FIRST PERMIT APPROVED FOR BACKYARD HENS in ROELAND PARK!!

What's all the CHIRP'in about?  Backyard Hens in Roeland Park!

18 months after a citizen had her backyard flock banished from her residence, the first official Backyard Chicken-Keeping Special Permit was issued in Roeland Park, KS.  For the last eleven months a group of dedicated citizens have attended countless City Council and City Admin meetings to support the draft and eventual approval of the special permit process for keeping backyard hens.

Since the Council approved the addition of the special permit in February, several citizens have started the permit process.  The $100.00 permit comes with strict guidelines for setbacks, coop design and chicken run size limits. Residents are only allowed to keep up to 6 hens and are required to have predator proof coops and feed storage. Manure is to be composted according to city composting ordinances.

CHIRP is already planning a coop tour in the fall of 2011 and will be sponsoring an information forum to address any questions residents have regarding keeping a micro-flock of hens for eggs and fun. On June 23, CHIRP is conducting a hen-keeping class at the Roeland Park Community Center as part of the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture Farm Tour-Get Your Grow On.  Look for CHIRP to support Johnson County K-State Extension 4-H programming for the youth in our community.

If you have any questions or want to get involved, please email chirpks@gmail.com.

And a big THANK YOU to all our supporters!  We could not have done this without YOU!

What are we crowing about now?

Look what's on the agenda again! Let's see a 5-3 vote, permit in place...what could we be crowing about now?
March 7, 2011
6:00 PM Council Workshop - City Hall Discussion/Chicken Ordinance Discussion
7:00 PM City Council Meeting

Join us to see!

Check Out Some Coops!

Check out some of these coop designs for our backyard hens in Roeland Park!  We have a permit...time to apply and start going through the process.  Please email CHIRP if you need assistance in sorting out the pieces. 


http://www.dwell.com/articles/modern-chicken-coop.html-%20Ultra Ultra modern!

http://www.dwell.com/articles/coop-dreams.html - great minimal design that blends in to a backyard.


http://www.dwell.com/articles/urban-hens.html- My favorite-incorporating into a larger garden complex

Freshly Polished Animal Ordinance on the Agenda!

Check out the Animal Ordinance that includes the newly polished Hen Permit in the City Council Packet.  We feel we have cried wolf so many times ... know that your support is deeply appreciated.  And if you feel drawn...join us Monday Evening for what we hope will be the final showing before the Mayor's signature graces the ordinance! 

I have my catalogs and coop design ready!  How about you?

Feb 7 City Council Meeting Agenda / Packet

The King of Green Gets the Scoop from the Coop with the Roeland Park Hens

Going Green with the King Podcast

Sheri and Teresa talk hens on the radio...

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!