Hi dottedzebra,
Good luck with your presentation! We've been getting lots of support. We posted about it on the local area "Permaculture MeetUP" message board, where people who are interested in sustainable living and green issues go, and several of the people there are going to come to the city council meetings in support. We also sent out emails to friends asking them to forward them to anyone they know living in our town who would be supportive of changing the ordinance to allow chickens. One friend forwarded it to another friend, who turned out to be the Mayor of our town!! I'm pretty sure he is on our side.
In our town, you make your presentation to the city council at the Workshop, then there is a City Council meeting a week later where other citizens can speak on the issue and the council votes. They make a second/final vote 2 weeks later. So we are hoping to get a lot of people to come speak in support at the meeting (without making it totally public so that people who are possibly anti-chicken would know to come speak
)
At the workshop, my daughter is giving her presentation and we'll also give the city councilors printed hand-outs of 1) those articles about city chickens, 2) a list of other cities that allow chickens 3) a summary of the reasons we want chickens.
I'd be interested to hear what your presentation is about and what issues the city has spoken to you about. And be happy to share ours as well if you want. I think that the more well-prepared we are for any objections, the better. At this point all I can really think of that people will be worried about is:
noise
smell
disease (avian flu, salmonella)
By the way several people I emailed said that they wanted to raise chickens too, but the town had told them NO. They were excited that we were taking the initiative to change the law and will be at the meetngs in support.
GOOD LUCK!
Stacey & Olivia
