My big fat chicken fight

[littlegorb]

you guys are great! i'm sure glad i can come to this sight and actually see people support each other sincerely.

any letters can be sent to my email, or pm me if you want to handwrite one. this means alot to me so thank you all!

 

[sepiolida]

I just read this whole thread too. We're moving from an apartment in the city (Seattle) to a house in a smaller town nearby. Chickens are allowed by the city ordinance but forbidden by the specific neighborhood rules. It's a pretty big yard, and we're planning to put the run in one corner where it will only be visible from one house and there is a solid wood fence in between. We're also planning to grow a cedar hedge between the run and the fence for extra noise control and visual black. Also, we're going to ask the neighbors' permission in advance and only get hens. Sounds pretty safe right? I'm still paranoid, especially after reading this, but I find your struggle extremely admirable. I'm really glad you are fighting so hard and it will encourage me to do the same if it comes to that. I don't know how grump the neighborhood ordinance people are going to be. Does anyone have any experience with neighborhood policies or getting them changed? How many houses away would be able to hear my ladies with 1/3 acre plots?

Thanks, and thanks again for posting your story- please continue and let us know what happens.

 

[pufferfish]

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HI I am happy for you. I am also fighting with my local district utility (werid, right?) their appointed board director is worse than any city councils in the US...
Any suggestion?

 

[littlegorb]

be sure to document everything. keep track of all contacts, what was said, and especially if you feel if somebody is harassing you.

 

[weaveagarden]

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I have a lot of difficulty in weeding through threads because with my disablity I sometimes have focus issues. I am fighting a similar battle right now with a doctors note with her stating that my hens help me with med problems and the rooster is my service animal because he helps me with them. Can you please go back to the first thread and update what has happened please. And if positive outcome, what steps you took that helped. And what didn't help. Thanks.

 

[littlegorb]

the nebraska equal opportunity commission has found a reasonable cause for discrimination i believe due to the fact that i had a dr. note, and asked the city for reasonable accommodatation. my girls lower my blood pressure, relieve stress and make me happy. a service animal does not have to be a dog. my chickens are supportive just by their very nature. the sounds they make, their inquisitive nature, etc. although i do like roosters, i would agree that they make noise and may not be tolerated by my neighbors. my hens don't need them anyways. you may want to rethink having a rooster because of that. yes roosters are pretty, but can cause alot of noise.

my therapist and dr. have agreed that when it comes to having a pet, there really is no difference having a chicken vs. having a cat or dog.

 

[kcfuerst]

Quote:
HI I am happy for you. I am also fighting with my local district utility (werid, right?) their appointed board director is worse than any city councils in the US...
Any suggestion?

The scum bag drug infested mongrel neighbor was the only person to complain and he lived two houses away from me. He was not a homeowner, nor a renter, he was a blood sucking leach 'living with' his sister and brother in law; hadn't worked in 20 years and was on Social Security Disability. He claimed back pain was the reason why he smokes pot regularly. His complaint was that my chickens made too much noise (which they didn't). He lied at every turn, and also lied out the wazoo when he went to court charged with harassment after he assaulted me in a dark alley. He also tried to commit another crime by telling me I could keep my chickens if I paid him $500 (he would stop calling the City)... yeah and what turnip truck did he think I fell off of?! He was calling the city almost every day to complain and said he wanted my chickens gone. Whenever I dropped in to the City offices to talk to people, they would tell me he was coming in and harassing them too; they did not like him one bit. This was very frightening to a single grandma who just wants to enjoy life with nature.

Yes, the PD told me that drugs will do that to a person. I just happened to be his target. He was like a pit bull who wouldn't let go and his sister wouldn't stand up to him.

