New Haven Independent

Hens May Have Last Cluck

by Allan Appel | October 10, 2007 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)

nhi-chicken%20001.JPG Despite the presence of more than two dozen supporters, some in festive gallinaceous display, Rebecca Weiner failed to win permission to keep chickens at her house — at least for now. But the legal chicken stew is hardly done, either for Weiner or for hen-keepers all over town.

Weiner appeared before the Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday night in response to a city inspector’s order to remove the six chickens from her yard on Willard Street, after a complaint from a neighbor. The BZA upheld the inspector’s order reading and application of the city ordinances, that chickens are indeed livestock and not pets and therefore must go. However
board members told Weiner she would not have to remove the chickens within ten days, as ordered. They in fact encouraged her to apply in the meantime for a special exception for her small flock at the November or December BZA meeting.

Weiner’s brood became a cause celebre after the Independent reported on the case last month, as chicken-keepers throughout the city, some of them part of an urban sustainability movement, seek legal permission to keep hens.

nhi-chicken%20003.JPG Weiner’s alderwoman, Ina Silverman, told the BZA Tuesday night that the ordinances are murky as to whether chickens are livestock or pets. She said the neighborhood considers them “dogs with feathers,” and a great asset to the community. Weiner shares with her neighbors the two dozen eggs her hens lay weekly.

Weiner and her entourage, bearing a petition signed by 40 people and letters of support from immediate neighbors, charmed the BZA members. But chair Cathy Weber, who described herself as a pet lover and an old farm girl herself, insisted that as members of the BZA they were constrained to follow the letter of the law and only the issue at hand.

That law defining livestock or farm animals, as read by the corporation counsel, is Section 11-1: ” … farm animal means any animal or fowl kept for food, breeding, transportation, or pelts.” Food, as in eggs. Then follows a substantial list, including chickens, goats, horses, sheep, donkeys, and raccoons.

nhi-chicken%20009.JPG So Weber’s easygoing but serious interrogation (she’s pictured here with fellow BZAers Chris Vigilante to her left and Maritza Padilla-Grant and Walter Esdaile to her right) included this important exchange on the pet/livestock/egg/food definition:

Weber: I’m a farm person myself, but, do remind me, the chickens lay eggs, right?
Weiner: Yes, they do lay eggs, and they are, of course, very nice. But the chickens are primarily pets.
Weber: You said you had no roosters, so how are the eggs possible?
Weiner: Ah, that common misperception. No roosters. The chickens keep on producing the eggs on their own.
Weber: Planning on getting more?
Weiner: No.

When the chairwoman asked those in support to step forward, two dozen did, some of the smaller ones in orange and yellow feathery display. They called Weiner a responsible chicken-keeping citizen. She and her husband have offered to move the coop 30 feet away from the adjacent building from whence came the anonymous noise complaint that has sparked the brouhaha.

But the neighbors mostly sang the praises of the animals: wonderful pest controllers, sources of good garden compost, quieter than other pet animals, as the chickens only occasionally cluck when an egg appears.

nhi-chicken%20002.JPG The animals are an important way for urban kids to connect with the natural world, it was asserted. The presence of so many little chicken lovers, such as Weiner neighbor Beyla Ridky and her dad Brad, was proof positive of that point.

nhi-chicken%20007.JPG Josh Viertel (pictured here with artist Juliana Sabinson), who is the director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, tried to put the Weiner case in the largest context. “New Haven,” he said, “has a growing and vibrant food culture. Much of it is green and sustainable, and that’s tremendously important for everyone. Look at the obesity and diabetes that are growing among the city’s kids. It’s really important to make a statement that the city wants to put families increasingly in touch with fresh, locally grown food. To create a special exception in this case would be making a statement that the city cares about the health of all its citizens.”

Progressive municipalities such as Portland, Maine, and Madison, Wisconsin, in recent years have passed legislation allowing small flocks of chickens within the city limits. But as Weber was at pains to emphasize, this was not the issue before the BZA. It appeared to be Weber’s personal opinion that the chickens were more pet than livestock, but still there was that definition in the city’s ordinances and those eggs coming out of those chickens.

nhi-chicken%20006.JPG Vincent Kay, a beekeeper and the owner of Swords Into Ploughshares brand honey, said, “I support the keeping of chickens as an important movement. The city is growing green. We need to do this responsibly and respectfully. Better the clucks of chickens than the roars of car engines. These animals are really a small joy.”

With a touch of reluctance the board unanimously voted to sustain the order, but offered Weiner relief: to apply for the special exception to keep her flock. If she does not do so by December, the chickens will have to be removed.

nhi-chicken%20004.JPG Reached by phone after the ruling, Weiner was philosophical. “The ruling doesn’t surprise me. And I’m content. It was a fair proceeding. We were heard and we were able to put an important issue in front of the city but realize that the BZA had to rule on the technicality of the law. I will seek that special exception, but we are also going to move forward through the Board of Alderman with legislation to change the law. Regardless of what happens in our individual case, there has to be a positive change for all the other chicken keepers in the city.”

