City Hens in Roeland Park and the North East Animal Control Commission

At the last Roeland Park City Council meeting discussion regarding backyard hens and the permit, comments were made about how much it would cost to enforce codes(suggested per incident fee for chicken calls**) and that animal control would pass calls on to our Police Dept (because NEACC only handles wild or domestic animal calls)---wait a minute--aren't chickens members of one of those two categories?

The link leads you to the code that creates the commission and outlines its budget procedure, how the cities pay them (RP share is $54,000) and its role in animal control for the communities it serves. Take a read and be informed about this particular item that was brought up for discussion at the last meeting. 

There are several steps:

Go to: http://www.roelandpark.net/codes/CODES.html

then to the left click on the first item "New Ordinances Adopted..." 

then click on # 802...you are at the code.

**We have posted the comments from three other cities citing very little if any impact on their Animal Control Departments in a previous post.

In the Issue of Extra Animal Code Enforcement Expense

Code Enforcement:  In my research I found over and over again commentary by pleasantly surprised public officials who reported little or no increase in animal nuisance call.  Three communities: Longmont, CO;  Montgomery, OH, and Columbia, MO, all have stated publicly that they have few if any complaints. 

Regarding the extra cost of animal control,  

Were they (the NEAC) presented with the fact that virtually no code violations have been a problem in cities across the nation who have good hen / animal keeping ordinances? 

Relevant information: Here are 3 examples of surprised government officials who have see virtually no animal control expense increase in their communities.

Code Enforcement and Burdens on Government

According to the Montgomery Police, Montgomery hasn’t received a chicken‐related
complaint since the 70s, when a family in the Shadowhill neighborhood kept a
rooster and the city received noise‐related complaints. We know that there are at
least two families in Montgomery keeping chickens currently; the police have
received no complaints.

Currently both Madeira and Wyoming allow chickens (under similar ordinances to Montgomery’s current ordinance), do have households raising chickens, and have no complaints related to chickens. There is no reason to believe that chickens in Montgomery will generate any more complaints than those in Madeira and Wyoming.

CFM’s Proposed Ordinance forbids roosters and doesn’t require inspections or

permits. Such an ordinance will generate no significant burden on government. In the absence of complaints – which experience both here in Montgomery and in similar communities such as Wyoming and Madeira has shown is the likeliest outcome – will generate NO burden on government.

The chickens are popular among the family’s neighbors. When one recently
expressed an interest in raising chickens herself, Cati O’Keefe decided she’d better
check into the legalities before giving any advice. It costs quite a bit in both money
and time to get started, and while she’d been willing to risk it herself based on her
own perusal of online ordinances, she didn’t want to take that risk for anyone else.

Her inquiry sparked this new ordinance. The police, far from having received any
complaints, were unaware there were chickens being kept in Montgomery. CFM has
since learned of another household in a neighborhood not far from City Hall keeping
chickens. They prefer to remain under the radar, though, as they and their
neighbors are very attached to their hens. Montgomery, OH Ordinance proposal 

Outlaw chickens  http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/7759/2010/04/16/city-chicks-whats-happened-since-the-backyard-birds-became-legal/

In the first two months since the chicken ordinance passed, there were only two substantiated complaints about violations, according to the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Gerry Worley, an environmental health manager who is in charge of animal control for the city, said one involved the Hong Kong Market. The business had ducks — which are illegal — mixed in with chickens, but the fowl were all gone when it came time for the two-week follow-up inspection.

The other complaint was against a West Ash resident who, his neighbors said, allowed his chickens to fly the coop and trespass into their yard. His court date was set for March 19, but the city prosecutor declined to prosecute the case.

Two complaints in two months isn’t too bad, said Worley, who is also working on a plan to address what to do with “unwanted” chickens. 

http://www.dailycamera.com/longmont-news/ci_16539044

LONGMONT -- All that talk that backyard chickens would produce more work for this city's code-enforcement and animal-control officers turns out to be nothing more than clucking.

A report presented by the Longmont city staff to the City Council last week said that since February 2009, when backyard chickens were first allowed on a trial basis, the effect on the workload of code-enforcement and animal-control officers has been nil.

"The biggest concern was the impact on animal-control officers, but almost two years later, they're saying it really hasn't been a problem for them," said Longmont City Planner Ben Ortiz.

