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After talking to members of our local council and zoning and ordinance committees, I know you are exactly right. It is a way to ban without have to explicitly state that the animals are banned.
I've also been told that
1. It only regulates animals that live outside (if you want to keep a horse in your living room, well that's okay!)
2. They're only coming out if a neighbor complains. Well, I have a neighbor that will okay everything that's discussed with her and then have an official complaint filed by morning.
Until recently, the little town my family lives in only had ordinances to deal with dogs. Six people currently own chickens and a few more want to and so the town has decided they should regulate this before it gets sticky. Their proposed setbacks would have my future coop and my current rabbit hutches in the middle of the yard, in full sun. Plus, the amount of 'backyard' animals would be limited to six total, so four rabbits and two chickens, or a similar combination.
I think it's a little silly.
They
seem to appreciate our opinions, but I can't help but be suspicious, especially since there has been an admission that setbacks are meant to be an effective ban. It seems shady to me and, perhaps because I'm a bit bubbleheaded, I don't understand, nor do I like, people who can't just say what they mean and would rather beat around the bush.
I have a dog the size of a pony that leaves piles the size of a baby (which we pick up, but still, it smells far worse than a barnyard) a neighbor that feeds stray cats who then spend the rest of the evening trying to claw through my rabbit hutches, another neighbor that leaves their teeny, tiny dog out all day to yap, incessantly AND we live on a busy street with never ending traffic noise... and they're worried about counting my chickens?!
ETA: Sorry about the rant. I really don't mind ordinances. I appreciate them and understand that they are meant to protect property value (among other things) -- we've been chastised for not mowing our lawn before, and we deserved it, no matter what our circumstances were at the time, we should have found a way to handle the situation--- I don't understand why they can't just deal with the nuisances and leave the responsible people be.
Convict me for what I've done, not what you think I'll do.