At least one of her supporters, however, had his doubts. Vincent Kay said, “I wonder why Rebecca wouldn’t just accept a special exception in her case and let the issue lie. I’m not sure it’s always wise to get the government involved. When you do that, they’re going to start telling you how many chickens a person can keep. You always get into numbers when you start legislating for livestock. I know this from the bees I keep. What’s it going to be? One and half chickens per person? No, as long as people keep a reasonable number and do it responsibly, I think another way to go is just to take the issue off the map.”

Weiner said, however, that not only is Alderwoman Silverman going to be sponsoring a bill, but Alderman Roland Lemar is joining in. Jennifer McTiernan of CitySeed, the orgnanizer of the city’s successful green markets, will also, she said, be discussing the shape of a possible bill at the New Haven Food Policy Council.

But Vincent Kay wonders who is consulting the many people in different ethnic and economic communities, say in Fair Haven, who are not likely to come to zoning or aldermanic hearings. For them, chickens may not only be pets and an important food source, but also part of a traditional lifestyle.

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Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | October 10, 2007 10:01 AM

So, they had to rule based on the technicality of the law? We allow and protect undocumented aliens to flout federal law, suck the resources of this city and country dry, encourage it by handing out ID cards and are dickering over a chicken's presence in a neighborhood?

God help us!

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 10, 2007 10:22 AM

Hey Rebecca I found a solution To This Problem, Take all Of The Chickens To City Hall And Tell King John That You Want A New Haven Resident Municipal I.D. Card For them and now the chickens
will Be Resident Of New Haven.

Posted by: Ned | October 10, 2007 10:24 AM

So someone can house a dog in a barren, feces covered yard, or let the puppy poop in the park (and not clean it up [regular afternoon hippie turd lady with the two kids in tow in College Woods] - check out College Woods and watch your step!), or allow their cat to roam and kill wild birds and spray and defecate (spreading Toxoplasma gondii) in other peoples yards and gardens and get flattened by cars directly in front of my house (cats look better in three dimensions), but a well managed, small flock of egg laying chickens is a nuisance? I hope Mr. Weber does not make any decisions regarding biology curriculum in New Haven Public Schools: How does your wife ovulate without you being cuckolded? Has someone been tupping your ewe?

Posted by: FairHavenRes | October 10, 2007 12:23 PM

Hmmmm.....people are getting shot, our graduation rates from city schools is less than 65%, not counting all the kids that simply drop out before senior year, and we have folks turing out for chickens.

Some of the reasons for obesity is that parents are afraid to let their kids outside and run around for fear of getting shot or running with the wrong crowd.

Chickens......hmmmm. I guess some folks just have different priorities. Keeps the city interesting though.

Posted by: robn | October 10, 2007 1:18 PM

If the point of zoning is to protect the scale and character of certain neighborhhods and give people a bit of peace and quiet, then maybe the livestock rules should be reconsidered if there is no significant aesthetic, noise or waste problem from animals.

But speaking of the "letter of the law" it seems that a livestock ban is only mentioned once in the zoning regs (ARTICLE III Section 12. RS-2 Districts). If the Weiner family doesn't live in an RS-2 district, then the ban doesn't appear to apply to them. Am I wrong?

Posted by: fairhavener | October 10, 2007 2:14 PM

"But Vincent Kay wonders who is consulting the many people in different ethnic and economic communities, say in Fair Haven, who are not likely to come to zoning or aldermanic hearings."

Oh great just what we need in Fair Haven. You know, in certain cultures people live with the animals (livestock) in their houses, and it is not because they love them. We already have people living like this in Fair Haven (a very small percentage though). I think having chickens is great (if this changes I will get a couple), but who is going to educate "the many people in different ethnic and economic communities" on how to keep them? Or will we wait for an epidemic or disease to break out? We live in a city remember.

"For them, chickens may not only be pets and an important food source, but also part of a traditional lifestyle."

They are a part of a "traditional lifestyle" because they ARE an important food source. If they didn't eat them (and fight them), they wouldn't be a part of anything. Get it?

And btw, if the traditional lifestyle is missed so much...

"Weber: I'm a farm person myself, but, do remind me, the chickens lay eggs, right?"

"Weber: You said you had no roosters, so how are the eggs possible?"

What farm was that, when? Genius.

Posted by: dana b | October 10, 2007 2:55 PM

Walked by a handsome rooster in a Fair Haven yard the other day. These animals exist among us. Personally, I like having a few around.

As long as they don't disturb a neighbor or two, their owners get around the zoning regulations against livestock. If we need to re-write the zoning laws to accomodate non-offending species, then so be it. But we would be opening the door to another health hazard, all the poultry-bourne diseases, especially when animals aren't as well-cared for as, perhaps, Ms. Weiner's are.

