Parting Words from Dr. De Triquet

Despite his "no" vote recently on our "hen issue," I am getting to like this City Council Member better and better. Here are his parting words to me on my response to his rationale for this vote, as reported in previous posts:

I received your detailed and very well reasoned and articulate support of the proposed resolution. What I've learned over the years as a physician and an elected official is that all arguments or information must be carefully weighed before making a final decision. Please be assured that I will do the same with yours.

On another note I want to assure you that I have not, and will not, lobby any of my fellow Councilmembers to support any opinion I may finally reach on this issue. Let every member study the issue and vote as he or she sees fit. Hopefully then the outcome will be reached in a fair and unbiased manner.

John De Triquet's "No" Vote Explained

I belong to a grass-roots organization, 4 Chesapeake Hens, that is trying to change local zoning laws to allow more residents to keep micro-flocks of laying hens.  At Chesapeake, Virginia's, last City Council Meeting, only one Council Member voted against Robert Ike's resolution to move the "hen issue" to the Planning Commission. That member was Dr. John De Triquet.

I took the liberty of emailing Dr. De Triquet regarding his rationale for the "no" vote. Here is his timely and well-considered response:

First let me compliment you and everyone who has addressed City Council on this item. Everyone made their case with clarity, courtesy, and civility. It was very refreshing since this is not always the circumstance.
  Let me address the issue at hand. I have always felt that when folks choose to live in neighborhoods they have certain expectations. Paramount in those expectations is that new activities which may run counter to those expectations will be critically considered before any changes are made. I think that before any changes in allowable activities in residential neighborhoods are approved, there should be a clear and overarching public need or interest.
  I've been very consistent with this opinion over the years. I've not supported allowing home beauty salons, lawn mower repair, and many other activities in residential areas. In fact at the next Council Meeting a request is being made to allow a home salon in a residential area. I intend to vote against this request.
  I hope this in some way explains my position. As I hope you can see it really is not predicated on anything specific to a few hens in the back yard. It is, however, based on my overall responsibility to preserve and protect the expectations of homeowners in residential areas.
  Having said this, should City Council approve your request I wish you and all your friends the very best in this activity that I know you all love.

 At least we understand his point of view now. I have posted my response to his letter in a follow-up post.

 Update: On November 20, Chesapeake City Council voted 6-3 to allow hens with certain restriction in residential areas. De Triquet was one of the three Council members who voted against the ordinance. The others were Council Members West and Ritter.

The Lone "No" Vote and The Chicken Activist's Response

Here is my own response to Council Member De Triquet's email, which I reported in my last post. My sincere belief is that if he puts time into researching this issue, he will change his mind. And if this message fails to nudge him in that direction, perhaps nothing will:

Thanks for your clear response. I certainly now understand your point of view.

In my own eyes there's a difference between moving to a residential area and moving to one that has a homeowners' or residential association. When I lived in Elizabeth City, I lived within the city limits. In that city, which is just as urban as Chesapeake in certain sections, hens are considered neither pets nor livestock but poultry.

Although livestock is not permitted in the city, poultry is. Residents can keep up to three hens (no roosters) with restrictions regarding noise, odor, and keeping the hens out of roads and on one's own property. I volunteered with the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals there, and very rarely did Animal Control need to bring in chickens. They are not much of a problem. But since my home used to be in a location with a homeowners' association, and this association prohibited chickens, I followed the bylaws.

If homeowners have such deeply held convictions about not having hens near their residences, these residents can live in areas with such restrictions. It's a free country, and the proposed zoning law will not remove residential associations and their restrictions. But the rest of us should be able to feed ourselves, fertilize our gardens, improve our soil, improve our health, fight pollution, and prepare for disasters or other local emergencies as we see fit, assuming we are not impinging on our neighbors. With hens we can do all these things to improve our community. And our proposed ordinance will give the (sic) Chesapeake a law with teeth that can address any rare instances where residential chickens present a nuisance due to owners' negligence.

In our view, there is "a clear and overarching public need or interest" that our proposed ordinance will address. Society's needs and expectations change over time, as this 1918 advertisement by the U.S. Government proves. Research shows that we now live in a world with drastic climate change, the threat of bio-terrorism, increased population density, increased pollution, health and nutritional challenges, and imminent peak oil. Hens and local foods are an important part of the solution. This is certainly the view of Patricia Foreman, a Cornell-educated (sic) author and lecturer who plans to appear in Chesapeake sometime in the coming months.  The City of Chesapeake, led by intelligent and well-informed City Council Members such as yourself, should therefore take a proactive stance by supporting the urban agriculture movement in general and our proposed ordinance in particular.

I fear I am belaboring the issue. If you follow up on my assertions, you will find selected readings and research available on Google Docs through this link. After researching these issues for yourself, if you still disagree, we will simply have to agree to disagree.

Update on 8/20/12: I doubled-checked the "About the Author" information in City Chicks, and Pat was educated at Purdue in Indiana. Ow! My apologies, Pat!

Update: On November 20, Chesapeake City Council voted 6-3 to allow hens with certain restriction in residential areas. De Triquet was one of the three Council members who voted against the ordinance. The others were Council Members West and Ritter.