need a little advice

[DLMKA]

I've been working with the Director of Planning for our town for a while to change the city code to allow 4 backyard hens. I went to the Zoning Board 2 weeks ago as a first step towards getting feedback on whether or not to proceed. The board recommended that the lawyer on retainer with the city draft an ordinance based on the ordinance for Madison, WI and was proposed but recently voted down in a local city. I started a Facebook page and have a few "likes" but just recently I got a request for an interview from the newspaper. Part of me is thinking "Great! let's get some visibility" but part of me is thinking that I should kind of stay on the downlow and fly as far under the radar as possible and avoid generating lots of publicity which could quickly generate more opposition than supporters. Any of you have experience with this? Thanks in advance.

 

[JEB NC 10]

I say do the interview. Get out in front of the issue with positive and informative piece. Help put to rest all of the negative initial thoughts the general public has of keeping chickens within city limits - i.e. smells and noises. Everybody that I've talked to in my town had no idea that chickens were allowed - this includes 2 members of the City Council - and not one person has had anything negative to say on the issue. In fact, the exact opposite has been my experience. I've only received positive feedback from sharing the fact that we now have a backyard coop. While most people will probably choose not to have chickens themselves, I doubt most people care one way or the other.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Well we started our fight after we already had citations so we thought couldnt do any harm...which it didnt.
read all through our thread here and you will see how a little coverage can bring a whole bunch of peeps on your side
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=516485
After the 2 major news TV stations did their coverage then the newspaper jumped in and has a vote button on this page...you can see how votes we have from that alone...plus about 250 on seperate petitions
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110616/NEWS0103/106160384/Lee-takes-look-rules-chickens

 

[HenPenny]

I think it very important to give as much positive information as you can. Educate the ignorant on the issues.