After obtaining a restraining order against the evil one, I began my quest by making sure I was in full compliance to the city ordinance, even tho it meant giving up my girls at the time. I wrote out a 'form letter' for all my neighbors to sign saying they didn't mind my having chickens and all they had to do was date and sign it and add any comments they felt were appropriate. I collected 12 of these letters. Then I prepared a colored presentation on why I believed the City should allow my hens to be less than 20' from my property line (which was my sin -- my girls were only 5' from the property line in a coop that was fort knox and could not be moved). I provided colored photographs, documentation of other cities, such as San Diego, and I explained that the City should be helping people during these hard times when we want to be self-sufficient, get back to 'green' and teach our kids where our food comes from. When chickens are properly cared for, they do not smell and they do not attract rodents or other vermin. Without roosters, what little noise hens make is MUCH PRETTIER and way more tolerable than a dad-gummed barking dog! What other pet could love you, provide food for you and top it off with the best fertilizer on the planet?

Then I made an appointment with my mayor. I asked for one hour and sat with him and gave him a one-on-one presentation and told him how important this was to me and other residents. I explained that our code was antiquated and needed to be updated, and that sometimes there are circumstances for which the City should bend the rules, make an exception instead of hammering the door shut. He was absolutely wonderful about it and instructed me to send this presentation to every member of the city council. Then he put the item on the consent calendar and it took about 9 months to complete the process. I put in an appearance at a city council meeting and made my plea. After hearing the item at a council meeting, then citizens had the right to comment, then there was another hearing and the city attorney was instructed to draw up an amendment to our municipal code. More time had to pass while everything went through the crazy legal process.

When it was all over it had taken one year, but the City voted in favor of passing a new ordinance which allows the City to approve on a case by case basis any exception to the current rules already in place. If they approve the exception, then the citizen must pay a $25 annual permit fee. This is so terrific, because now even if someone calls and complains, the PD will see that I have a permit on file and they won't even come to investigate the complaint. Kind of like insurance against jerks is how I see it.....Cheap insurance at $2 a month!!

Animal control was not happy about the changes, but they must follow the wishes of the City Council, god bless 'em!

Hooray for San Diego. Their code was the strong point which helped to convince the council that we could do the same thing.

Oh, the vermin? lol.... the very day he went to court to apply to remove the restraining order, he drove past my house while I was backing out my driveway and flipped me off. Now that wasn't very nice. But what he didn't know was that I learned about his court appointment quite by accident and was actually on my way to his court appointment to protest his request as he had been violating the order for an entire year. I had to call the police department many times and my neighbors reported his being at his sister's when I was not home (only 70' away). He was very unhappy that I showed up at his party as he had planned to tell the judge that I was agreeable to dropping the charges. When I told the judge what he had done on the way to court when he has been ordered to stay at least 300' from me and my property, his response to the judge was "I didn't drive down her street".

The judge refused his request.

When I arrived home, his brother came to my house to 'talk some sense' to me about his poor little brother. During our conversation on the front porch, a police officer came to take my report of the evil one's violation that morning. I think the brother may have finally talked some sense into the poop-head because I have finally not heard a peep out of him or heard anything about him for a couple months now. His brother had traveled here from Hawaii just to attend court with him to "help him". I don't imagine he was very happy about the outcome.

Hope this help those of you who are hurting and just trying to live your lives the best you can.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought it needed explaining.

 

[littlegorb]

wow, the things we have to go through! you have some good ideas and i'm glad things are working out for you. as for myself, i could never speak in front of the city council or any situation like that. i had my neighbor speak for me but the council was flat against our request. my ordeal has been dragging on for about 9 months now. since the NEOC's determination, i have 3 options available, one is to elect to have a public hearing, where the commission would act as administrative judge, second is to go to civil district court throug attorney general and they would represent me, and third is file in civil court with my own attorney.
the city attorney has elected to go through the attorney general. i am waiting to hear from an attorney now to see if what he suggests i do.
this is really taking a toll on me and is exhausting. i could use my time doing better things than having to fight all the time. but i have come this far so i can't really give up now.

 

[vicki2x2]

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Just read your whole story, wow! The above sounds very promising though! Will they represent you?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Hmmm, this seems odd--that you can choose to go through the attorney general, but the city is doing the same thing (being represented by the attorney general)? This seems like a conflict of interest.