image:(C) marye audet
While generally I will leave the political commentary to Garry Reed, because he does it so very well, today government and food clashed right here on m y property . I have been pulled into the maelstrom, whisk in hand, apron firmly tied around my waist, and temper flaring.
In this era of sustainable living, organics, and slow food lifestyles, the city of Lancaster has decided to start cracking down on an ordinance that they say has been on the books for the past seventeen years. Personally, I am amazed because no one has said anything to us about it..but there ya go. The ordinance is one that hits the sustainable living lifestyle right in the chops.
Did you know that in the entire city of Lancaster Texas, No one is supposed to have chickens? On 2 1/4 acres, in a more or less rural area of town people are being harassed over chickens. Not thousands of chickens, either; nineteen heritage breed Barred Rocks. They don't normally go out of our backyard/pasture area. We have had chickens for five years, by the way. This is not about us living in a subdivision of $400,000.00 homes and being the Beverly Hillbillies.
Chickens were once the thread in the fabric of the American Dream as Hoover promised economically weary Americans a chicken in every pot. As the rest of the country pushes for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, as the economy slows to a crawl, as people lose jobs and food banks can't keep up with the demand for help Lancaster decides that it is going to enforce a code that no one really knew about. According to the code enforcement officer they will be enforcing this all over town.
We will look into it, talk to our lawyer, we will see if we have options, and ultimately we will do what we need to do to stay within the law. That is who we are. But for those of you looking for a small town, with a slower pace, where you can raise your kids, have a few chickens to supply the family with organic eggs, and maybe a couple of goats for organic milk that doesn't cost $6 a gallon? Keep on driving, there is nothing to see here.
As a food writer and critic, as a cookbook author, and as a homemaker trying to feed a large family this is going to hurt financially; I can grow organic eggs for about 50 cents a dozen. What hurts worse is the knowledge that it isn't going to get better. You can't move far enough or be isolated enough to get away from what is quickly becoming Big Brother.
My dad and my father- in- law were WWII vets. I am a veteran. My husband is a disabled veteran. My oldest son is in Iraq currently, for his second tour of duty. And this afternoon, as I shut the door, in tears, I wondered...This is what we served for?
In the Depression a family could survive with enough land to plant a garden, a few chickens, and a goat. Many families did just that. Apparently they did not live in Lancaster.
3/10/09 update: We have not gotten an official letter yet, so we continue to wait. Many of you have commented or emailed ot ask questions, so I will try to answer them.
1. Are the chickens a public nusiance? No. There are 3 homes on our side of the street. Each is on acreage. Each of us either has, or has had livestock, including chickens. Our chickens are free range but do not go off our property and rarely out of our backyard. We have 2 1/4 acres, and the chickens are clean and well taken care of.
2. Do you have a rooster? Yes. We were planning at one point at raising chickens, so we have a rooster. He stays penned because he is rather mean. He stays in the pen where the chicken coop is, a large area. The chickens are let out of the penned area to forage after feeding and the rooster is given fresh greens and veggie table scraps.
3. Didn't you know? No we honestly didn't. Apparently the ordinance has been in place for 17 years but has not been enforced except when they feel like it...like now. It is a city wide ban, meaning that even if you own 100 acres you cannot have chickens.
If you have any other questions, please ask. Thanks for your support.
Comments
I'm sorry . I know how important that is to you. Its crazy. What's the justification.I guess it all boils down to $$$ someway.
Lancaster needs to get with the program. People are going back to sustainable living, victory gardens and chickens. The city of Portland allows small goats in the city limits because they "mow" the yard and are great pets. It's amazing how backwards some municipalities are!
I live in Lancaster and was unaware of this ordinance. Even though we are a relatively fast-growing suburb, so much of the city is still undeveloped and rural in appearance - especially south and east of the town square. I love my town, but that ordinance is down right silly!
Does this ordinance prevent "Free Roaming Chickens or chickens in coops? I can understand that some people might not want "dangerous" chickens in their yards, but I cannot fathom any reason no to have a coop or penned in area. Hmm, I wonder how many in the City council own a "Free Roaming Cat...."
Wow, is this making Lancaster look silly in the rest of the world. I live in a city of 80,000 and I can have chickens as long as I get a permit - they want to make sure no has fighting roosters. If they are worried about problems, the solution is to make some rules and regulate the process, not just kick out all the useful chickens.
