Sanford, NC family fined $1300 day for chickens!Update She Found US!!!

[Alexcritter]

I am in the process of sending all that out. GMA for example you contact online and then they want you to snail mail more info to them

I found this video..........it was on CNN and fox. She lost in the end.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/14598161/index.html

 

[goldnchocolate]

Quote:
This link isn't working for me...is anyone else having the same problem?

 

[silkhope]

I voted too!!!! I wish you lots of luck with this!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
This link isn't working for me...is anyone else having the same problem?

I had no problem lastnight. Try highlighting it, copying it, and pasting it into your web browser. Sometimes this will work if a link doesn't.

 

[wishin4chicken]

I just tried voting and the page that came up said that the Sanford Harold computers are not working right now. Ha! I'll bet you guys have overwhelmed them!

 

[nccountrygirl]

Keep trying, I just tried to vote again and it was working fine for me.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

To the Council members of the City of Sanford:

I am writing to you from the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in response to an issue there that seems to be attracting a fair amount of national attention. Recently, a family from the Sanford area was warned that they will be fined $1,300 if they do not give up their backyard chickens, hens that were considered family pets. While I understand that the birds in question were kept despite current Sanford city ordinances, I am hoping that my letter will inspire you to rethink the rules to the benefit of this family and other families in your area.

It is probably not surprising to you, the Council members, that the question of whether or not to allow residents to keep backyard chickens is a question that other city councils and township boards across the United States have been facing in recent years. Interestingly enough, this is not a new trend nor an unusual one. In fact, according to the Urban Chicken Movement (http://urbanchickens.org) and other chicken-related websites, keeping backyard chickens is a hobby that is shared by tens of thousands of families across the United States, including many families in urban and suburban areas, and celebrities, for example Martha Stewart (you can read her blog praising her backyard flock here: http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/martha/2008/01/look-at-all-the.html).

There are many reasons why families are moving to adding a handful of hens to the pet collection alongside Fido, Fluffy, and Goldie the Goldfish. Chickens are beneficial economically, are entertaining and educational, and easy to care for.

One of the many crises facing this country recently is rising energy prices. In a trend that hearkens back to the Great Depression, families across the nation are swapping out their dahlias and impatiens for green pepper and tomato plants, in an effort to combat the rising costs of food. The addition of a small flock of backyard chickens gives a family a pet that does more than eat the food the family provides it. Most hens lay an egg each day, and with only five birds, a family can receive several dozen eggs each week as a return on their investment. Here in Grand Rapids, eggs currently cost about $2.75 per dozen. With backyard chickens, the money saved from each dozen of eggs can go back into the local economy, adding gas to the tank and supporting local entertainment businesses that are suffering more and more as families look for ways to cut back. I would think that an informed City Council would recognize the national economic crisis and put a plan in place that would allow families to do whatever they can to assist themselves economically, including keeping backyard chickens.

Keeping chickens is an entertaining and educational pursuit for urban families. Many urban and suburban children do not know the true origins of the food they eat. Children who keep chickens and who are responsible for their care, with their parents' guidance, learn a lot! One of the interesting facts about chickens they will learn is that hens will start and continue to lay eggs daily without a rooster present at all. (Caged battery hens, those that usually provide the eggs found in grocery stores, have never seen a rooster in their lives!). There are also hundreds of beautiful and ornamental breeds of chickens to choose from, each with their own distinct appearances, histories and personalities. Many breeds of chicken are known for their calmness and docility, making them excellent pet birds for families with children because they are much safer for children than the larger breeds of parrots.

Any properly-cared for pet requires four basic things: food, water, shelter, and cleanliness. These are the four basic needs of chickens, as well. Most communities that have regulations allowing a small flock of backyard chickens have ordinances requiring that the chicken coop be built in an attractive fashion complimentary to the house, require that the chickens are fenced in to discourage any predators already lurking in the neighborhood (such as opossums or raccoons), and require that the chicken owners keep the coop clean and presentable by disposing of waste in a responsible manner. These rules are no different than those already in place in many communities for the care of other backyard pets such as dogs. Many creative and forward-thinking communities, such as Portland, Oregon (http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php), have regulations that you may be interested in researching as you consider the development of ordinances supporting backyard chickens in your community. The site of the Urban Chicken Movement (http://urbanchickens.org) also has a wealth of resources available to help you with this.

I hope that my letter has given you, the Sanford City Council, reassurance that you are not the first city council in the nation to be facing a decision concerning the keeping of backyard chickens. Before you make your decision, however, I hope you first become informed on the many positive benefits a small flock of backyard chickens can provide for each family in your city who chooses to keep them. I urge you to visit some of the websites I have cited in my letter and to call council members from other cities that have voted in favor of urban chickens. You will learn how you can easily regulate chickens to provide a beneficial, educated, and thoughtful resolution for all parties involved.

I look forward to following the results of your decision as they are reported in nationally-available news sources.

Sincerely and respectfully,

(I included my name, home address and the address of the school where I teach).​

 

[nccountrygirl]

That was very well written Chicken Lady. Go BYC

 

[Julie08]

I voted this morning worked fine for me. Good luck! Everyone else is right how dare we provide outside activities for children where they learn about life, death, respect for both, respect for nature, respect for where our food comes from. How dare the city tell you you can't keep an animal that provides healthy food to feed your family!! Kids learn a sense of responsibility as well taking care of animals.

 

[Wildsky]

www.SanfordHerald.com

Voted again this morning its around 80%/20%