Let's Thank City Council This Thanksgiving!

4 Chesapeake Hens is launching a thank-you note campaign! As Thanksgiving approaches, let's write our City Council members short, heartfelt notes in gratitude for our freedom to have laying hens in our residential backyards. Personalized, handwritten notes are OK and even encouraged. Keep messages short but positive.

Printed note cards can be purchased inexpensively at discount stores or dollar stores. Send them individually to the Council members at their home addresses as printed on the City's website. Put cute pictures of your hens, your coop, your garden that is thriving with your chickens' help, your kids enjoying your chickens, etc., in the notes. Even better, enlist the family's help, and get the kids to write some of the notes, too. Be sure to put your return address on the note cards so Council can contact you if they have questions or want to follow up. I used the same return address stickers I put on the envelopes inside the note cards to save space, and then I wrote my phone number at the bottom of the sticker.

Act now! Remember, the "hen ordinance" will be on the City Council agenda on Tuesday, November 26. There is a sunset clause on the original ordinance, so Council must vote to keep the law so we can continue to keep our hens legally. Mark your calendars and plan to be there to support the cause. Numbers and visibility make a difference. The meeting starts at 6:30, but you will need to sign up in advance of the meeting if you plan to speak.

In case you're curious, I already wrote my notes to Council. They are ready to go in the mail tomorrow, along with pictures of my favorite pullet, Blue the Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte. It is a joy to be part of a movement that is preserving beautiful heritage breeds like hers.

Blue the Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte LOVES her home and wants to keep it!

Update: On November 26, 2013, Chesapeake City Council voted to make the "hen ordinance" permanent. The meeting may be viewed online:  fast forward to 1:19 to see some great pro-chicken speeches and the City Council's reaction.

City Council Member of the Week

Our grass-roots community group, "4 Chesapeake Hens," found the following approach very useful when we worked to get backyard hens legalized in Chesapeake, Virginia, with certain restrictions. Instead of asking members to contact everyone on City Council all at once, we asked them to contact one Council Member at a time, so that our efforts were more focused and hopefully noticed.

We are not done working for the right to keep our hens, however. City Council voted a sunset clause into the ordinance, which means that if Council does not vote to keep the law by December 20, 2013, our right to keep our hens will lapse. Therefore it is time to contact our elected leadership and share our expectations.

Remember to keep all contact with our elected leadership concise, informed, and polite. This is how our group earned the right to keep hens, and this is how we will continue to keep them. Also remember that most Council Members voted *for* the hen ordinance. We will inform  you which ones did or did not, and we will inform you *why* a Council Member voted against us if we know the reasons. If you email, be sure to include contact information such as your name, address, email address, and telephone number.

10/12/13

Our final "City Council Member of the Week" is Vice Mayor John de Triquet, who voted *against* backyard hens along with Debbie Ritter and Rick West. Dr. de Triquet has been very open and honest about his opposition to backyard hens since the beginning of our group's efforts in Chesapeake. He has been willing to communicate and very polite. He also seems to appreciate the respectful, well-informed way our group has approached hims. Nevertheless, his mind has seemed to be made up. Video is available on YouTube that explains Vice Mayor de Triquet's "no" vote back in November. It's interesting to note that he cites the opinions of health officials in Richmond, yet Richmond has legalized backyard microflocks since last November. If anyone discovers any specifics about his concerns for public health or safety, please let us know! We would like to address them if we can.

Here is his contact information:

Vice Mayor John de Triquet

Council Member
3020 Princess Anne Crescent
Chesapeake, VA 23321

Contact Numbers:

Business: 757-312-9220
Home: 757-484-0542
Fax: 757-484-0014
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6951
E-mail: Johndetriquet@aol.com

10/6/13

This week's "City Council Member of the Week" is Debbie Ritter, who voted *against* backyard hens last November. She has been consistently willing to talk to her constituents and to listen to them, but she has consistently opposed the hens. Her main reason seems to be her perception of residents' "expectations." Be sure to share your own expectations politely when you contact her. Explain that voters' expectations might be different from what she suspects. Video of her explanation when she voted against the hens last November is available on YouTube through Saad Ringa. Thanks, Saad!

