While everybody in Greenwood seems to know someone who has a few backyard chickens within city limits, the truth is poultry are not allowed according to the present bylaws.
That’s why Alison Anderson of Greenwood Garden Goodies has asked city council to consider making them legal, so she can have a few chickens for egg and manure production purposes.
“Chickens are already here but I want to do it legally so I decided to take it on and petition the city,” said Anderson, whose small organic operation is on a 1.25 acre (5,058 square meters) city lot.
Anderson would like the bylaw to allow for six laying hens and no rooster, eliminating the noise factor. Six laying hens would produce enough eggs for her small family and enough manure to help supplement her soil with.
In her letter to council, Anderson writes, “As a proponent of the sustainable agriculture movement and local food movement, I believe in the wholesome benefits of hens within city limits. Council, please consider this request and take charge of the future of Greenwood’s sustainability by allowing citizens to raise, bond, and benefit from the healthful advantages of backyard hens”.
In the same letter, Anderson sites backyard hens are environmentally friendly, health promoting animals who provide pest control and will also help reduce the amount of garbage because chickens eat table scraps that would otherwise be thrown out.
Chickens aren’t a new topic for city council to address. Greenwood mayor Nipper Kettle said last year someone complained about a neighbor who had illegal chickens in the city. Writing a bylaw is one thing, enforcing it is quite another. Since the city’s bylaw enforcement officer retired last year, there isn’t anyone who can police the rules. However, livestock and dogs fall under the Regional District Kootenay Boundary and local animal control officer Richard Smith, which may eliminate that concern.
“Chickens are allowed in Vancouver and Midway so why don’t we have something in place that works for everybody,” said Kettle.
Greenwood Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Robin Dalziel is drafting a report to address Anderson’s request. The report will be presented to city council on Monday, May 27. He’ll be studying what other municipalities have done to see what could work for Greenwood.
He approaches the bylaw change request with some trepidation.
He said the bylaw would need to include enforcement options like what to do if someone has more than the number of chickens they are supposed to have. It also needs to address other poultry like ducks, geese and turkeys, which can be more disruptive than chickens.
He said he knows of at least three families who have chickens already. But thinks a bylaw may allow for many more, which could also create concerns around manure disposal, noise and unsightly chicken coops.
Kettle and Anderson believe common sense should prevail. “Just because you have chickens doesn’t mean you have to have a coop that looks (terrible),” said Kettle.
Anderson said she sees the bylaw as a set of standards and guidelines that residents can use to police themselves with.
“I think the one thing Greenwood (city council) has to think about is that this is a city that needs something put into it and positive things to attract families and fill those houses that have been empty for years,” said Anderson, who dreams of seeing her two-year old daughter gathering eggs for her morning breakfast.