It would appear that one of Ms. Weiner's neighbors WAS bothered by the six hens. Otherwise, why would he/she complain? So to me, the issue seems pretty straight forward -- get rid of the livestock that is bothering a neighbor.

All the other talk about sustainability, getting children in touch with the food sources, etc. is just Americans doing what they do best: re-inventing the wheel and calling it something else.

Posted by: Esbe | October 10, 2007 3:50 PM

Free the chickens! But the right way to do it is to change the law.

And I don't really mean "free the chickens", I mean "free responsible chicken-owners to raise chickens in the city under carefully defined conditions." Probably one can look to the laws of other towns to see what regulations on sanitation, size, noise, etc. are good ideas.

And, by the way, since the New Haven municipal ID gives "illegal aliens" absolutely no additional legal rights that they didn't have already, 3/5s should feel free to give the chickens IDs. They will still be chickens.

Posted by: fairhavener | October 10, 2007 4:41 PM

"They will still be chickens."

Yeah, but with bank accounts and library cards.

Posted by: Fairhaven2 | October 10, 2007 10:51 PM

For those folks in Fair Haven..think about how you get woken up every am at 5:00 to the sounds of roosters..it's all well and fine when it's in westville, and it's one home. Come to Fair Haven and see that it's every other home and their roosters, who wake up a lot of folks that work the midnight shift. I've heard loads of complaints from loads of working class people who want to come home and get some sleep at 7:00am, but can't because of the roosters..And then ask, why can the folks in Westville and Morris Cove have live stock as pets, but in Fair Haven, the animal control folks come and take these same animals, unless you kill them and promise to make stew in their presence...Either way, it's a nuisance. But if you approve it in Westville, you must approve it in Fair Haven. Now good luck trying to enforce peace and quiet, and the ability to let the working folks sleep.

Posted by: Bill Saunders | October 11, 2007 5:36 AM

But hopefully they will not be chicken enough to call the cops when there is a fox in the henhouse!!

Posted by: robn | October 11, 2007 1:00 PM

BS has a point, but if you egg-on your neighbors, they might get cocky.

As to DanaB's point about complaints...if the cops got rid of the subject of every complaint in New Haven, they would have to get rid of everybody in town....including themselves.

BTW roosters are only neccesary for egg insemination, not neccesary for egg production. You can have egg laying chickens without roosters.

Posted by: DAFeder | October 11, 2007 2:11 PM

"You always get into numbers when you start legislating for livestock. I know this from the bees I keep."

"Weber: You said you had no roosters, so how are the eggs possible?"

I have to say, this is the first time in my life I have understood the phrase "learning the birds and the bees."

It seems to me that the biggest danger to future chicken-friendly legislation is having to include roosters, which are a nuisance inappropriate to city living. For that reason might it be better to consider fowl not as "dogs with feathers," but as a part of a beneficial urban ecosystem that accepts hens on the basis of their egg production?

David

Posted by: cedarhillresident | October 11, 2007 3:46 PM

Esbe.....
Is right. I believe that these chickens are part of this family and many other ones in the city. Allow people to have them but...limit the amount, no roosters(as stated her hens lay eggs without roosters), and set up some kind of chicken housing rules, maybe even a licensing rule to have them (ya know like cats and dogs have).
If you plan on having the as pets and a food source then a half dozen should be enough.

Posted by: fairhavener | October 11, 2007 6:06 PM

"As to DanaB's point about complaints...if the cops got rid of the subject of every complaint in New Haven, they would have to get rid of everybody in town....including themselves."

Thanks for that I needed a good laugh. That was great. The only problem is they'd need to start answering the phone first.

RE: chickens and zoning

There is no doubt that if chickens were allowed New Haven (and especially Fair Haven) would have to become cockless. I am definitely for a cock free Fair Haven. They are loud, obnoxious, and they fight too much ( a lot of killing too). On the other hand, I love chickens.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | October 11, 2007 9:34 PM

Ok Fairhavener did you watch Boston Legal this week?
This aired the neck that Rebecca went before the board ...all I could think of was her...
the clip about the roosters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rJgHxyM_9g

Posted by: fairhavener | October 11, 2007 11:13 PM

Thank you. I can barely type now. That was hilarious.

Posted by: dana b | October 12, 2007 6:31 PM

Cedarhillresident:
Fantastic link! Thanks. I sent it on to friends.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | October 13, 2007 11:42 AM

Sometimes we need a little comic relief :)

But it does go to show that a show this big is addressing the issues of roosters and chickens and it's rights and wrongs, that this is now a national issue.
With our city claiming to start being a greener city I would think that having chicken as pets should be part of it. As I search the internet I have found that many city people have chickens as pets "the urban chickens". Seattle, Portland are the larger city's that have embarrassed it and it appears that smaller city's all around the country are changing there laws to allow small flocks in back yards. Sooo.......
POWER TO THE CHICKENS!!

Hens May Have Last Cluck

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