Here is her contact information:

S.Z. "Debbie" Ritter

Council Member
732 Schoolhouse Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322

Contact Numbers:

Home: 757-482-4242
Fax: 757-482-6356
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6948
Email: dritter@cityofchesapeake.net

9/29/13

This week's "City Council Member of the Week" is Scott W. Matheson.  He also voted for allowing backyard hens. Be sure to thank Mr. Matheson and ask him to renew the ordinance. Here is his contact information:

Scott W. Matheson

Council Member
725 Watch Island Reach
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Contact Numbers:

Phone: 757-548-3296
Fax: 757-410-9409
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6947
E-mail: scott@scott-matheson.com

9/20/13

Lonnie E. Craig is this week's "City Council Member of the Week." He voted *for* backyard hens last November. Please thank him for doing so and remind him that it is time to extend the law. Here is his contact information:

Lonnie E. Craig

Council Member
3613 S. Battlefield Blvd.
Chesapeake, VA 23322

Contact Numbers:

Home: 757-421-2322
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6946
E-mail: lcraig@cityofchesapeake.net


9/15/13

This week's ""City Council Member of the Week" is Dr. Ella P. Ward. When she voted for the hen ordinance, she said the sunset clause was important to her. She  felt it important for Council to revisit the ordinance this fall in case backyard hens were causing the City or its residents any problems. It is time to remind her that the hens have been a blessing, not a problem, to residents of Chesapeake. We need to make this ordinance permanent so we can continue to enjoy our hens. Here is her contact information:

Dr. Ella P. Ward

Council Member
1517 Pine Grove Lane
Chesapeake, VA 23321

Contact Numbers:

Home: 757-488-6843
Fax: 757-488-4713
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6950
E-mail: eward@cityofchesapeake.net

9/7/13

This week's "City Council Member of the Week" is our Mayor, Alan P. Krasnoff. He voted *for* backyard hens back in November. Please thank him and ask him to do the same the next time the issue is up for a vote. The mayor is interested in helping people from all walks of life, especially those who face challenging circumstances. If chickens have helped you or your family overcome adversity in any way, please be sure to share your story. Here is his contact information according to the City's website:

Dr. Alan P. Krasnoff

Mayor
1006 Cuervo Court
Chesapeake, VA 23322

Contact Numbers:

Business: 757-547-9266
Home: 757-547-8446
Fax: 757-547-9268
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6974
E-mail: akrasnoff@cityofchesapeake.net


8/29/13

Our third "City Council Member of the Week" is  Susan H. "Suzy" Kelly. She voted *for* backyard hens back in November and has told me she "hopes to be able to" vote for them again this fall. She has been one of the more responsive council members to our questions and requests. She has strong interests in environmental concerns, especially water quality. She also has told me that she hoped that backyard hens would not become a divisive issue in our community. Please send her messages reassuring her on both counts. Thank her for her support. Here is her contact information from the City's website:

Susan H. "Suzy" Kelly

Council Member
1716 Lambert Court
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Contact Numbers:

Phone: 757-523-2900
Fax: 757-523-0903
Ph. Mail: 757-213-5115
E-mail: suzy@jokell.com

8/22/13

Our second "City Council Member of the Week" is Dr. Rick West, who has degrees in education. He voted against backyard hens in November, but we are still not sure what his reasons were. In a recent article in the Clipper, West claims he has not changed his opinion but is trying to keep an open mind, particularly since there have been few complaints. Let's thank him for trying to keep an open mind and see if we can find out exactly what his concerns are. If you learn of his reasons, please keep us posted in comments either here or on 4 Chesapeake Hens' Facebook page. Perhaps we can find ways to assuage whatever concerns he may still have.

Dr. Richard W. "Rick" West

Council Member
1144 Fairway Drive
Chesapeake, Va  23320

Contact Numbers:

Home: 757-436-1915
Fax: 757-390-3598
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6952
E-mail: rwest@cityofchesapeake.net



Our first "City Council Member of the Week" is Robert Ike, who is the City Council Member who worked very hard to bring this law to pass. He has always been completely in our corner. Let's start by thanking him for what he has done, and offering to help him as he works toward making this change permanent. Here is his contact information as provided by the City.

8/15/13:

Robert C. Ike, Jr.

Council Member
908 Executive Court, #104
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Contact Numbers:

Home: 757-842-4819
Fax: 757-482-6654
Ph. Mail: 757-382-6956
E-mail: rike@cityofchesapeake.net

Update: On November 26, 2013, Chesapeake City Council voted to make the "hen ordinance" permanent. The meeting may be viewed online:  fast forward to 1:19 to see some great pro-chicken speeches and the City Council's reaction. 

Chickens vs. The Sunset Law, First Efforts

Our grass-roots community group, 4 Chesapeake Hens, succeeded in convincing City Council to allow up to six "female chickens" with certain restrictions on all single-family residential lots in Chesapeake, Virginia. There was a one-year sunset clause on the ordinance, which passed in November of 2012. This means that City Council must vote to make the law permanent by December 20, 2013, or we will lose our right to keep our chickens legally.

