2011 06 28 - SSCITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
June 28,2011
6 p.m.
Council Present: Jon Lane,Bill Ecret, Brent Reese,DavidCurnel, Dick Deane, Karen Liebrecht, and
Richard Pearce
The study session was called to discuss the issue of allowing chickens and rabbits within the citylimits.
The study session was adjourned at 7 p.m.
Milwaukee Common Council allows residents lo keep chickens - JSOnline
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Milwaukee County
Milwaukee Common Council allows
residents to keep chickens
ByLarry Sandler of the Journal Sentinel
May 24,2011 | (64)comments
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Urban chicken backers had something to crow about Tuesday,after the Milwaukee Common Council voted to
allow residents to keep hens in their backyards - but not without some clucking from skeptics.
The council voted, 8-5, to legalize chicken-keeping citvwide on a one-year trial basis, withtight restrictions.
Supporters touted the idea as a step toward sustainable urban agriculture, packed with regulations to ensure
safety,health and sanitation.
People who want to keep chickens would need the consent of all their adjacent neighbors and pay a $35 fee
to obtain a permit.They would be limited to four hens and no roosters and could not slaughter any of the
birds.Enclosures would have to be at least 25 feet from any other home,and chicken coops and yards
together would have to provide at least 16 square feet per chicken.
East side Aid.Nik Kovac,the ordinance's chief sponsor,persuaded his colleagues to yank the measure from
the council's Public Safety Committee,where it had been temporarily cooped up.
Opponents argued that aldermen needed more chicken feedback from their constituents,after advocates
dominated a committee hearing on the proposal.But Kovac said the issue had been debated at length,and
that questions about noise and cleanliness had been answered.
Aldermen Terry Witkowski and Bob Donovan said they feared some people would misunderstand the council
action and think they could keep chickens without obtaining a permit or following all the restrictions laid out
in the ordinance.
Witkowski succeeded in adding a one-year sunset to the measure,along with a requirement for the city
Department of Neighborhood Services to report in six months on how the experiment is working.
Kovac said the ordinance "will encourage good,responsible chicken-keeping."
The measure was backed by Aldermen Bob Bauman,Jim Bohl,Milele Coggs, Ashanti Hamilton,Michael
Murphy,Jim Witkowiak,Tony Zielinski and Kovac.Opposed were council President Willie Hines Jr.and
Aldermen Joe Dudzik Jr.,Willie Wade,Donovan and Witkowski.Aldermen Joe Davis Sr.and Robert Puente
were absent.
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Milwaukee Common Council allows residents to keep chickens -JSOnline Page 3of6
Mayor Tom Barrett said he's still pondering whether to sign or veto the measure,adding,"I don't want to
ruffle any feathers right now."Davis and Puente voted to delay action in committee,a signal that supporters
could have a tough time mustering the 10 votes needed to override any possible Barrett veto.
In other action,the council:
Authorized City Attorney Grant Langley to suethe state overa $1.5 million midyear cut in recycling aid.
Barrettand other municipal leaders wereoutraged when they learned last month that the state Department
ofNatural Resources planned to cut recycling grants to local governments bysome 40%for the balance of
the year.
DNR officials have said state budget managers ordered them to slice current spending by almost $27 million,
and they took nearly half that amount from the recycling program.But cities aren't prepared to absorb such
cuts in the middle ofthe year, after municipal budgets have been adopted and tax levies set,Barrett said.
Waded into the debateoverconcealed carrying of handguns,voting to oppose the so-called constitutional
carry bill,which would allow anyone who can legally own a gun to carry itjust about anywhere with no
permit and no training.
But aldermen staved officially neutralonanother bill that would require permits to carry concealed weapons.
They directed city lobbyists to seek changes,mostly sought by Police Chief Edward Flynn,such as imposing
felony penalties for illegally carrying a concealed weapon,buying a firearm for someone who can't legally
own one or possessing ammunition as a felon.
Although the permit bill is technically still alive in the Assembly,the Senate sponsor of both bills has merqed
someaspects ofthe permit legislation into the "constitutional carry"bill for action Wednesday bytheSenate
Judiciary Committee.
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Acceptance ofurban chickens is causing problems throughout Missouri -Columbia Misso...Page 2of7
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Acceptance of urban chickens is causing
problems throughout Missouri
Monday,February 22,2010 |2:32 p.m.CST;updated 3:20 p.m.CST,Monday,February 22,2010
BY GEORGINA GUSTIN/St.Louis Post-Dispatch
ST.LOUIS —Some say they have heard him shriek at the morning sun.Some claim to have
glimpsed his feathered form strutting through the neighborhood's dark alleys.Some think he's pure
fiction,Soulard neighborhood's own,though significantly smaller,Yeti orLochNess monster.
But seen or heard,illusion or myth,one thing is clear:therooster known as Jerry Seinfeld isan
outlaw.
MoreStory
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TODAY'S QUESTION:Do vou plan on raising hens in city limits?
COLUMN:More bang for vour cluck with new chicken ordinance
COLUMN:A few things to know about raising chickens
City Council passes ordinance allowing urban hens
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Mayor Hindman asks for urban chicken ordinance
Advocates still working for chickens in city
Thanksto one city resident who couldn'ttakethe crowing any more, Jerry and his fellow cockerels
were banned from the city last fall.
