Raising the chicken limit in the city of Gainesville, Fl

[cowchipss]

Howdy All,

I'm in the beginning stages of going through the process of requesting more chickens be allowed in Gainesville, Fl City Limits. Currently within the city of Gainesville, Fl you are allowed to have 2 hens, they cannot crow, and they prefer them not to roam.

Recently, county planners proposed changes to allow agricultural activities in urban unincorporated areas bordering Gainesville:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110722/articles/110729806

"The county's current proposal, which is part of a larger update of the land development code that will go to a County Commission vote in upcoming months, would allow residents of single-family residential zoning districts to keep as many as six chickens for their personal use. There are conditions. No roosters allowed. Chickens must be kept in a coop overnight and not cause a public nuisance through odor or other problems."

However, this does not change the ordinance for people living within the city.

I would like to see at least 8 chickens allowed in the city but I don't know how well that would fly since the bordering areas where just only allowed 6......

I've spoken with a city commissioner who is planning to put this topic on the agenda for an upcoming city council meeting and get back to me about the date of that meeting. In the meantime, he recommended that I find support within the community. My plan is to start using social networking, namely facebook. This should be easy since I am already "following" and "like" many local groups on facebook that would likely support this movement such as: the local feed store, the local organic pet store, gardening groups, the local 4-H poultry group, and of course the Backyard Chickens of Gainesville Florida. I'm trying to come up with a name that explains the purpose in the title, where I can inform others of the purpose in more detail, gather local support, and update with information on upcoming city council meetings. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.

So far a friend and I have come up with:

Raise The Backyard Chicken Limit

Egg On Backyard Chickens

Championing Chickens in Gainesville

Allow More Chickens in Gainesville

City Chickens in Gainesville

Own More Chickens in Gainesville

Growing Gainesville Chickens

So far, nothing has jumped out at me. I'm itching to get this going though. Once I get the facebook page named and designed I'm planning on posting it on the facebook pages & bulletin boards around town. The local feed store is selling chicks through the end of this month so it's a perfect time to put a flier up there. Thanks in advance to all that are able to provide feedback and/or support. I look forward to your input.

 

[FireTigeris]

Well the one for Jacksonville FL is "Hens 4 Jax"...

You might want a per household member limit- then larger family can stay in eggs , three hens PER household member would work out well to keep everyone in one-three eggs every day.

"Fulfilling the household consumption of egg every morning..." or some such.

Now if you want to bake, skip breakfast eggs I guess.

 

[cowchipss]

FireTigeris I like that "Hens" are included in the name because that seems to be on of the biggest oppositions to keeping city chickens: loudness related to roosters. Having "hens" in the title could work to calm fears of roosters crowing at all hours of the day. Hmmmm....

Hens in Gainesville
Gainesville for More Hens
Allow More Hens in Gainesville

I feel like I've writers block for a clever group name..... but maybe it doesn't need to be clever and just informative.

That is an interesting point about allowing chickens per person. It promotes or ties in with the sustainable living movement. However, I could see that being a problem because you may have a larger family living on a smaller lot. It would be hard to argue that a household of 6 should be allowed to have 18 chickens if they lived on a smaller lot. It seems that the ordinances and their criteria vary widely though so it could be an angle to play. I found and liked the "Hens in Jax" group.

Again, anyone with experience, thoughts, opinions please let me(us) know about it.

 

[FireTigeris]

Well Gainesville should be in the title and Hens...

Questions you answer:

Who- Gainsville
What- Hens
When- Now
How- Legally
To What extent/ Under what conditions - limit based on size of land OR number of people, whichever comes first (?)

For a title answer

Who, What, How ?

 

[k3llyVA]

Hello from Arlington VA, where we are trying to get zoning ordinances changed so that we can have backyard chickens too!

I'm involved with a group called The Arlington Egg Project that is working to have the county ordinances modified to allow a limited number of hens (no roosters). Check out their website: http://www.arlingtoneggproject.org You might get some ideas from their approach even though Gainesville does already allow for two hens. There is also a Facebook page- Legalize Chickens in Arlington.

As for your group's name- I agree that having "Hens" in the name is a good idea. "Eggs" is working well for Arlington because it focuses on one of the benefits of keeping chickens. "City" may be a good word to keep on your short list, because you are acknowledging that it is in the city that folks want to keep a few hens- you're not trying to turn your city into farmland, but accommodating backyard hens into a more urban environment.

Good luck!

 

[cowchipss]

Hello k3llyVA,

I appreciate the link to your group. It is wonderful to have so many good examples to reference for ideas.

I asked my father if he had any ideas because he's always been good with one liners and he replied "What about: Friends of Hens?". I could make it: Gainesville Friends of Hens. I know it isn't as informative as some of the other names but it rolls off the tongue and promotes a positive and friendly message.

 

[superspeedkit]

Could we do "Gainesville Friends of Hens: Raising the City Limit"? I'm stoked that you are doing this. Let me know if I can help.

 

[rightcoast]

Saw the group in today's paper! Anyone interested in raising the limit should come to city hall at 630 pm this thursday.

July 25 at 6:30pm
City Hall at 200 E. University Avenue.

https://www.facebook.com/events/679214545438115/?ref=3

 

[pickledpurls]

Will try to rearrange my schedule to be there. This is the first I have heard of an organization for chicken keeping in Gainesville! Would be nice to be able to have an extra hen or two.

 

[cowchipss]

Do you have a Facebook account? There is a group on FB called Backyard Chickens of Gainesville and their is a page called Gainesville Friends of Hens were updates about the city meetings get posted. :}