Last night at City Council I made a speech and presented the results of our group's Freedom of Information Act request for data on violations and complaints regarding residential chickens. Here is the text of my speech:

"My name is Mary Lou Burke, and I live at 945 Hollywood Drive.

"As a resident of Chesapeake, I am proud of you, our Mayor and City Council. You made a decision to allow micro-flocks of laying hens in all single-family residential backyards. By legalizing hens, you made a decision based on facts, not on myths and misinformation. By legalizing hens, you also led the way toward a more family-friendly, healthier, and more sustainable community. You protected personal property rights by restoring to us our historic right to keep a few hens on our own property and for our own use. And you led the way not only locally, but regionally as well. In the time since Chesapeake legalized residential hens last November, both Richmond and Portsmouth have legalized them, and Hampton, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach are taking another look at their own 'hen laws.' Well done!

"The next step is to make this change permanent. We are all aware that there is a sunset clause on this ordinance, which means that Council must vote to keep the law by December 20, or our rights will lapse. We cannot allow that to happen and to lose the progress that we have already made.To that end, our group presents to you a report based on data that we obtained under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. The City’s own data shows that violations and even complaints regarding chickens in residential areas have actually decreased since the 'hen law' was enacted. It also proves that there were over 7,000 complaints about dogs and cats in a time period where there were less than 50 complaints about residential chickens. Your city’s own data proves that the 'hen law' should be made permanent.

"Finally, our group asks the City what the time frame and process will be for making the decision about keeping the hen ordinance. We would like to be informed regarding the points in the process where there will be opportunities for public comment. We residents are enjoying our hens tremendously, and we want to be sure that we can continue to enjoy them."

The speech is also available on video but viewers will need to scroll to about 2:12. Our group is proud of our City Council for returning to us an important property right, but our community deserves to see this change made permanent.

Update: On November 26, 2013, Chesapeake City Council voted to make the "hen ordinance" permanent. The meeting may be viewed online:  fast forward to 1:19 to see some great pro-chicken speeches and the City Council's reaction.

Chesapeake Chickens and FOIA Request, Parts 1 and 2

I made a request for information under Virginia's Freedom of Information Act to the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, back in June. I asked for information regarding the number of complaints pertaining to chickens, the nature of the complaints, the location of the complaints, and whether they were found valid or not. I asked for information for the past two years through May.

Our group, 4 Chesapeake Hens, convinced Chesapeake's City Council to change local ordinances to allow up to six hens in backyards in single-family residential lots on November 20, 2012. The law was passed with a "sunset clause," which means that City Council will revisit the "hen issue" this fall and make a final decision whether to keep the law the same, to change it, or let it revert to its draconian past, where hens were only allowed in agricultural areas or on a few residential estates. Our group obviously wants to be allowed to keep our hens, so we requested data that we hoped would bolster our cause.

We also asked for data on dog and cat complaints during the same time period as a point of comparison. That data will not be available until August 7. For the convenience of having all the paperwork in one spot, we will publish our FOIA-related discoveries here on this page.

Page 1 original letter with our group's request and estimated costs

Page 2 of this letter explains the total cost of the information is over $500.00. We paid it.

The City sends chicken information and will send information on dogs and cats when available

This chart shows chicken and related complaints for the past two years

This chart attempts to summarize the information on the previous page

Our group is looking forward to studying this data in greater depth to see how we can best use it to our advantage in the coming months. So far it does NOT look like there have been a huge number of complaints or a huge increase in complaints regarding chickens, which is good news!

Part 2, Updated on 8/9/13:

Our group has received the second part of our request, which is information on complaints regarding dogs and cats within the same time period we are studying chickens. There were many more complaints, of course. We have had a chance to analyze the initial data, and the analysis is very favorable to the chickens. We plan to present it to City Council; it is available here. Here is the additional information which supports our analysis. All this information has cost our group a total of $467.32.

$526.40 minus $59.08 means all our FOIA documents cost us $467.32.

The estimate was higher, so our group got a $59.08 refund of our deposit for the info.

Chicks at the Beach? Why Not?

These children gave us a warm welcome!

