York City Pa

[Boots717]

Chickens are illegal within the city limits of York Pa. I have been talking to a friend of mine on city council to try to change this, But i need help. Maybe so other people who live in york city or some people who have been in my situation before and got a new law passed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[salome1]

Hi, Boots--Just joined tonight; we're in York too (North York borough); what can I do to help? NYB's ordinances state that if you have a 10,000 sq ft yard or bigger, you may keep 1-2 fowl--chickens, ducks, pigeons...I don't know if the ordinances vary much from one municipality to the next, but I would love to see it changed, also. It seems silly to permit keeping pigeons and pot-bellied pigs (which are allowed in the city), but not allow a few hens, if properly kept. Anyway, please let me know what I can do to help out--petitions, letters, talking with city council, whatever! Surely we can make it happen

 

[Lurch77]

The #1 issue with urban chickens (backyard chickens) is the myths associated with them. Uninformed people think that keeping a small number of chickens in your backyard is going to cause noise, smells, disease, and other nuisances. The first thing you need to do is educate people with what is myth and what is fact. The more effort you put into that education, the more likely you will succeed. Start by doing a web search for "backyard chicken myth vs fact". You'll find that many of the search results come from others that have done exactly what you are trying to do.

The next thing you should do is study all the cities around you that do allow chickens. What are their ordinances like? How long have they allowed them? Have there been any issues? You can find much of this online with diligent web searches.

Good luck with your mission. I am currently doing the same thing in my small city, trying to get them legalized.

 

[salome1]

Thank you for the encouraging words! I hope we can change it; it seems ridiculous to me that York allows pigeon keeping, and you can have a pot-bellied pig, but not hens. And if it's a health issue, why is it still OK to smoke cigarettes in your yard? Or not wear a helmet riding your motorcycle? Surely a few hens, well kept, couldn't be a health hazard...anyway, going to try to sway City Hall; thanks again!

 

[Boots717]

Thank you for the encouraging words! I hope we can change it; it seems ridiculous to me that York allows pigeon keeping, and you can have a pot-bellied pig, but not hens. And if it's a health issue, why is it still OK to smoke cigarettes in your yard? Or not wear a helmet riding your motorcycle? Surely a few hens, well kept, couldn't be a health hazard...anyway, going to try to sway City Hall; thanks again!

Hello Salome! I apologize for the late response. If you are interested in helping Me and a friend of mine have been attending the city council meetings. We've been getting ll of our facts together and we have two weeks to draft legislation. If you are interested we have created a face book croup called "Legalize Chickens in York city" we intend on keeping all of the members posted on meetings and we are open to any ideas. What we need right now is a few city residents willing to attend the next city council meeting with us to fill out request and speak on the behalf of legalizing backyard chickens in the city. My friend and I will be speaking and making sure all of the facts are set before the council. The biggest problem we are facing at the moment is time. The City council will be going on recess at the end of may. If you would like to attend the meeting it is tuesday the 15th and general questioning starts at 6:30. We are going to get there early so we can make sure our request forms and copies of the new legislation are in the councils hands. I will be sure to start looking into North York's codified ordinances and we can see what we can do there. I think if the city legalizes it or vice versa it should be a breeze.

 

[salome1]

Hi again! I would love to come along; I'm not much of a speaker, but I can string together a coherent answer if asked any questions, and I'll definitely give all the support I can. Is the meeting at City Hall? I work down in MD, but I can get off early for something important like this. Thanks for letting me know! So many benefits to be had from allowing this, and York does seem to want to pride itself on being environmentally conscientious

 

[Boots717]

Yes it will be at city hall at 101 south George Street. We are also meeting monday the 7th evening at the White rose at 6:30 to discuss our full game plan. We'd love for you to join if at all possible.

 

[salome1]

Probably can't make the 7th, but I will definitely come on the 15th...would be so worth it if we could bet this changed! According the the ordinances, pigeons are permitted...I really can't see where hens could be much of a problem if pigeons are OK!