"People in our neighborhood don't want chickens"...

[jbher]

Hi there! I have a group trying to get our ordinance changed as well - our group is www.facebook.com/HudsonUrbanChickens
We are in the early stages and our first council meeting is on May 9th during the Public Safety meeting. There are 6 council members that will eventually have to vote on an ordinance change, barring we get that far. We would need 4 out of 6 to vote for it. A member of our facebook group contacted her alderperson and wrote me last night saying this:
"I talked to my alder person today and she said she was thinking of sending out a feeler email to our district to help her decide. She said there was a lot people who do not want chickens in their neighborhood. But if they knew the benefits and the truth about chickens maybe they would not mind."
Do you know what is a good comeback for the VERY common "a lot of people don't want chickens in their neighborhood." ? I have a feeling this will come up often... and I have read so much but I want to know from experience or advice on the best way to handle the "neighborhood" issue... or assumption that everyone is against chickens in their neighborhood - obviously, most people just don't know enough about chickens to base anything on.
Thanks so much!!!

 

[jflower]

Maybe you could ask the alderperson to include in her "feeler" email the pros and cons of owning chickens and some benefits to the community or neighbors. I think that most objections would be due to the noise of roosters or smell from unkept coops/runs. Maybe the ordinance could include code for odors or not allow roosters.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The very obvious comeback is to ask how she knows that many people do not want them? How often has she discussed the topic with how many residents?

The only way to really gauge the interest, the lack thereof or actual animosity to the idea is a statistically representative poll, and I will bet that that has not been done, especially if the topic has not come up to the council before.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I agree with Sonoran, people love to spout generalities like that. You have to pin them down and ask them to quantify their statemments with facts/proof, not just hear say, or what they THINK people will say.

 

[jacr]

Tell them they eat hundreds of mosquitos in one day! Also if you have no roosters which usually is the ordinance in the city, they make little noise.

 

[RJSchaefer]

How big is the neighborhood? Do you already have a petition beyond your group? If possible, I'd write up a brief petition and go door to door in the area. Be very objective. If someone doesn't agree, ask the reasons why. Then use that information to decide if you should move forward or not.