Virginia Beach residents have been involved in an ongoing struggle to get backyard laying hens legalized in residential areas. 4 Virginia Beach Hens has organized this effort. Our grassroots community group, 4 Chesapeake Hens, got up to six laying hens legalized on all single-family lots in our community. The Virginia Beach group asked me to speak in front of its city council regarding my personal experiences since our laws here were changed. Here is the text of my speech:

Mayor Sessoms and Members of Council:

My name is Mary Lou Burke. I live at on about ⅓ of an acre in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake. Backyard chickens have been legal in my neighborhood since November 20.  I am speaking here today at the invitation of Virginia Beach residents who wish me to share with you some first-person experiences with *legal* residential laying hens.

I am an avid gardener. We have a secure yet portable chicken tractor for our flock, rather like a rabbit hutch. We move it to a new location every other day. This gives our hens fresh pasture to graze. Our lawn gets the benefit of their valuable manure. Between seasons, the hens clear out unwanted vegetation from our garden beds, and they weed, till, and fertilize for us, all without the use of chemicals or noisy machines. We compost the manure from their coop year round. Our hens convert organic layer pellets, kitchen scraps, caterpillars and other pests, yard and garden waste, weeds, and weed seeds, into valuable fertilizer and the tastiest, freshest, most nutritious eggs we have ever eaten. None of it goes to the landfill. I repeat: the city has to *pay* for none of this to go to the landfill. And if the city loses power due to a natural disaster, our hens’ daily eggs will still be available to us. We will never go hungry so long as our hens are alive and laying.

I cannot express how much pleasure or satisfaction we have derived from our new pets. Our birds are quiet, clean, and inconspicuous. My husband built our chicken tractor in our front driveway. We have a chain-link fence for our backyard but no privacy fence. Despite this, we had to point out our new flock to the neighbors on either side of us. They were shocked. They said they had noticed the building project out front, but they had no idea we had chickens until we actually pointed them out. And they are thrilled with the fresh eggs we share with them. We even entered our chickens in a local coop tour in April. We had a steady stream of families come visit us, including many who had never seen an urban micro-flock. Visitors consistently told us our birds were odorless, extremely quiet, and beautiful animals. Everyone told us that they would have no objections to hens next door even if they didn’t currently want a flock for themselves.

Backyard hens are a growing movement both nationally and regionally. Besides Chesapeake, Portsmouth is extremely close to legalizing them. My friend, Wendy Camacho, recently made a presentation about backyard chickens for the Hampton Roads Realtors’ Association. Her presentation was very well received by the Realtors, who seem to understand hens will do no harm to our region’s  property values. The motto of “4 Virginia Beach Hens” is, “chicks at the beach,” and our response to that slogan is, “why not?”

**Update 8/25/13: After this original post, Portsmouth legalized backyard laying hens with a permit and certain restrictions. So did Hampton, Virginia.

Dogs vs. Chickens in Chesapeake? A Rational Answer...

Catherine M. White on April 28, 2013, stated on the Pilot Online: "There is a VA state law that states that any dog who chases a chicken must be put to death. Does that mean that their dog that killed one of their chickens should be put to death? We can't pick & choose the areas of the law that we like." Mrs. White has been posting similar posts on other media-related websites. Forgive me for paraphrasing "Chicken Little," but her theme from these and other comments seems to be that if Chesapeake's City Council does not rescind a new ordinance allowing up to six laying hens on single-family residential lots, the sky will somehow fall.

But is any there truth to what Mrs. White is claiming? The issue has certainly been in the news, particularly in regard to efforts by Virginia Beach residents to get backyard hens legalized there. The law has come up both on television and in the newspaper.

I am the founder and one of the leaders of 4 Chesapeake Hens, the community group that has convinced Chesapeake City Council to allow up to six "female chickens" in single-family residential backyards with certain restrictions. Here is my response to Mrs. White's post, posted Thursday, May 2:

"Most urban chicken keepers also love other animals. Many of us keep dogs. There are leash laws and chickens must be kept in a pen on the owners' own property.


"There is some wording in the Virginia State codes that it is a 'duty' of animal control or other officers to kill a dog that they catch *in the act of* killing livestock or poultry. The same law allows the owners of the livestock to kill the dog if they catch it in the act on their property. The intent of the law is to protect the rights of farmers in agricultural areas. The livestock are, after all, farmers' livelihood. Unless the dog is caught in the act, the 'duty' clause does not apply. There are similar laws in other states in other areas of the country.
Despite that, our group has not been able to find a single instance in Virginia or anywhere else in the country where a dog has been killed by an officer of the law or by a property owner because it was attacking an urban micro-flock. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the discharge of firearms is illegal in residential areas, perhaps due to the use of fences and to leash laws, or perhaps due to plain old common sense on the part of officers and of people in general."

