Tuesday night, after work and the Farmers Market, I dashed
downtown for a community meeting regarding urban livestock and gardening. This is quite a hot button topic around the
country these days.
From back in the historical context of our government
encouraging all citizens to have two hens per person as layers and food source,
to the modern times where folks seem to have come to believe that chicken comes
without feathers on a Styrofoam plate with plastic wrap, there has certainly
been a departure from the centrist viewpoint. As small farmers who believe in
free range and organic, non-GMO practices, I read the notice talking about the concerns
of the community representatives and thought I should go listen ot he concerns
and, if needed or appropriate, be a voice for the middle ground.
In the meeting, were city officials looking at amendments to
the city code, their staffers, and other farmers who managed livestock in the
county area, as well as community members who believed in the proposed change
for sustainable food sources, city livestock owners and gardeners and community representatives from
neighborhoods who were very concerned about the potential problems from urban agriculture. There were abundant copies
of the presentation slides, in addition to the legislation notes they were
proposing. They took time to listen to everyone.
The staffers and those from the community who had been
involved in the drafting of the proposed changes to the code had come into the
meeting thinking they were ready to ask the council for a study session in
October. But the folks who had been representing the community representatives
hadn’t previously brought forward some of the intense concern being felt in a
few of the neighborhoods.
Even in the most law abiding of communities, there are folks
who abuse the rules and sometimes. We have a habit of sending eggs or
pomegranates or homemade breads over the fences to thank neighbors for putting
up with us in the Spring hatching and raising season before county fair. We are
so lucky that our neighbors look at our silly little abode as a great neighbor,
where they know what is going on and can drop by with grandchildren to check
out the baby animals. But it isn’t like that for everyone.
And so, I ask, if this were your community, what would you
think? What rules would you think were appropriate?
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