Hello - can't wait to meet you on the 10th. I've forwarded your message to Dolores T-Munoz, the Ward 4 City Councilor and the sponsor of the backyard chicken ordinance. She'd love to join us.
Best,
LaNeia
Best,
LaNeia
Where can I find city ordinance on chickens for Fitchburg, MA
- Thread starter Carlos142
- Start date
Has anyone asked Rosemary Reynolds to the meeting? I believe she is a Representative in the town and she is all for letting families have chickens. If I could be of any help, I live in Leominster and have 9 hens, let me know and I'll try to make the meeting on Monday. There shouldn't be any fines for keeping a few chickens. What would be fun, if all goes well in Fitchburg, would be to hold a chicken coup tour in Leominster & Fitchburg!
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I was wondering how the meeting went last night. I had to work late and was unable to attend. Let me know if I can be of any assistance with this matter in Fitchburg.
Yes, also I was unable to attend - as I seem to have caught a stomach bug. ARGH! Good luck as everyone continues along.
I live in Lynn and I haven't gotten any eighbors to sign anything. Hopefully I don' have to
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/5_us_cities_that_allow_residen.html
Says all you need is a $25 permit
Says all you need is a $25 permit
- Aug 13, 2013
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I am wondering if there are any updates on the situation. My husband and I have been looking into and talking about getting them for a few years (I grew up in Townsend with plenty of land and lots of chickens/goats/etc.)- but we have been trying to figure out how to make it work here in Fitchburg.
No sure what zone we are in (oops!) but we are off Beech st on a tiny dead end road with a little bit of land
No sure what zone we are in (oops!) but we are off Beech st on a tiny dead end road with a little bit of land
The Ward 4 councilor has continued to meet with city officials and present at various council meetings. At the last meeting, for which attending, the vote was held (again) until the Sept City Councilor meeting. You can email Dolores (Ward 4 Councilor) to get the inside skinny and also get involved with the members of the community interested in this effort. There's a lot of misinformation circulating at the council and city officials are not cooperative, so its been an uphill battle. [email protected]
- Aug 13, 2013
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Thanks! I do so wish they would just answer the question...although, I do see the concern (Can't see too much room for them on Main st...). Goodness, how long can they put it off??
So far, the amendment to the zoning ordinance (allowing for backyard chicken keeping on less than 5 acres) does not seem to have the votes to pass. I think the council is pretty much split. There are a few councilors who seem to be on the fence. Main thing is that the Board of Health would like to see this done as a Special Permit, whereby it would be allowed by right in RR zone and by Special Permit in all others (forbidden in the various business and commercial districts).
The problem with special permitting is that there is a $300 fee associated with it. BOH says the fee covers the cost of notifying neighbors and posting to the newspaper, with the main cost being posting to the newspaper. Then, there's a permitting meeting where neighbors have a forum to have concerns addressed. Or, they can not even show up if they have no problem with it.
Up until recently, Leominster allowed for backyard chicken keeping in all districts except commercial/business. Even in their most dense areas, they allowed it. The committee in Fitchburg working on this issue, spoke to BOH in Leominster and they reported NO issues thus far. However, they recently overhauled many of their ordinances and revamped the chicken keeping provisions. Now, they too do it by special permit. The difference there is that their special permits cost $200. Why is Fitchburg's $100 more? Apparently, we use different newspapers - at least that was what we were told.
We asked BOH in Leominster how many people applied for the special permit so far. They said none because everyone is pretty much grandfathered in from the previous way they did it. So unless someone is newly getting chickens, they wouldn't have to do this process.
So we spoke to officials at the City of Somerville - again, to get information for the council. Somerville treats this like a dog license. Residents come down, apply, submit some basic information, watch an educational video and pay $25 and get their permit. So far, they've only had 2 permits issued.
Fitchburg BOH doesn't want to do it this way b/c they say it allows for everyone to have chickens and doesn't give them the authority to deny someone.
The committee working on this issue in Fitchburg (I have attended most, but not all meetings), is only opposed to the permitting process proposed by BOH because of the cost. And it would not be $300 and the end of the story. It would be $300 every 5 years. Seems a bit expensive for a few chickens.
To let you know, there are already members of the community with less than 5acres keeping chickens and BOH already knows this. They are ignored up until someone complains. We know someone who has a problem with their neighbor and he complains constantly. However, she has more than 5 acres and so when the claims turn out to be unfounded, they are ignored by BOH. But what if this happens to someone who is illegally keeping chickens? If by chance a new grumpy neighbor moves into the neighborhood and complains because they can?
So it is a bit of a risk to begin chicken keeping if you aren't certain your neighbors will continue to be on board.
Anyway, you should email Dolores and try to attend one of the meetings for the committee b/c they need other voices. I think if anything, at least RR should have the ability to raise chickens. At the very least...I would say.
The problem with special permitting is that there is a $300 fee associated with it. BOH says the fee covers the cost of notifying neighbors and posting to the newspaper, with the main cost being posting to the newspaper. Then, there's a permitting meeting where neighbors have a forum to have concerns addressed. Or, they can not even show up if they have no problem with it.
Up until recently, Leominster allowed for backyard chicken keeping in all districts except commercial/business. Even in their most dense areas, they allowed it. The committee in Fitchburg working on this issue, spoke to BOH in Leominster and they reported NO issues thus far. However, they recently overhauled many of their ordinances and revamped the chicken keeping provisions. Now, they too do it by special permit. The difference there is that their special permits cost $200. Why is Fitchburg's $100 more? Apparently, we use different newspapers - at least that was what we were told.
We asked BOH in Leominster how many people applied for the special permit so far. They said none because everyone is pretty much grandfathered in from the previous way they did it. So unless someone is newly getting chickens, they wouldn't have to do this process.
So we spoke to officials at the City of Somerville - again, to get information for the council. Somerville treats this like a dog license. Residents come down, apply, submit some basic information, watch an educational video and pay $25 and get their permit. So far, they've only had 2 permits issued.
Fitchburg BOH doesn't want to do it this way b/c they say it allows for everyone to have chickens and doesn't give them the authority to deny someone.
The committee working on this issue in Fitchburg (I have attended most, but not all meetings), is only opposed to the permitting process proposed by BOH because of the cost. And it would not be $300 and the end of the story. It would be $300 every 5 years. Seems a bit expensive for a few chickens.
To let you know, there are already members of the community with less than 5acres keeping chickens and BOH already knows this. They are ignored up until someone complains. We know someone who has a problem with their neighbor and he complains constantly. However, she has more than 5 acres and so when the claims turn out to be unfounded, they are ignored by BOH. But what if this happens to someone who is illegally keeping chickens? If by chance a new grumpy neighbor moves into the neighborhood and complains because they can?
So it is a bit of a risk to begin chicken keeping if you aren't certain your neighbors will continue to be on board.
Anyway, you should email Dolores and try to attend one of the meetings for the committee b/c they need other voices. I think if anything, at least RR should have the ability to raise chickens. At the very least...I would say.
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