Readers may actually scrutinize the wording of the state law for themselves by clicking here. It is clear that, except for dogs caught in the actual act of killing the livestock or poultry, there is plenty of opportunity for careful investigation and for protecting dogs through the courts. A dog is not a confirmed poultry killer until its third act of killing poultry. Even then, the owner can save the dog's life by moving it out of state. 4 Virginia Beach Hens believes the concerns about dogs' lives is an excuse or a stalling tactic by their City Council, and we suspect they might be right. Despite this, the law does cause some concern among animal control officers who have contacted us, and it has been a real roadblock to chickens in Virginia Beach. Our group intends to address this law at the state level to try to amend the language to accommodate the needs of both urban and rural flock-keepers. In the meantime, we ask the public to keep concerns about danger to dogs in perspective.

Update: On November 26, 2013, Chesapeake City Council voted to make the "hen ordinance" permanent. The meeting may be viewed online:  fast forward to 1:19 to see some great pro-chicken speeches and the City Council's reaction.

Update: in February of 2014 the Virginia legislature voted to amend this law to allow Animal Control Officers the option to seize the predatory dog instead of killing it outright. The amendment had broad support.

Our Very First Backyard Egg!

Buff Orpingtons on the Left; the Delaware on the Right

Our new pullets, two Buff Orpingtons and a Delaware, are a delight. We've had them a little over a week, and they are settling in beautifully. Their names are Athena, Minerva, and Nike. One of the three-- they won't tell me who!-- laid an egg this afternoon. It's the first since we got them.

I cannot describe the wonder and excitement of finding this light-brown beauty in the nest box when I got home from work. Don and I took turns having our pictures taken with it, and then we cooked it up and ate it.

Both of us said there is nothing else like it. We have never had an egg from any supermarket, in any restaurant, or even fresh-bought from any farm, that tasted as good as this egg did. I can see why residents in many municipalities will ignore the law to have eggs as fresh and delightful as these! It made all the hard work of getting laying hens legalized in residential backyards in Chesapeake well worth it. 4 Chesapeake Hens rocks!

I'll post some picture below.

Yours Truly with Our First Egg

Don is serious-looking but just as proud!

The Orange Yolk and Thick Whites of a Fresh, Pastured Egg!

We Wish We Could Post a Taste Online... Incredible!

4 Chesapeake Hens: How did we change the law?

 On our Facebook page, I've been getting inquiries about how our group managed to be so successful that we changed local laws regarding laying hens in residential areas, and in less than a year. Here's my short, but not so simple, answer:

It was hard work in the beginning. I started our page, "4 Chesapeake Hens," under another name in late December of 2011. We started with about two or three "likes" and grew, SLOWLY at first, from there. I tried to keep the page positive, upbeat, and informative. Even when we had few fans, I tried to post some news article about chickens with some comments every day. 

It took weeks before anyone among the fans was posting anything themselves. I took the best of those ideas and shared them on our wall. I did everything I could to publicize our page and our efforts, not just on Facebook but on Twitter, YouTube, XtraNormal, Change.org, by email, and through the local media (newspaper and television when opportunity arose). 

When we got some active supporters who made good suggestions, I followed up on the suggestions and let the membership know. I constantly invited members to MEET in person to work together on changing the law. It took months before I actually got the first committed members to join me for a face-to-face meeting. The first meeting was at a local I-Hop. 

Once I had that kind of face-to-face interaction, I invited leadership: those who consistently posted great information on our wall, made good suggestions, and used common sense and courtesy when interacting with others, I made an admin. on our wall. When folks have made suggestions that would help the cause, I've told them to run with it, putting their own energy into it, and supported them all I can.

 I've shown gratitude for everyone's hard work, and it HAS been hard work! I've tried to avoid a culture of excuses and blame; we are all volunteers and contribute what we can, when we can. I've tried to listen very carefully and to compromise and reach a consensus on important matters, even about when and where we'll meet. I've tried to be helpful, giving a ride to events to an interested fan who lacked transportation. I ask for HELP, I work with others, I provide and listen to good information, I discover what others' interests and talents are, and put them to use. 

We became a team involved in a group effort. These were people I didn't know back in December. Many have become my very good friends. "4 Chesapeake Hens" is now a fantastic team with solid leadership. We work together to make great things happen. 

This may sound like a lot of work. You don't know the half of it. But it has been worth it. Soon, my family will be enjoying fresh eggs from Buff Orpington hens cared for right here in my own backyard. We appreciate the help of Robert Ike on our City Council and of Marjon Rostami and others of the Virginian Pilot and Reed Andrews of WVEC TV.

