- Dec 4, 2013
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Hello,
This is the third place I'm posting this so sorry if this is redundant. It's just very important and I need to find people very soon -- before it's too late.
I'm in the process of trying to get the ordinance changed. I have some support from other members on the Village board but I need support from the residents of the Village. My position is that our neighbors to the south (Brookfield) allow their residents to have chickens on 3 acres. Yet there is a current effort to have that reduced to somewhere along the lines of what Wauwatosa (which also allows chickens) or even Milwaukee (also a chicken friendly city) allow. Menomonee Falls on the other hand requires 35 acres to have the first chicken. This is way too restrictive and needs to be changed.
My argument also incudes that the committees keep in mind that the folks that want chickens are upscale (like Wauwatosa and Brookfield) and willing to invest hundreds if not thousands of dollars into their pets. If this was simply to make some money selling a few eggs, it's clear to see this would be a poor investment particularly considering the cost of eggs in the grocery store. Instead, these are folks who want to live a more sustainable, organic lifestyle and who may have kids that they would like to educate on where our food comes from. These animals will be well cared for and unlike dogs and cats that have no restrictions and whose waste is landfilled, many chicken owners will likely use the waste in their gardens. Also unlike some dogs, the hens are docile and friendly. Seeing a large dog in someone's unfenced yard will certainly give many folks pause, however 4-6 chickens will likely go unnoticed.
This is the stance I will be taking with the board but I need support from the residents. I can't do this alone. Please contact me if you want to help.
Thanks
This is the third place I'm posting this so sorry if this is redundant. It's just very important and I need to find people very soon -- before it's too late.
I'm in the process of trying to get the ordinance changed. I have some support from other members on the Village board but I need support from the residents of the Village. My position is that our neighbors to the south (Brookfield) allow their residents to have chickens on 3 acres. Yet there is a current effort to have that reduced to somewhere along the lines of what Wauwatosa (which also allows chickens) or even Milwaukee (also a chicken friendly city) allow. Menomonee Falls on the other hand requires 35 acres to have the first chicken. This is way too restrictive and needs to be changed.
My argument also incudes that the committees keep in mind that the folks that want chickens are upscale (like Wauwatosa and Brookfield) and willing to invest hundreds if not thousands of dollars into their pets. If this was simply to make some money selling a few eggs, it's clear to see this would be a poor investment particularly considering the cost of eggs in the grocery store. Instead, these are folks who want to live a more sustainable, organic lifestyle and who may have kids that they would like to educate on where our food comes from. These animals will be well cared for and unlike dogs and cats that have no restrictions and whose waste is landfilled, many chicken owners will likely use the waste in their gardens. Also unlike some dogs, the hens are docile and friendly. Seeing a large dog in someone's unfenced yard will certainly give many folks pause, however 4-6 chickens will likely go unnoticed.
This is the stance I will be taking with the board but I need support from the residents. I can't do this alone. Please contact me if you want to help.
Thanks
