Help change Solana Beach, California chicken law to be more inclusive

[katgirl]

Hello fellow BYC members,

I live in Solana Beach, CA, where the chicken laws as stated in the Union Tribune article seem very relaxed.

Solana Beach: One chicken permitted per 2,000 square feet, up to 25 chickens, with a minimum 20,000-square-foot lot in certain residential areas. Chickens must be in enclosures 35 feet away from neighboring houses.

That is misleading. The truth is that chickens are ONLY allowed in specific residential areas, and the minimum lot size for these areas is 20,000 square feet (half an acre). The vast majority of residential properties in Solana Beach are significantly smaller, and thus are not allowed - per code - to keep chickens.

There is a small group of us that have recently joined together to change this ordinance. We would like to change the minimum lot size to 5,000 square feet in all residential areas (not including trailer parks, apartments or condos), with 2,000 square feet required per chicken. We are collecting signatures, and will present these to the City Council next Wednesday, March 23rd. We will have a few select speakers who will address the council and make our plea. We anticipate that the council will then hand our request over to the City Manager and City Attorney for review, and will schedule a vote at a future council meeting.

What can you do? If you are a resident of Solana Beach please contact me! We would like to have as many signatures as we can and you can help with the following:
1) Signing the petition
2) Collecting petition signatures from your neighbors and friends
3) Come to the City Council Meeting on Wednesday, March 23rd at 6 pm to lend your support. We would like to have as many supporters there as possible. You don't need to speak, but the more people that request a speaker slip, the more time our selected speakers will have.

Thanks!

-Katharine​

 

[Laigaie]

Best of luck! This kind of effective ban is so very frustrating!

 

[katgirl]

Thank you Laigaie! We're hopeful that the Council will be receptive to this, as many of the towns/cities around us have more permissive regulations. The meeting is this evening at 6 pm. We will keep it short so if there is anyone living in Solana Beach and you have 30 minutes to spare, please come down and support us.

Thanks!

-Katharine

 

[dkvart1]

Katherine, best of luck!

 

[katgirl]

Thanks for everyone's words of encouragement.

The council meeting went well. There were over 20 people who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and stand up in support of this change. We also presented the council with the 140 signatures of support we were able to gather in less than a weeks time. It was impressive!

A few of us spoke to the council and they agreed to research this issue and put it on the agenda for a future council meeting (this will be open to public comment, and then the council will vote to pass or deny).

There was an article in our local paper if you care to read more.

http://www.delmartimes.net/2011/03/...y-to-relax-ordinance-regarding-backyard-hens/

-Katharine