Neighborhood Watch Takes Stand on Backyard Chickens - Brentwood CA

[Gnawsey]

My husband and I were just on the 10 o'clock news. That was so cool! It is really starting to build a lot of media attention.

Nifty-Chicken...I think there will be a whole other meeting at the next city council. That is how it worked when there was a tie vote at the planning commission. I believe the meeting will be on Feb 9th.

I was really upset with the mayor tonight. He gave no comment on why he was voting "No". I felt like his land use committee said yes for backyard chickens, his planning commission voted yes, and everyone in attendance that spoke were all for chickens. I feel like a mayor should be the voice of his people and committees. Isn't he suppose to be my public servant?

Stacie

 

[Matty26]

congrats 2girls. while 2-2 isn't ideal, it's better than a closeout. My family just moved from Concord this last year so we were just around the corner. I think that your neighbor is more opposed to the idea, than your birds themselves. I have a lean-to coop that's elcosed with chicken wire/welded wire only for the sides and roof and even with 15 girls and 2 roos you can't smell anything unless you're within the coop. Even if I've been lazy all week and haven't cleaned it out...

Contaminate the ground water? most farmer/rural homesteads like our's rely on well water and I have cleaner/better water than the city by far!

I've lived in a house that backed right up to a golf course in the San Diego area and golf carts/golfers playing through the course immediately behind the house was much noisier than my hens are now.

I own two dogs and I spoil them rotten, but I'll be the first to admit they are louder than my roos are. (as are a lot of dogs) the noise of a backyard hen is easily half as loud/annoying as a dog can be.

Good luck and let me know if you need anything...

-Matt

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

My friend on Facebook just posted this: http://www.contracostatimes.com/twitter/ci_14275381

 

[2Girlsn4Hens]

Go Gnawsey!!! We saw both of you on the 10' clock news! There's also a Contra Costa newspaper article already published online: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14275381

Yes, to those who asked, the 2-2 vote means this is going back to the council in two weeks, February 9th, 7:00 PM. We will be there, maybe with our two girls again! And yes, those chickens you saw on the Bay Area news were wearing diapers...

While no one spoke in opposition tonight, one Council Member summed up his dissent: Chickens belong on farms. And then there were two dissenters...

It can be best described as fear of the perceived and stereotypical judgement.

So we are still trying to keep this support alive and kickin'!

I also must thank the long time Brentwood residents who came to the meeting - they still live on acres of land, while the rest of us have "lots" - and even though their rights to own chickens will remain on those acres regardless of the vote, they took the time to speak on behalf of all chicken owners! We newer residents who live in tract homes that overrun what was once a rural area wish to show our support and gratitude for your attempt to preserve ideals of Brentwood's past while extending a hand to your new neighbors!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I tried to post this comment on the article:

As a Contra Costa resident, and the owner of www.BackYardChickens.com I'm very glad to see cities realizing the benefits to their constituents being allowed to raise a small flock of egg machines.

While there are definitely some legitimate concerns that need to be addressed when considering allowing chickens in an urban or suburban environment, they can all be addressed with proper pet maintenance guidelines… just as is the case with any other backyard pet.

Some complain of smell, predators, noise, etc. It is true that these issues may arise in situations where too many chickens are kept, or they are kept improperly. With that said, there are tens of thousands of urban and suburban chicken owners throughout the country that have small flocks that are maintained properly and have none of these problems.

It is the experience of thousands that a properly cared for flock of 3 to 6 hens (no roosters) cause less problems with smell, disease, predators, noise, etc. then the same yard with dogs and cats. Improperly cared for chickens should be addressed, but so should the same with dogs and cats that also cause problems when not cared for.

I encourage anyone with concerns about a neighbor raising backyard chickens to visit the residence of someone who is properly caring for a small flock of hens. Talk to their neighbors and see (smell) for yourself if there really are issues. Just make sure you come with an empty egg carton!​

 

[RobotChicken]

If it helps you propose or get chickens allowed here is how the laws boil down here:

6 hens, no roosters.
Must purchase a chicken permit $30, and be registered with the local human society(who also sells the permit, I should also note a dog license costs $10)
Minimum 2 square feet per bird in coop.
Must have inclosed coop that is locked at night.
Coops must be located 15ft from the property line unless neighbor give explicit written permission(which one of my neighbors has done).
No slaughtering of chickens.

Here is an interesting article you can use for some facts at the city council vote:
http://www.5280.com/blog/?p=20475

cliff notes:
14300 animal control calls, 6 relating to chickens. 4 Turned out to be about chicks people purchased as sexed females, but grew up to be male(I should also note our feed store will take roosters and re-home them for free), the other 2 calls were unfounded(though that article does not mention the breakdown of what the calls were for).

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I would have a big problem with some of these. While I would not want to have a permit required, if it IS required, it should be from a government agency NOT from a private organization whose goals I may or may not agree with.

I also disagree with requiring an enclosed coop that is locked at night. It is the responsibility of the person who owns to chickens to ensure that they are kept in a safe manner. If I have dogs or cats or rabbits, do I have to lock them in a kennel/hutch at night? It is reasonable to say that they must be kept in such a manner that they do not become a nuisance for neighbors--running at large (off the owner's property), noise, odor, flies, etc. Telling me exactly HOW i must keep my animals goes too far.

 

[RobotChicken]

Quote:
I would have a big problem with some of these. While I would not want to have a permit required, if it IS required, it should be from a government agency NOT from a private organization whose goals I may or may not agree with.

I also disagree with requiring an enclosed coop that is locked at night. It is the responsibility of the person who owns to chickens to ensure that they are kept in a safe manner. If I have dogs or cats or rabbits, do I have to lock them in a kennel/hutch at night? It is reasonable to say that they must be kept in such a manner that they do not become a nuisance for neighbors--running at large (off the owner's property), noise, odor, flies, etc. Telling me exactly HOW i must keep my animals goes too far.

I guess the idea was that around here the humane society does all the housecalls so to speak. So they would be the ones to get the permitting fees. And to be fair, from over 13000 calls only 6 have been related to chickens, 4 were chicks that turned out to be roosters, and the other 2 were unfounded, so they haven't had to deal with us chicken owners much, and cause problems for us.

And ya, its up to me that I decide to lock them up, I understand why they did it that way, they were thinking that open coops would attract predators at night, so they decided that having us lock them up at night was a good compromise.

What I mostly take exception to is that we are limited to 6 hens, and I want more.

I can own a fully automatic rifle, but I can't own 7 chickens.

 

[PineappleMama]

Wow! That's an amazing letter. Well spoken, honest, and way calmer than I could have managed.

Best Best Best of luck!!

 

[Gnawsey]

Ok the final city council meeting is tomorrow, and it is not sounding good. Our local paper is running a poll to see if people believe the law should be changed to allow backyard hens. I was hoping the fabulous people here would be willing to pad the vote for us. You can find the poll on the bottom right side of the page at this link:

http://thepress.net/

Keep your fingers crossed for us, it sounds like it is going to be an uphill battle.

Stacie