Update 12/2/12: I mentioned data but didn't give any up above. Here are our publications that helped us convince Council:

A Case for Chesapeake Hens

Our rebuttal of the Staff Report  

Lanette Lepper's fantastic report regarding communities with similar density and how hens have had minimal impact there.

Our group's constantly-evolving Chicken Research page.

Update 1/27/14: I forgot to mention one idea that seemed to help: City Council Person of the Week. As a group we would concentrate on one local politician at a time in the weeks leading up to the vote. Our Council Members are elected at large, so this approach seemed to make sense in Chesapeake. Please note that our group developed a reputation for being well-informed and unfailingly polite. This reputation helped us, since that is, unfortunately, NOT what Council Members are used to, and so our approach helped our group stand out.

Victory 4 Chesapeake Hens!

Last night, Chesapeake City Council voted 6-3 to allow up to six laying hens, in a pen, on single-family lots in residential areas. This was the result of a lot of hard work and teamwork by a dedicated group of individuals dedicated to individual freedom, property rights, sustainability, and--yes!-- chickens!

There are two caveats: homeowners' association or property owners' association rules still supersede this law. And there was a "sunset clause" built into the legislation, so City Council will be asking for another Staff Report in about a year. The law could be undone if chickens at that point are causing major problems in the city.

But our research predicts this won't happen. We are happily resting up, making gardening plans, studying coop designs, and picking out chicken breeds.

Thanks to all those who supported 4 Chesapeake Hens in this historic effort. Click here if you'd like to watch my speech requesting the change.Click here if you want to watch the historic vote. Specific City Council Members' input will be posted as soon as available on YouTube. In the meantime, it is available on the City Council webpage under the November 20th agenda.

**Update: After seeing some posts on our Facebook page, let me add some further clarifications: the new law allows laying hens. Killing or processing one's chickens for meat is prohibited in residential areas. There are also setbacks for the coop from the property line. The text of the new law is available here, including the 1-year sunset clause on the changes.

When and Why Were Chickens Banned in Chesapeake? An Answer at Last!

4 Chesapeake Hens is a grass-roots organization that is trying to get micro-flocks of laying hens legalized in all residential areas of Chesapeake, VA. Currently the law only allows chickens on land zoned agricultural and on RE-1 "residential estates" of three acres or more. There, up to four hens (no roosters) may be kept in a pen. Up until yesterday, I have been unable to get factual information from the City regarding exactly when and why chickens were banned (see this previous post).

A member of City Council, Debbie Ritter, finally suggested I contact Dolores A. Moore, our City Clerk, with a request for more research on this topic. Yesterday I received an email that contained copies of minutes from both the Planning Commission and from the City Council where chickens were mentioned. These minutes date back to April 12, 1966, which is even before zoning was legally adopted in Chesapeake. Even then, there is a suggestion that the City preserve tracts of "two or three acres of land" for residents who desire to keep "ponies and chickens."

However, chickens and other poultry were allowed in the residential areas of Chesapeake up until June 17, 1975, when Council voted to allow "livestock, poultry, and other animals not commonly kept as pets" only in the A-1, RE-1, and (now defunct) C-1 Districts. The ordinance went into effect thirty days after its adoption. But even then the minutes make clear that it was the intention of the City to continue to allow residents who already had livestock to continue to do so under a "non-conforming use" unless the residents had stopped for one year, at which point they would not be allowed to begin again.

The only record of any objection to the new law was made by a Mr. Joseph T. Hall of 1385 Elbow Road at the Planning Commission meeting on May 19, 1975, which recommended the adoption of this ordinance. Mr. Hall owned a property zoned R-15s in the South Norfolk borough of Chesapeake, and he had tenants there who kept chickens. When informed that the ordinance "would prohibit the future keeping of animals not commonly classed as household pets on the property," Hall objected to the ordinance.

This ordinance must have generated some confusion or potential confusion about what constituted livestock, because on February 15, 2005, City Council Member Ritter made a motion to approve TA-Z-04-09, an ordinance "to clarify that rabbits, fish, and other animals can be kept as pets under certain circumstances." Council Members Burkhimer, Hayes, Krasnoff, de Triquet, Edge, Newman, Parker, Ritter, and Willis unanimously voted for the measure. Up to ten rabbits were allowed as pets under the ordinance, but domestic fowl were still prohibited.

These minutes answer the questions of when hens were prohibited, but not the question of why. Was the problem increased urban density, as Zoning Administrator John King once told me? Was it due to the mythical problems that chickens presumably cause? Or was there any evidence back in 1975 for the types of potential problems outlined in the Staff Report that 4 Chesapeake Hens has thoroughly rebutted?

