What do you do to change laws or get permission?

First get a copy of the applicable bylaw and see for yourself what exactly it says. Read it thoroughly, the definitions and everything. Find out all you can about it, the person you spoke to may be misinformed. If there are stipulations in place which make it impossible for most people to comply, you can get chickens anyway and hope no one complains, or you can work with your town and educate them and hopefully get the bylaw changed. Our city bylaw states that it's illegal to keep chickens unless you have permission from the city manager. We are using that clause to spearhead a pilot project proposal which, if approved, we hope will lead to getting the bylaw changed.