"Ifyou'veever lived next to a rooster,you'llget whatI'm goingto say," said WarrenDow, whose
complaint ultimatelyledto the ban."It'sjust the most continuous,piercingthing I'veheard insix
years ofcity living."
Butit'sa soundthatmorecitydwellers are starting to hear.
i^J The rising number ofurban homesteaders and backyard "chickeners"is forcing communities to deal
with theunintended downside accompanying the growing trend.Sometimes thatmeans a Jerry.
http://www.colimibiamissourian.com/stories/2010/02/22/chicken-trend-brings-more-heada...5/25/2011
'"''Acceptance ofurban chickens is causing problems throughout Missouri -Columbia Misso...Page 3of7
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Sometimes,it means an irresponsible owner who let coop maintenance slide.Sometimes,itmeans
just figuring out what thelaw allows and where.
"A lot ofthese city councils get kind ofblindsided.They realize,'Oh my gosh.People have chickens,
and we have to do something about it,'"said Andy Schneider,who is also known as "The Chicken
Whisperer"and hosts an increasingly popular backyard-chicken-centric radio show in Atlanta.
"They'renot up on it."
As more city folks launch into chicken ownership,some are starting to question whether backyard
chickens are such a good idea.More urban dwellers are complaining —St.Louis logged 40
complaints about chickens last year.One animal rights group is calling for cities to ban not just
roosters,but chickens altogether.Some city dwellers simply believe that urban environments should
stay that way.
"I like the concept ofpeople being close to the earth and growing their own food,"Dow said."But
there's a good reason that farms and cities are separate."
Some municipalities allow chickens up to apoint.St.Louis,for example,limits the number of
domestic animals,including chickens,atfour.Others,like Ballwin,don't allow chickens atall,though
at least one resident is pushing to changethat.
"The more progressive cities are starting to allow them,"said Robert Lughai,co-director of"Mad City
Chickens,"a 2009 documentary aboutthe backyardchicken movement.
Some people,however,are questioning whether cities should give chickeners the green light.A
consortium of animal sanctuaries banded together latelastyear,calling on cities to "not allow
V_y backyard flocks and exhorting those that are already zoned for this practice to establish and enforce
strict regulations."
The group's members says thetrend is producing thousands of unwanted birds.
"It's such a fad,"saidSusie Coston,oftheNew York-based group FarmSanctuary,which rescues
farm animals and advocates avegandiet."People havegreatintentions.Theythinkthey're not
supporting industrial farming,andthat's good.ButI don'tthink they're beingrealistic."
Coston worries people willneglecthenswhen theystopproducing.Butmore importantly,she's
concerned about roosters.
Whenaspiringownersdecideto launchintothe hobby,they usually buy chicks,hopingtheywill
grow into hens that layeggs. But despite hatcheries' efforts to providefemales, the "sexing"process
isn'tfoolproof, and sometimesthose chicksmature into roosters.That means a surplus ofroosters—
and nowhere to put them.
Bill Thompson, a new chicken owner who lives in south St. Louis, bought four chicks, two ofwhich
turned out to be roosters.He gave them to his vet. Whenthe Maplewood-RichmondHeights school
districtbought 14 chicks, six were roosters,which had to be placed in homes in the country.
"Everyweek we get calls (about) roosters," said Coston. "IfI took every rooster we get calledfor,
we'd have thousands."
Butbackyard chickeners say,with responsible ownership,chickens don'tbotheranyone,anda surplus
of roosters isa small priceto payforthe benefits chickens provide — fromfresheggstoinsect
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Acceptance of urban chickens is causing problems throughout Missouri -Columbia Misso...Page 4of 7
control.They also point to one surprising benefit:Astudy found that ahen can consume about 7
pounds offood scraps a month,orabout 84 pounds ayear.
"If acity had 2,000 households with three hens or more each,that translates to 252 tons of biomass
that's diverted from landfills,"Schneider said."They are really good compost-ers."
Chicken advocates also point out that the chickens are treated as pets,and when a hen's productive
years are over,they are far from neglected.They're often doted on like amember of the family —one
that can eat bugs and provide fertilizer.One Web site,chickendiapers.com sells "diapers"that enable
chickens to roam around indoors without soiling carpets.The owner reports that sales have climbed
by20or30 percent in the past few years.
"A lot of people,surprisingly,have them for pets,"said Lughai,who in his film explores the bond
people have with their chickens."They're like adog or cat."
Jerry Seinfeld,Soulard's elusive cockerel,however,is no pet.He's an enigma.No one knows where
he came from,whether he has ahome or whether he was an unwanted rooster turned loose.
"Jerry isn't owned by anyone,"said Phyllis Young,the alderman who introduced the ordinance that
turned Jerryinto a criminal.
Still,while he's no longer legal,Jerry will probably remain arenegade.And with the backyard
chicken momentum showing no signs of slowing,hewill likely have more company.
"I don't think anyone's going to do anything about it,"Young said."It's not like we have a rooster
ranger."
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