After hearing the report and strong support from residents Tuesday night, the council voted 4-3 in favor of extending the city's chicken ordinance and removing the limit on the number of permits that can be issued. Mayor Bryan Baum and council members Gabe Santos and Alex Sammoury dissented.
Read more: Despite earlier brooding, backyard chickens cause few problems in Longmont - Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/longmont-news/ci_16539044#ixzz17NAwh0OR
DailyCamera.com

Yes and, or yes, but...

The time is here.  We get to have an honest and fair discussion about keeping backyard hens in Roeland Park.  City chickens are finding homes all across America as citizens are taking back their personal power of choice in the foods they eat and the lifestyle they enjoy.  Wellness conscious and environmentally aware urban and suburban citizens are greening their footprints and closing the sustainability loop in their own back yards with organic gardens, composting and in some cases micro-flocks of hens. Lets work together and get a good backyard hen ordinance for our city!

July/August 2010 Ode Magazine’s one last thing interviewed Berhold Bunster. Let's consider adopting his attitude:

“Yes and’ people invent the airplane;

 “yes, but’ people invent the parachute.”

http://www.odemagazine.com/ for the whole conversation.

Backyard Hens: Facts & Myths

 

• Fact: Food Safety/Health By raising your own backyard hens, you are assured that they are being raised in a humane and healthy manner. Studies show that eggs from backyard hens are far healthier than store bought eggs.
• Fact: Sustainable Hens eat garden/grass   trimmings and kitchen scraps keeping them out of the landfill or sewer system and lay eggs providing a local source of nutritious food.
• Fact:  Educational Backyard hens are a great learning opportunity for children, showing them how food is raised and teaching responsibility.
• Myth: Smelly One medium sized dog produces the same amount of waste per day as 6 hens.  Hen manure can be composted, dog waste ends up in the landfill or lawns. Large, commercial operations can be smelly as they are not well ventilated and large amounts of waste are concentrated. Backyard coops of 6-10 hens do not create this concentration.
• Myth: Noise NO ROOSTERS ALLOWED! A hen at her loudest is 70 decibels, a barking dog or lawnmower is 90 decibels, a car horn is 100 decibels.
• Myth: Decreased property value There is no evidence that backyard hen keeping affects property values. According to a recent study, over 65% of major U.S. cities now allow chickens. Would major cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Madison, Denver and smaller cities like Missoula, MT, Roswell, GA, and Portland, OR have all passed ordinances if it adversely affected values?

Time to Act!

Hello everyone,

   At the suggestion of the City Manager, the City Council has decided to hold a Town Hall meeting to get input from the citizens on the chicken ordinance.  In preparation for the Town Hall meeting, we are going to meet at the Cedar Roe Library on Thursday, October 14 and Thursday, October 21.  Both meetings will start at 6:00.

 

 The Johnson County Extension Council Agricultural Agent, Rick Miller,  will speak to us at this Thursday's meeting, October 14th, Cedar Roe Library, 6:00.  Please join us if you can.  I'm sure he will have really great information for us.   We will also be cutting out the paper for making buttons for our group as well as putting together a flyer to hand out. 

  

  If you have friends or neighbors that are interested in backyard hens and may have questions, please invite them to this meeting.  Rick Miller is a wonderful source of information and is happy to answer questions.

  

We will be creating an agenda for the October 21 meeting, so if you have any questions, suggestions or just wish to discuss a certain part of the proposed code, please let us know so that we can get it on the agenda.

 

 

 Please join us for these two meetings to prepare for the November 9th, Town Hall meeting.  Please invite any neighbors to join us.  Now is the time to gather our supporters and answer any questions that anyone may have. 

  

Roeland Park has a goal to be the "greenest city in Johnson County".  Let's help our city take a step towards that goal by adopting a great backyard hen ordinance.

What is all the CHIRPin'about?

Welcome to City Hens In Roeland Park.  This site is being created to provide an information outlet to our community.  We are part of a growing number of citizens nationwide who are reclaiming their power to choose the source of their food and to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Keeping hens and growing your own food is no longer limited to rural settings.  Exactly the opposite is true!  Urban and suburban farming is growing by leaps and bounds as we are finding that the only truly safe food source, is one we can trace to the producer. 

This could turn into a soapbox...and will from time to time.  For now, this is the  way we will distribute the lastest in our challenge to get a fair ordinance passed in our community of Roeland Park, KS. Expect meeting notices, commentary and discussion as we continue this process.

As this site grows, there will be links and resources provided to the ever expanding online community of back yard farmers and henkeepers.  So we invite you to subscribe to recieve the notice via email when we post new information.  Or you can join our group on Facebook.

Thanks!