Hi Karin,
No bylaws were passed to this date. Not dead in the water yet, though.
Original proposal applies to properties of 2 acres or less only.
They wanted to following:
No more then 6 poultry per 1/4 acre, properties under 1/4 acre could have 4 poultry.
No roosters
manure to be kept in watertight/well ventilated concrete bin.
After the first board of selectman meeting, we formed a group to discuss these bylaws.
Got the bylaw proposal changed to 12 poultry per 1/4 acre
no roosters
manure storage was gone
Neither bylaw passed the board of selectman.
Board of health is supposed to meet oct 12th, we are planning to attend this meeting.
Goal is to come up with rules/regulations to address to issues that forced people to suggest a bylaw, and skip the bylaw all together.
As in many towns, it seems that there's very few chicken owners in Plymouth who cause a problem, but we would all be penalized over these few.
So issues to be addressed are
Incessant crowing of roosters, especially at night
Smells from non-kept coops
Rodents/vermin infestations
And penalties that board of health can impose, including removal of poultry/roosters, monetary fines for repeat offenders.
Arguments that were used by chicken owners were:
Sustainable flock, 6 chickens is just not enough
Health benefits of these eggs vs store bought eggs
Poultry is broad based. a bantam chicken vs ducks or geese
Well kept coops don't smell
Water tight/ventilated container increased the smells problem
Well managed roosters/flocks don't crow that much
Most stores don't even sell 6 chicks or less
These chickens and roosters are pets to many
......
Heated arguments on both sides.
I think everyone is in agreement a bylaw isn't necessarily bad. It just needs to be a good one.
Hope this answers your question. Let me know what Brockton is doing.
Sandy
