Hey all,
Got this in my email box today. It would be good to comment to them.
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Citizens,
Do you keep chickens, think you might in the future, just like the idea of producing your own food, or know someone who does? A new ordinance regarding keeping of chickens for egg production by Salt Lake City residents has been proposed. Even if you are not a Salt Lake City resident, the County and other cities including West Valley and Ogden are looking at SLC for guidance on this.
The Salt Lake City Council is currently accepting any and all comments on the issue by phone, fax, e-mail, and in person. In addition, there will be a formal Council public hearing on the ordinance on Nov. 5, at the City and County Building, 451 S. State Street, Room 315, at 7 p.m. Any person can provide comments before that meeting, and all comments will be shared with the Council. The more comments the better. The proposed ordinance is available for review and comment on the City Council website at
http://www.slcgov.com/council/ .
We are grateful to the City Council for their support of urban chickens, though there are concerns:
-Policy Issue #3 on the Council Memo indicates that any distance between the coop and dwelling is not scientifically validated to deter rodents. Rodents have a greater range of travel than the 25 or 50 feet that the proposed ordinance imposes. With the cleaning, sanitation, and rodent-proof standards in place, any distance requirement between the dwelling on the property and the coop serves no purpose and creates an unnecessary burden.
-Further, an allowance for the keeping of coops against living structures would require less energy to keep the birds warm in winter, ensuring better health for the birds and their caretakers.
-The current proposal of a 50 foot distance from coop to the dwellings of neighbors would not allow coops on a property with a typical 25 foot backyard, adjoining a neighbor to the back with the same yard size (i.e. 50 feet between houses). A distance requirement from the living structures of neighbors of 20 feet is sufficient to alleviate nuisance issues and to allow coops in 25 foot backyards.
-The ordinance as currently drafted would not permit chickens to be on a lot smaller than 5,000 square feet (.11 acres) in size. This relationship to land size discourages the keeping of chickens by lower-income families (who need inexpensive and healthy eggs the most). The new ordinance requires a coop size of 2 to 6 square feet per bird and has distance requirements from living structures of neighbors, so lot size should not even be a consideration.
-The ordinance significantly decreases the current limit of 25 hens, again based arbitrarily on lot size.
-Roosters currently cared for by residents will be outlawed, and likely destroyed. Roosters should be allowed in some cases, and certainly for those younger than 4 months, which are hard to distinguish from hens. We should allow one per household subject to nuisance regulations, or mandate a distance of 100 feet from any neighbors house. If these suggestions aren't sufficient, a separate breeding ordinance should be passed, and current roosters should be protected.
-Slaughtering will continue to be prohibited. Those who raise chickens for egg production should have the option to bear this responsibility. The raising of chickens for meat sales should be discouraged.
-Many cities allow the keeping of hens without a permit. The City should assess whether the revenue generated from current permits justifies the permitting process. It may be far more beneficial to inspect coops than to license chickens.
It's helpful to provide your comment in written form with bullet points for each separate concern. Here are some links to more info:
http://wasatchgardens.wordpress.com/
http://madcitychickens.com/faq.html
http://www.catalystmagazine.net/com...7-/549-salt-lake-county-vs-the-little-red-hen
Thank you for taking the time to comment on this issue and be sure to attend the Public Hearing on November 5th!
The Citizens for Sustainability Board
[email protected]
www.manyone.net/cfs
