- Jun 2, 2009
- 6
- 0
- 7
...this is what happened.
Hello, my name is Jenny. We live in the city of Chanhassen, Minnesota. Our city planning commission was reviewing ordinances that includes keeping of animals (farm animals, animals of prey, wild animals) on residential property.
Current city regulations do not define "farm animal". Due to recent requests for keeping chickens, bees, goats, and other types of animals, there was determined a need for better guidelines. The discussion among commission members was broad in scope, and did not include a lot of detail with regards to chickens specifically. When opened for public hearing, my husband and I were the only attending residents there to speak on behalf of the subject matter.
I introduced that my background with raising chickens through 4-H and interest in having more sustainable and organic practices were in part what caused us to seek raisng chickens as pets.
We recently took a class called "rasing chickens in the backyard", offered through the public parks system. The instructor had raised chickens in the urban area of Minneapolis successfully, and he spoke about regulations in the cities that were represented by those attending. (Ours being the only locality that did not "permit" chickens did not hinder us from our desire to raise a few chickens as pets.) Facts that I presented included that many cities in Minnesota allow keeping of chickens with permission from a majority of neighbors and annual permit application. Additionally, the current trends to seek local food sources, allow for sustainable and organic practices in our home, and show respect for treatment of animals were highlighted.
The planning commission debated the pros and cons of keeping animals that were not typically defined as "pets" and where to draw the line, on what types of animals should be allowable, and for what purpose. Also debated was the "type" of community that our city wants to be classified as. When up for vote, the recommendation was to NOT allow for relaxation of the ordinance, 3 to 2. This goes up for public vote in the city council on June 22, and we will attend to speak again for our cause.
Any thoughts or moral support for this? Thanks for letting me vent.
Hello, my name is Jenny. We live in the city of Chanhassen, Minnesota. Our city planning commission was reviewing ordinances that includes keeping of animals (farm animals, animals of prey, wild animals) on residential property.
Current city regulations do not define "farm animal". Due to recent requests for keeping chickens, bees, goats, and other types of animals, there was determined a need for better guidelines. The discussion among commission members was broad in scope, and did not include a lot of detail with regards to chickens specifically. When opened for public hearing, my husband and I were the only attending residents there to speak on behalf of the subject matter.
I introduced that my background with raising chickens through 4-H and interest in having more sustainable and organic practices were in part what caused us to seek raisng chickens as pets.
We recently took a class called "rasing chickens in the backyard", offered through the public parks system. The instructor had raised chickens in the urban area of Minneapolis successfully, and he spoke about regulations in the cities that were represented by those attending. (Ours being the only locality that did not "permit" chickens did not hinder us from our desire to raise a few chickens as pets.) Facts that I presented included that many cities in Minnesota allow keeping of chickens with permission from a majority of neighbors and annual permit application. Additionally, the current trends to seek local food sources, allow for sustainable and organic practices in our home, and show respect for treatment of animals were highlighted.
The planning commission debated the pros and cons of keeping animals that were not typically defined as "pets" and where to draw the line, on what types of animals should be allowable, and for what purpose. Also debated was the "type" of community that our city wants to be classified as. When up for vote, the recommendation was to NOT allow for relaxation of the ordinance, 3 to 2. This goes up for public vote in the city council on June 22, and we will attend to speak again for our cause.
Any thoughts or moral support for this? Thanks for letting me vent.
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