I don't even know what to say. This is Texas! If you can't have chickens in Lancaster, Texas, where can you? Oh yeah, Portland, LA, San Francisco, Chicago...and on much less than 2 acres. Ridiculous! It just shows how far behind the times some of these "developing" cities and their governments can be.
Marye,
I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. I have .94 of an acre in rural Maryland that is literally right across the street from a working farm. In fact, I live in the original farmhouse for the farm, which was built around 1900. The county made me get rid of my miniature goats, but lets another neighbor keep two very big dogs that terrorize the kids at our local school. I'm zoned residential and my neighbor is zoned ag.
Wow. I'm on 10,000 square feet in a city of 80,000 people in Orange County CA, and I can have chickens. Doesn't your city government have better things to do and more important quality-of-life issues to deal with? So sorry you have to go through this backwards "we're a real city, no livestock please" nonsense.
There has to be a way to petition to keep your chickens. I would take this story and expose it in every way possible. This law defies logic. We have a right as citizens to bare arms but not chickens. Wow... good luck.
We are in the same sinking boat here in Caledonia, WI. We are a village of 25,000. A village that boasts an urban/rural variety, with horses on the official village website. Yet, next Saturday we say goodbye to our 7 pet chickens. You need to have 5 acres in a residential zoned area to have chickens here. We fought to change the ordinance, but in the end we lost. We have one acre and are surrounded by a mix of 1 and 2 acre properties along with smaller city lots. There is a cornfield across the street from our house. It's just stupid! The village board and opponents of our proposal were concerned with things that, in our 2 years with chickens, never came to fruition. Things such as predators, disease, etc. They didn't want to allow chickens because they thought it would open a can of worms and the next person would want a goat. We send wishes of good luck from Wisconsin. Hopefully you will find a way to keep your chickens!
I can sympathize, but really, this makes it all the more clear that we DIY Foodies NEED to review all the in-place regulations about a place before we move in and bring in our "healthcare system" (the living, breathing kind).
We bought a house on 1-ac just outside the City limits here in Central FL (literally, two of our property lines are the City Limits). I am not sure what the City's animal laws are, but the County has very lax laws for all zoning types. An added bonus, our zoning is called "Transitional Agriculture", just having that word "Agriculture" in the zoning name goes a long way.
I had a neighbor approach me when we had our 4 Dwarf goats grazing in the front yard saying that he "didn't like to livestock in a residential area, it lowers the property values." While that technically might be true, I was able to gently and firmly correct him that our street is not a "residential area" but is in fact "agriculturally zoned". He refuses to wave at me when he drives by. I think I may need to offer him some eggs, a roaster, or some cheese to ease his pain.
I would like to have more land, but what we have is enough, especially because we can enjoy all the amenities of suburban city life and still wake up to a "baa baa here and a cluck cluck there". :)
Move back to Dallas, we have 3 healthy chickens laying eggs on our 15,000 sq.ft. lot and the city zoning allows it... for now.
None of our neighbors complain and a few enjoy the benefit of fresh eggs when there are just too many. I thought Lancaster was supposed to be rural...well best move on over to Red Oak, That's where we picked up our chickens 2 years ago.
my heartfelt condolances to you
It sounds like you need to head down to City Hall and show them that even in LA, you can have chickens- this is silly! In Austin there's a limit to the number you can have on less than 1/2 acre (10, if I remember correctly), but there's no reason AT ALL for banning chickens entirely.
Get your neighbors together, go to a meeting, and request that they change the law! This sort of law is only going to hurt the poor the most, and especially in these rough economic times, that's completely stupid.
You have moral support from this Austinite!
You are right on. I don't live in Lancaster, TX (any more), but still own my house there as a rent house. Also involved in business, etc. The city needs to get with the program, though I'd like to say they're starting to. It's really like someone has the idea they are Beverly Hills, but they come up with such ridiculous policies that no businesses want to come to town. It would almost be comical except it is such a shame what they are doing to the city.
Why are we even worried about what the laws say 'WE the People... are the bosses. the politician is only a temp position at best! We who have taken charge of our own health and have our own health system are not subject to laws made that destroy. whether it is composting or chickens or what ever we chose what is best for our health NOT SOME IDIOT IN GOVERNMENT, who thinks islands will tip over and capsize if there are to many people on them!!!! get real people as long as you are not harming any one! no one else has the right to stop you from having chickens or composting or what ever, if it is providing you a better lifestyle then what a government bureaucrat will give you. The biggest problems have always risen from big corporate farms where they don't know whats happening and don't care, just pulling in the money. The little back yard chickens for the health of a family is not going to present a health hazard!
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