grady said.
People who want to keep chickens have been vocal, starting a Facebook page to support Bloomington hens in advocating for a 30-foot lot setback. Opponents have been just as active in letting council members know what they think, Grady said.
"We have to balance those who want them with those who don't want them," she said.
Council Member Karen Nordstrom said she saw allowing hens as part of the local food movement and "another step to making Bloomington a little better place to live." But Mayor Gene Winstead and council Member Vern Wilcox said they were not comfortable with having farm animals in a suburb.
Council Member Steve Peterson said he considered the 50-foot rule a good way to see how chickens work out. He assured chicken supporters in the audience that if no problems develop, perhaps the rule could be loosened in the future.
Bloomington resident Jeanie Mellem, who became the public face of chicken advocates when she was cited last spring for illegally keeping four hens in her backyard, said Tuesday that the decision was "silly." The new rule is so restrictive that few people will be able to keep hens, she said. A 30-foot setback would have allowed 96 percent of the residential properties in the city to have hens.
"It just doesn't make any sense to me at all," Mellem said.
She said she is not sure if she will be able to keep her chickens, and had contacted the city to see how measurements in her irregular lot would work. While she said she is confident she can find good homes for the hens if they need to go, she said she also is considering moving to another property that would be big enough to keep the hens she calls "the ladies."
Mary Jane Smetanka 612-673-7380