To answer that question, I searched through old microfilms of newspapers from June of 1975. A few hours' search turned up an article from the Ledger-Star, dated Thursday, June 19, 1975.  I will quote from this article, "New Law Prohibits Farm Animals in City," below:

"The new regulation is based on a request by the council in January and generated from a claim for the city to pay the value of ducks killed in a residential zone.

"The claim was based on state law requiring cities and counties to reimburse residents when their livestock is fatally wounded by wild dogs.

"In the past several months, as more and more residents have asked for reimbursement from the city, the council has grown increasingly skeptical of their requests.

"When a Martin Avenue man asked for $93 to compensate for 19 ducks killed by stray dogs, Councilman J. Bennie Jennings Jr. noted the man lived in a district zoned for single-family homes on small lots. The Martin Avenue man received $53.30 for the loss of his ducks but the council voted to refer the question of proper zoning for livestock and poultry breeding to the Planning Commission. The city's planners recommended that farm animals be limited to three zoning districts. 

"Planning Department Director Milton Perry told the council the new ordinance would not apply to bonafide farms in areas subsequently zoned for residential use. 

"Also, the law would not affect persons in resmdential (sic) zones who currently maintain limited numbers of farm animals for their own use. Such situations would be classified as non-conforming uses and so long as such residents did not discontinue keeping farm animals for as much as two years they could keep their poultry and livestock."

With subsequent changes that have been made in state and local laws, the potential for residents with poultry to run the City's coffers dry with spurious livestock claims has been prevented, as explained in 4 Chesapeake Hens' "Further Information" document, pp. 9-11. And it is clear that the original intent of the law was to limit "poultry breeding," not the keeping of a few chickens for household use. Therefore there is no reason that the current Council cannot undo the unnecessary restrictions that have been imposed upon Chesapeake's residents over the years as an unintended consequence of this law. Flocks of up to six laying hens, kept in pens, should be allowed in all single-family residences, for all the reasons explained on this website and elsewhere.

If you  agree with us, be sure to arrive at the City Council meeting this Tuesday, November 20, at 6:30 PM at City Hall on Cedar Rd. Come dressed in red and sit with us. If you desire to speak, you must sign up to speak BEFORE the meeting begins, however. Remarks are limited to five minutes and may be cut to three depending on the number of people speaking. Let City Council know you support TA-Z-12-07 with changes to allow the keeping of up to six hens and the removal of the privacy fencing requirement.

**Update: On November 20, 2012, Councilman Robert Ike made a motion to allow up to six hens, in a pen, on residential properties on single-family lots. The motion carried, 6-3.

Crunch Time 4 Chesapeake Hens

Laying hens are back on the agenda for Chesapeake City Council. Our organization, 4 Chesapeake Hens, has been trying to get backyard micro-flocks of six laying hens legalized for single-family residences throughout Chesapeake, VA. (Why six? Click here). The current laws allow chickens only on land zoned agricultural. There is one exception: residents who own RE-1 "residential estates" of three acres or more may keep up to four hens, no roosters, in a pen as household pets. In effect, you must have the money to have substantial land in Chesapeake to raise your own fresh eggs. We have been working hard to change that!

Our organization inexplicably suffered a setback at a Planning Commission hearing, as explained in prior posts: click here for the Commission meeting itself, here for our group's frustration at the lack of commentary by the Commissioners who voted against hens, and here for Commissioner Adam Perry's comments on backyard hens. Our official position is that we support a proposed change to existing ordinances, TA-Z-12-07, with changes to allow up to six hens and the removal of the privacy fencing requirement. The hens will already be required to stay in a pen, and the privacy fence will be an unnecessary and cumbersome financial burden for those who merely want a few fresh eggs!

We have new members joining us on Facebook every day. If you are new and want to know what you can do to help, here is a list:

1.  Like our Facebook page for the latest news and information.
2. Print up flyers to distribute in likely places, such as at feed stores or with sympathetic coworkers.
3. Consider sending an email such as this one to friends who are Chesapeake residents. Be sure to sign it!
4. Contact the mayor and city council members to let them know how you feel. Be polite and respectful.
5. Most of all, COME to the City Council meeting on November 20. Some Councilors fail to realize how many residents from all across our city and from all walks of life care about this issue and support hens. Since the Planning Commission voted against us 4-3, there will be a negative recommendation against us. We need a huge show of support to counter this. Wear red, the color of the "Little Red Hen," and bring every supporter you can round up for us. 

