Chicken Petition

We are moving forward with a hen ordinance in Pierre. When we go before City Commission, we want to be able show strong support for the ordinance from the community.

 

We need your help!

 

1. Sign this electronic petition by filling out this form. It’s short! http://goo.gl/y5whKC

 

You do not have to be a Give Me Chickens or Give Me Death supporter. You can sign the petition if you do not want chickens yourself. You can sign the petition if you think this is a matter of private property rights. You can sign the petition if you are merely ok with chickens in your neighborhood, as long as you can’t hear them or smell them.

 

As you can see, we are using the term “support” loosely.

 

2. Contact Pierre city commissioners letting them know you support a chicken ordinance.  http://greateroaheactionleague.org/commission-contact/

 

3. Forward this petition. The more the merrier. Did we mention it’s short?

 

Thank you for your help. Your voice matters in local action to make our community strong.

Chapter Launch Party!

You are invited to the Chapter Launch Party celebrating the start of a new Dakota Rural Action Chapter here in the central South Dakota area. 

The local chapter will be a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting issues that matter to us!  Even if you are curious but undecided, we invite you to attend. We will have a community vision board where you can literally post your vision of what you want the area to look like in the short term future. Your input matters.

The party will be Sat. Feb 22 at 6PM at ChrisMari vineyard. 

Our first order of business will be to select a name. You can help by picking your top three choices for a name through this form:  http://goo.gl/yxISt3.

Please invite your friends. (Minors must be with a parent)

WHAT: Pierre Area Chapter Launch Party 

WHEN: Saturday, February 22 6:00PM - 8:00PM

WHERE: ChrisaMari Vineyard 29141 Holly Road, north of Pierre 

WHO: YOU, your family, and your friends! 

Please RSVP to Sabrina King, 

(605)939-0527 or sabrina@dakotarural.org

Join the event on Facebook: 

http://on.fb.me/1eHnazp 

See you there!

We Want Chickens in Pierre

We at PUCkR hope your holiday season was restful and rejuvenating. We took some time where we let the ordinance simmer in the background and now it's time to turn up the heat again.

Let's start by reminding ourselves of why we want chickens in Pierre.

We want chickens in Pierre because it's good for Pierre. A chicken ordinance makes Pierre a more attractive to place for the Millenial generation that values sustainability.

We want chickens in Pierre because people want to produce their own food. They like the work. They like the connection to our ag heritage.

We want chickens in Pierre because youth want a 4H project. Parents want to teach their children where food comes from and to task their children with helping to provide for the family by collecting eggs.

We want chickens in Pierre because some want to know beyond any doubt where their food comes from in an otherwise industrialized, globalized food system.

And we like the way home laid eggs look and taste.

We want chickens because it's a heritage hobby. And chickens make us laugh with their complete lack of self awareness of just how funny they are. They are the eternal punch line without being in on the joke. And that's ok, because they don't care.

We really want chickens because chickens eat grasshoppers which we will appreciate the next time we have a big irruption. People will ask to borrow our chickens so we will send them over in a chicken tractor and allow them to peck around our neighbors' for a few days. The chickens will come back sleek and fat and our neighbors will be happy.

We want chickensfor as many different combinations of reasons as there are potential chicken keepers. Chickens will be good for Pierre. That's reason enough to want chickens in Pierre.

23 Cities

Last summer, almost six months ago now, I shared several resources that looked at chicken ordinances in other cities.

One of these resources was a survey of 23 cities with ordinances conducted by Dr. Hugh Bartling's Green Urban Policy class at DePaul University.

The survey consisted of 8 open ended questions. The respondents were city staffs with a small number of elected officials.

The questions asked about problems with enforcement, chickens at large or getting loose, abandonment; things of that nature.

Chicken ordinances, as it turns out, were not difficult, expensive or time consuming to enforce. States the report:

In general we found that most cities were satisfied with their ordinances, major complaints and infractions were rare, and the adoption of chicken ordinances have been looked upon positively.

 You an read the entire report here:

The cities were:

• Ann Arbor, MI
• Baraboo WI
• Belmont, MA
• Boise, ID
• Bozeman, MT
• Buffalo, NY
• Duluth MN
• Durham, NC
• Eugene, OR
• Fort Collins, CO
• Gulfport, FL
• Huntington, NY
• Lawrence, KS
• Madison, WI
• Missoula, MT
• Moab, UT
• New Haven, CT
• Portland, OR
• South Portland, ME
• St. Paul, MN
• State College Borough, PA
• Wake Forest, NC
• Ypsilanti, MI

That's a respectable list. Pierre will be in good company. Chicken ordinances are fairly mainstream anymore.

