“We plan to educate the public and the council,” said Martin, “and then present text that represents what’s modern and what’s applicable to Kingston.”
Poultry pioneers
Pine Street City Farm owner Jesica Clark said that the confusion around the city’s small livestock regulations had driven Kingston’s chicken-keepers underground. Indeed, Clark said she interpreted the law to bar keeping chickens entirely except on a handful of city properties large enough — five acres or more — to qualify as “farms” under the zoning code.
“It’s scary for them,” said Clark of the city’s chicken owners. “When people keep chickens it’s a utilitarian thing, they provide food, but you also get attached to them and you don’t know when you’re going to be told they have to give them up.”
According to Clark, the confusion over the city code comes at a time when urban chickens are catching on as one aspect of an urban agriculture movement that includes backyard apiaries and old-fashioned vegetable gardens. According to Clark, communities across the country have reworked zoning codes to accommodate the trend while setting standards, like banning the keeping of roosters, to reduce the potential nuisance associated with city chickens.
“The current law doesn’t really jibe with what’s going on today,” said Clark. “People want to be more sustainable, they want to know where their food comes from and keeping chickens is part of that.”
Senor: Could be ‘nightmare’
But any move to legitimize Kingston’s poultry underground could face opposition on the Common Council and from residents who fear that negligent egg enthusiasts will bring vermin, noise and stench to residential neighborhoods. Alderman Bob Senor (D-Ward 8), who heads the council’s Laws and Rules Committee, said he was skeptical about changing the city code to make way for chickens.
“I think you open a Pandora’s Box,” said Senor who last year fought an unsuccessful battle for legislation designed to crack down on feral cats. “I used to clean chicken farms and it’s the worst smell there is. If you don’t stay on top of it, it’s going to be a nightmare for a neighborhood.”
Vermin, noise, and stench are only the tip of the iceberg. Dogs and cats wanting to get the chickens, chickens escaping into urban streets… way too many opportunities for conflict and contempt between neighbors, which this city does not need. I once had a neighbor threaten to kill my cat because she was sitting under my neighbor’s bird feeder, in a less urban and much less angry place than Kingston. I agree with Senor on little, but a “nightmare,” he is right. Kingston’s resources are already stretched thin and not keeping up with our needs for a safe, clean place to live. We can’t afford this little experiment.
For one, I think it quite delightful that the Kingston Times reports real news, real community and city news that we can use.
For another, yeah, I would suppose proper care of a couple of chickens will be fine. But that will depend on KIngston citizens following their new governments lead in moving away from contentious, “can’t do”, “my rights over every one else’s” and a rather pugialistic attitude between some “neighbors”…
There will always be a couple of places where law is pushed too hard, where nerves get scraped, but that be must expected and tolerated: it will not be eradicated and giving up the glories of small city living because a few can live well together, that’s not a solution I would prefer. There are currently bunnies and chickens and ducks and yard sales and gardens and small shops and a mite too many cats from place but by and large it works and will be working even better.
If we do have a lot of chickens, we’re going to need a “chicken drop”, when one hopes to exist the chicken trade, no questions asked. I do hope that we might be able to dine on a few and not save them all…. And we have the Land Trust to give us all tons of help and information.
Having your kitty parked for lunch under another persons bird feeder… that’s not nice. Put a bell on that cat at the very least? Get your own bird feeder? or from the other side, get a dog that doesn’t like cats, fence out the cat, put out a have a heart trap for the cat?
Alderman Senor says “I used to clean chicken farms and it’s the worst smell there is. If you don’t stay on top of it, it’s going to be a nightmare for a neighborhood.”
I think he’s mistaking whatever industrial chicken factory farm he used to work for with the micro-scale sustainable techniques of the current urban farmers. Using methods popularized by agrarians like Joel Salatin, raising chickens is not only a cleaner endeavor, but actually enriches the soil where they are raised.
Raising a few chickens should be a non-issue. We all have a right to produce our own food.