Needed- Example letter to City Council members

[Pandora]

I recently moved to a very rural area over 1.5 hours away from Chicago. Channahon IL. Never really thought that this small town of 10,000 would be anti-chicken. Other larger cities such as Chicago, Naperville, and more allow chickens. Yet this tiny village is too "urban" for such consideration. A true head scratcher since most people move here to avoid the urban restrictions and mentality.

We've progressed in getting this moved through petition meetings, but need all the advice and support we can get to help the vote sway in favor of chickens. I'm hoping that someone here can share a letter they've used for city council member outreach or similar. We have a petition site, but council members don't put weight in it. So feel we would have more success with individuals sending messages to each council member. To help make this happen I'd like to start with a template that people can use.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Smuvers Farm]

It might help if you also posted this in your state thread.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Pandora]

I will cross post- but I think this is a topic that has relevance beyond the state of IL. A lot of people facing similar issues could benefit from a starting point to tailor to their local needs.

 

[greggles]

I agree this is a nationwide topic, so I'm happy to discuss it here. I don't have an example letter, but I can share my strategy and general thoughts. I researched common myths about keeping chickens and complaints that people have about chickens to understand what the concerns might be. From there I researched those topics to determine how to address it. I have talked about chickens in my city a few times and have raised some of these points:

• The number 1 reason people like chickens: Chickens provide a valuable low-cost food source.
• Chickens provide value as a pet, teaching kids about responsibility through caring for an animal who can love them back.
• Chickens divert waste from landfills. Up to 50% of all household waste is compostable and chickens are happy to eat much of that waste. Introducing chickens reduces the cost of disposing of waste.
• Chicken manure is recommended by the US Extension Colleges for use in composting when it is aged for 6 months prior to application as an effective means of eliminating the risk of disease.
  
• A dog's bark is 90 decibels and our city allows 4 dogs which has a cumulative maximum possible noise level of 100 decibels (sound pressure is a logarithmic scale).
• A hen's laying song is 60 decibels so it would take 12 hens producing noise at the exact same time to produce more noise than 1 dog.
• A rooster is as loud as a dog barking, though it tends to crow more often than dogs bark. Roosters can be kept in a way that helps them be quieter and they should not be regulated more strictly than dogs.
• If chicken food is not properly kept it can attract unwanted animals (e.g. mice). However, a homeowner can also make mistakes that attract mice by doing a bad job of composting, putting out birdseed, or putting out dog or catfood and yet most cities do not regulate those activities.
• A chicken's manure should not smell if processed properly. Cat and dog manure are generally advised not to add to a compost bin because of the risk of spreading disease to a garden.
• It takes 10 chickens to make as much poop as 1 large dog.
• Backyard Chickens present a health risk to humans from salmonella infections. However, wild birds (like geese) also present this risk as do reptiles like turtles. Dogs transfer diseases to humans such as worms that can cause blindness and even death. Dog-to-human worm infections occur at a very high rate, but we are so used to dogs in our lives that we do not judge it as a surprising risk.

You have to decide about processing birds and what tactic you plan to take.

 

[DuckMom2017]

I am highly interested in help with this topic- but for ducks. I would have never in a million years thought where I live- I couldn't have ducks! But I did not know the ordinance until after I acquired my babies. I have 3 acres and literally no neighbors. I have a business on one side, an airport behind me and woods all around.
I have thought about writing our city council and starting a petition, as we are the ONLY town in our county that doesn't allow chickens/ducks.
My biggest issue is that since I already have them, I don't want to draw attention to myself and risk them being taken.

Any advice is welcome

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

I recently moved to a very rural area over 1.5 hours away from Chicago. Channahon IL. Never really thought that this small town of 10,000 would be anti-chicken. Other larger cities such as Chicago, Naperville, and more allow chickens. Yet this tiny village is too "urban" for such consideration. A true head scratcher since most people move here to avoid the urban restrictions and mentality.

We've progressed in getting this moved through petition meetings, but need all the advice and support we can get to help the vote sway in favor of chickens. I'm hoping that someone here can share a letter they've used for city council member outreach or similar. We have a petition site, but council members don't put weight in it. So feel we would have more success with individuals sending messages to each council member. To help make this happen I'd like to start with a template that people can use.

Thanks in advance!!

This worked! https://www.change.org/p/edgewater-mayor-city-council-allow-backyard-chickens-in-edgewater-fl
After years of fighting last month we finally got the city to allow us up to 4 hens here It helped to point out things like chicken waste is non toxic while dogs in the US create more toxic waste than every US factory combined, that noise from chickens would be no more disturbing than the barking of dogs. Good luck, if we did it you can do it, our city managers are backwards dinks! ! https://www.hometownnewsvolusia.com...cle_f4e3879a-760f-11e7-aaa0-bbf998c4ab6c.html

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

I am highly interested in help with this topic- but for ducks. I would have never in a million years thought where I live- I couldn't have ducks! But I did not know the ordinance until after I acquired my babies. I have 3 acres and literally no neighbors. I have a business on one side, an airport behind me and woods all around.
I have thought about writing our city council and starting a petition, as we are the ONLY town in our county that doesn't allow chickens/ducks.
My biggest issue is that since I already have them, I don't want to draw attention to myself and risk them being taken.

Any advice is welcome

Get somebody else who wants them to spearhead it for you? You know, when I was researching our ordinances for livestock here I found out you could have ducks as long as they are a native variety, they can't ban a native bird. It was a bit of a loophole as we have a lot of native waterfoul here in Florida even some that live here naturally year round..I never took advantage of it as I was researching for chickens but I'm fairly certain the same loophole would apply to you, if that helps you at all? Good luck!

 

[DuckMom2017]

Get somebody else who wants them to spearhead it for you? You know, when I was researching our ordinances for livestock here I found out you could have ducks as long as they are a native variety, they can't ban a native bird. It was a bit of a loophole as we have a lot of native waterfoul here in Florida even some that live here naturally year round..I never took advantage of it as I was researching for chickens but I'm fairly certain the same loophole would apply to you, if that helps you at all? Good luck!

That's just too logical, but I love it!

 

[katibelle]

Hello all!

Did anybody end up posting a letter that they used to appeal their town? I am currently in the process of drafting my letter and would love any examples folks have on hand.

Thanks!
Katibelle

 

[lazy gardener]

@greggles That was an excellent post, as a matter of fact, the best written post I've seen all day. I give you ALL of my bonus points for the post of the day. These points are valuable, but non transferrable, non refundable, and good for absolutely nothing other than saving them in a jar on top of the fridge. You just might need them some time.

All humor aside, I suggest that you look at your town ordinances, to see what the zoning restrictions are regarding other pets, and if there are any restrictions on gardening or composting. After looking at that, you should use greggles information as a topic by topic defense against the reasons why your town might disallow a small back yard flock. Also, use your state thread to look at how other towns in your area have dealt with the issue. Include an example of a near by town's city ordinances or zoning laws. Finally, contact your county agricultural extension office to see if they have any literature that will help you win your battle.

I think you would be wise to draft your own letter rather than using some one else's letter to defend your case. I wish you the best of luck.