The meeting starts at 6:30. If you desire to speak, show up by 6:15. You will need to fill out a speaker card and turn it in before the meeting starts in order to be heard. Plan to limit your remarks to five minutes. Realize you might be required to cut your remarks back to three minutes; speakers are guaranteed three minutes if there are too many speakers. So far we've had no problems getting five, though.

If you care, be there! And bring family, coworkers, and friends.

If you have any questions, post them on Facebook or comment here, and I'll get back to you.  If you want to learn more about urban laying hens, our research page is a great place to start. We also have a YouTube Channel that highlights our efforts in front of City Council and the Planning Commission in recent months. The Planning Commission meeting is especially motivating. Not one person spoke against the hens, several spoke for, but the Commissioners voted against them without one word of explanation: not what I expect from my tax dollars at work!

Update: On November 20, Chesapeake City Council voted 6-3 to allow hens with certain restriction in residential areas.

Overlay Districts vs. Chesapeake Hens

Our group, 4 Chesapeake Hens, is trying to get micro-flocks of up to six laying hens legalized in residential areas in Chesapeake, Virginia. The Planning Commission has voted against our initial efforts to do this by one vote in a split decision. We may never know the Commissioners' true reasons for voting against us because there was no public discussion or debate against the chickens at the meeting. Those who voted against us have not even given us reasons in our follow-up contacts with them, other than something vague to the effect that the Staff Report seemed thorough and sufficient.

Except that it was not. Our group has researched further information on the Staff Report that we intend to share with City Council. In the meantime, the part of the Staff Report that disturbs me the most is this one:

 ... It's me, again. What bothers me most about this portion of the document is that it is completely clueless about the "urban homesteader" point of view or the other national movements that are behind the interest in gardening. It is clueless regarding WHY an interest in urban chickens is sweeping this nation. Why should hens be banned due to something as arbitrary as an overlay district, if there is nothing intrinsically undesirable about the chickens? We are not asking for a dismantling of these districts, but merely permission to keep a few chickens like any other pet. Doing so will make Chesapeake an even better, more desirable place to live. Residents will be able to enjoy organic gardening and permaculture without leaving their own yards.

Here we are, doing our best to combat urban sprawl and preserve the environment. We also want to live in the residential areas where infrastructure is already in place to support our homes. Some of us are taking older, beat-up homes in residential areas and fixing them up. We hire local remodeling, heating and air-conditioning companies, and other local businesses to do this, thus contributing to the local economy. We generally spend our local dollars as locally as we can.

We want a small spread to reduce our need for lawn mowing because this process takes a lot of time and is very polluting. We are trying to lessen the impact of our properties even more by replacing relatively unproductive lawn that requires mowing with useful vegetable gardens that do not. We desire to live close to our work and recreational activities to save on time and fuel. Our commitment is to residential areas, and we see hens as part of our environmental commitment and as assistants in fertilizing and maintaining these lawns and gardens without the use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and other products made from petroleum. They will even help us till our garden beds without the use of noisy, smelly, gasoline-powered tools.

While some of us can't afford to move to a farm or an RE-1 residential estate, others do not want to do so even if we can afford to. The Staff Report suggests that we add to urban sprawl and to the long lines of automobiles sitting on Highway 64 every weekday morning and afternoon. It suggests we burden the City with the need for even more roads and other infrastructure to support this sprawl, all at taxpayer expense. It tells us the solution is not to object to the restrictions regarding laying hens, but to simply move if we don't like this arbitrary and unnecessary policy under the current overlay districts. And it is somehow confident that residents who are willing to give up other amenities and move for the sake of a few chickens will choose to remain in Chesapeake, instead of looking somewhere in North Carolina or elsewhere where the taxes are lower. Does this sound like sound, proactive city planning as our nation watches fuel prices spike and the approach of peak oil? Is it well-considered in a time of prolonged recession and difficult-to-obtain home mortgages? And if residents of the residential overlay district are so vehemently opposed to a few pet hens next door, where have they been at the public hearings on this matter?

Furthermore, I fail to see how a few pet chickens can threaten an entire overlay district, while a few pet parrots or rabbits cannot. This is totally overblown and illogical.

Our group is far from done in making its case before City Council. Others interested in helping with this effort are urged to contact City Council members, to like our Facebook page, and to sit with us, dressed in red, at City Council meetings. The most important of these is coming up on November 20, 2012, when the "hen issue" is back on the agenda for City Council. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM. If you care, BE there!

Update: On November 20, Chesapeake City Council voted 6-3 to allow hens with certain restriction in residential areas.