Received Bad Information~from Legal to Illegal in a Hearbeat What now?

[Hatrick]

Wow I shouldn't have read this so early in the morning. My head is spinning?

I can't quite wrap my head around the "conflict" you see in the by-law but I'm just glad you see one!
So if I wanted to prepare myself to get the bylaw changed, how do I go about doing it?

 

[lelisabeth]

Quote:
I have a suggestion, which will be contested by some, I'm sure. I started researching my local laws, and finding fellow chicken owners before I got my girls. I was told conflicting information from Zoning and Animal Control, but it all boiled down to chickens being illegal in the city of Springfield. I know that both parties were just interpreting the law as they saw it, but when I researched it myself I realized they were right about them not being allowed. I began to draft an ordinance to amend the current ordinance, made a chicken brochure (pros and cons) and then sat down and really thought about it. I realized there were going to be a lot of people against my proposal, and probably many for it. I considered my neighbors and figured they wouldn't turn me in. I talked to my neighbors, and most of them fully supported me getting chickens. Then I considered the consiquences of getting caught, and they are really not bad at all.

Long story short, I have a draft ordinance prepared in case I ever do get caught, but I have my girls, and my neighbors love them. I live on a tiny urban lot, could practically touch my neighbor's house from inside my own

so obviously my neighbors hear my girls. I think as long as you tell the neighbors, and talk to them about it, give them eggs, etc. you'll be better off lying low and waiting to get caught. Be prepared for when it happens, and find out who you will need to go to with your amendment to the ordinance, but don't do anything yet. There are people in my city who have had chickens for YEARS, and yet, the Animal Control venomately (sp?) stated that they are prohibited (they even wanted to know who I knew that had them!).

If you do go to the city to find out how to change the ordinance, it will bring you up on their radar, and suddenly the opposition may come out of the woodwork. It has happened elsewhere where the ordinance was changed to PROHIBIT chickens, just because chicken-owners tried to make the ordinance more chicken-friendly.

Our city allows us 10 days to get rid of our chickens before we are fined $50 a day (or something like that). I think if you begin fighting that you are granted an extension until it is resolved.

Anyway, welcome to the chicken-underground!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

So Hatrick,
What is the size of your lot? It's all great information but you're in "not quite at picky as the US", Canada, that's a GOOD thing, it's been my experience laws like these truly are more "lax" than US. Even in the event you are challenged by someone, you can go to planning and zoning committee, state your case with pics of your place and they seem to always make exception no matter what the "ordinace" says. All my peeps (not the bird ones) are Canadian and Alaskan and we've dealt with this stuff alot (had my horse challenged).... I seriously doubt you'll ever have to get rid of your chickens so my advice is not to sweat it.....

 

[lelisabeth]

Quote:
Agreed! Don't try to fix it until it becomes a problem!

 

[19hhbelgian]

Where I am, we say it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission... That's where I stand on the issue

 

[Hatrick]

I will take that quote with me, however I will not teach it to my children. LOL!

My beautiful girls spent their first night in their coop and...IT RAINED! I didn't sleep.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think we're going to stick to creative hiding and egg bribery for now and hope for the best!
Maybe I'll get myself a manatee and then the chickens won't seem so bad!