Moving Forward

First, we will NOT be going before Commission this Tuesday Dec 3 for the public hearing despite the Dakota Voices piece on 11/27 in the Capital Journal.

That piece was submitted before we withdrew the ordinance. My apologies for any confusion.

That said, we ARE moving forward with the ordinance. We will revise the ordinance and we will start the process of getting it before Commission. Soon.

The concern about the ordinance as we originally intended to submit it was that it was too open. Most people who have first hand experience with chickens did so on a farm or acreage where 20, 30 or even 100 chickens including roosters were the norm. When you say chickens, they are thinking noise, smell, and other unpleasantness.

For this reason, an ordinance that will permit chickens in town will have to insure that chickens will be kept within the parameters of what is acceptable for animals in a neighborhood. A small flock of urban chickens is not the same as a flock on an acreage. We know that and the vast majority of urban chicken owners will know that. As we revise the ordinance, we will be thinking about the best way to craft it so that responsible chicken keepers will be able to keep a flock of six hens while making it clear that urban chickens are not the same as even as a hobby farm flock.

Your input is welcomed. Please go to our Facebook group to share your suggestions.

Chicken Ordinance Withdrawn

Before I begin, allow me a moment to explain how passing an ordinance in Pierre works. When an ordinance comes before Commission, a Commissioner needs to give it first reading. Then, and only then, can the ordinance go ahead to a second reading and public hearing.

I chose to withdraw the chicken ordinance from before Commission tonight, after talking to other organizing committee members,  because I had serious doubts that the ordinance would get a first reading. No first reading means no second reading and no public hearing

My decision was based on a conversation I had with a Commissioner who had tentatively indicated that he would consider giving the ordinance first reading. However, when he read through the ordinance he realized he could not support the ordinance as written as, in his opinion, there were too many points of legitimate opposition.

And, quite frankly, I appreciate that he contacted us BEFORE the Commission meeting and gave us a head's up about where he was at. He did not have to do that since he had not promised anyone anything. It would have been a real punch in the gut if we had proceeded and when the Mayor asked a Commissioner to give first reading, no one responded. THAT would have been really bad. 

In short, I was not willing to risk the ordinance being shut down at first reading.

Psychologically, an ordinance that has never been before Commission has a different perception than one that has been before Commission and could not make it past first reading.

This is a tactical withdrawal, not a retreat. We will submit an ordinance at a later date, most likely after the first of the year.

Anyway, thank you for reading this far. If you are disappointed, upset or mad, I get it. Believe me, I get it. I'm not exactly dancing in the street at the moment here myself. 

But change happens slowly and rarely without conflict and setbacks.

Please continue to stand with us. We will look at resubmitting the ordinance in either January or February of 2014.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for your support and hard work. 

The actual ordinance

This is the draft of the ordinance that will go before City Commission. First reading is tonight, Nov 26.

The second reading and most importantly the public hearing, is Tuesday December 3. We invite everyone who supports the ordinance to attend and speak up by showing up.

Your presence matters.
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Proposed Ordinance to Allow the Keeping of Hens within Pierre City Limits

The following changes to the City of Pierre municipal code to permit a small backyard flock of no more than six hens within the city limits of Pierre on non-agricultural land.

1. Revise Chapter 8

Section 8-2-114.  Unlawful to keep animals or fowl within the city.

No person shall place, keep or maintain any live swine, horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, prairie dogs, primates, snakes, ducks, geese, chickens or other domestic fowl except Gallus gallus domesticus(domestic chickens) pursuant to Chapter 10 Article 3 Section X, except on property zoned agriculture, and in accordance with the conditions of Chapter 12, Article 4, Agricultural District, or any wild mammal, reptile or fowl which is not naturally tame or gentle, but is of a wild nature or disposition, and which because of its size, vicious nature or other characteristics would constitute a danger to human life or property if it escaped from secure quarters, within the limits of the city.

Source:  R.O. Pierre, 1957, 9.0902; Ord. No. 655, 1957; Rev. of Ord., 1990; Ord. 1357, 1994; Ord. 1376, 1996; Ord. 1378, 1996.

2.   Revise Chapter 10 Article 3 to include

(a) The keeping of hens on any private land in the city shall not be on a scale creating a nuisance.

(b) Regarding keeping domestic fowl of the order Galliformes in the genus of Gallus (chickens):

(1) A maximum of six hens  may be kept on private land within city limits.

(2) Roosters are prohibited.
(3) Hens should be provided a coop that is of sufficient size and construction to protect them from predators.
(4) Hens must remain on their owner’s property or on private property with the permission of the property owner. Hens must be appropriately caged when off of permitted private property.
(5) Coops should be set back from the property line at a distance of three (3) feet.
(6) Residents who own hens must notify the city in writing within 30 days of procuring hens.