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Posted on Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 9:15 a.m.

Backyard chickens in Chelsea? City Council hears appeal, schedules discussion

By Lisa Carolin

Backyard chickens will be on the agenda for the Chelsea City Council July 12.

That's after nearly two dozen supporters of the Chelsea Backyard Chickens group, which wants the city to allow Chelsea homeowners to raise up to six hens for egg laying, attended the Chelsea City Council meeting Tuesday night expecting the matter to be on the agenda. The city's current ordinance bans chickens on lots smaller than 5 acres.

Chickens_laying_box.jpg

The Chelsea City Council will discuss a group's request to allow residents to have backyard chickens.

Chris Felesky, a leader of the Chelsea Backyard Chickens group, thought he had filled out a request a month ago to have the item on the council's agenda. But Felesky had actually filled out a citizen agenda Item request, which allowed him to speak during the public comments part of the meeting but did not officially put the item on the agenda.

The council then scheduled the discussion for a work session at 6 p.m. on July 12, prior to the City Council's next meeting.

"Raising a few hens for eggs is not any more of an agricultural activity than having a tomato garden," Felesky told the Council. "Hens are innocuous. It would be no cost to the city and there would be no infrastructure needed."

Felesky was among several members of the Chelsea Backyard Chickens group who spoke during the public comments time.

"I had eight chickens in my back yard for 10 years and had no problems until I got a rooster which crowed and caused a neighbor's dog to bark," said Chelsea resident Lucy Silverio. "As long as having chickens doesn't infringe on someone else, an outright ban seems wrong."

Although Ana Hotaling lives in Lyndon Township where she can legally raise chickens and has 42 of them as well as 11 roosters, she came to the meeting to support the city dwellers.

"Chickens are friendly animals and make less noise and have less waste than a dog," she said. "Chelsea has an agricultural heritage and fresh eggs are part of it."

Lisa Carolin is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page. To reach the news desk, call 734-623-2530.

Comments

vg550

Wed, Jul 20, 2011 : 12:56 p.m.

I agree with JSUChick and "Why in the world do people deem it necessary to have chickens in the city!" You want chickens, move to the country. What next, just one goat per household, 2 potbellied pigs per family .... once you open the door to this you've created a precedent. I hope Chelsea hold's it city ground and votes NO!

nixon41

Thu, Jun 30, 2011 : 11:19 a.m.

I guess if you want to have chickens, move to AnnArbor. They allow everything.

C. Holland

Thu, Jun 30, 2011 : 1:31 a.m.

I've lived around chickens several times in my life and can't ever recall them smelling bad. Must have been hanging out with the wrong chickens? (Seriously, makes me wonder what the fellow's neighbor in Ypsilanti is doing wrong.)

Jim Pryce

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 9:22 p.m.

I'm in Superior Township & have Chickens. They are great pets. I'm providing my wife's co-workers with eggs, as well as 2 other customers. $3. a Dozen, it was $2, but folks told me I wasn't charging enough. I hope Chelsea & Ypsi Twp. let folks have their hens. Good Luck to you all.

Angela Barbash

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 11:58 p.m.

I've paid as high as $5/dozen for local eggs

rusty shackelford

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 4:47 p.m.

Not sure why so many towns in Washtenaw are even having this debate. MI Right to Farm Act says municipalities can't prevent agricultural practices. You may technically have to "sell" your goods to qualify, but that provision is quite flimsy. Put a sign in your front yard that says "Eggs for sale," and you essentially qualify no matter how many you in fact successfully sell.

Angela Barbash

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 5:37 p.m.

Good point, although as I understand it the land had to have been zoned for ag before it was zoned for residential, if it was then you have the right to farm it. It's definitely a grey area... I know a lot of Ypsi Township folks that have chickens and justify it by saying that the ordinances really aren't clear on the matter.

rusty shackelford

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 4:49 p.m.

""Raising a few hens for eggs is not any more of an agricultural activity than having a tomato garden," Felesky told the Council" Although she may have entirely undermined her case right there...

jhammer

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 3:20 p.m.

More stories about birds. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I'd watch out people of Ann Arbor. If aa.com changes their logo to a nest or starts a feature called "bird's eye view", we are about to be Hitchcocked around here.

JSUChick

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 3:07 p.m.

Why in the world do people deem it necessary to have chickens in the city! They do not make less noise, trust me I know first hand how annoying they are!!! I live right by them and a darn goat! And before you say move.. NO I will not move, because Ypsi passed this ridiculous ordiance and I've been living in this neighborhood for 7 years! It is not a joy to want to have your windows open to get a fresh breeze and you have to listen to chickens clucking and roosters cocka-do-da-dooing at the crack of dawn. And no I will not close my windows, because I feel if I want fresh air in my own HOME, I have that right! Take that to the country where farm animals belong not in city limits! It is unfair to those who are neighbors to the indvidual who has to have "fresh eggs"! The smell is unbearable at times when it is hot and the wind blows just right, no chicken coop has ever smelled like a bed of roses. Do not be fooled, I live with this on a day to day basis and it is not a pleasant experience whatsoever! I will repeat: DO NOT BELIEVE THEY MAKE LESS NOISE THAN A DOG THAT IS A CROCK OF YOU KNOW WHAT! I'm sure it will pass as it did in Ypsilanti, but I tell you what, if I could make them disappear I would..Chickens and roosters have no business within city limits..whatsoever and whose ever dumb idea it was to even think about I'd like to have a 1 on 1 with that person! These people who want this have no consideration of their neighbors it's quite rude!

Angela Barbash

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 11:57 p.m.

Again, sorry your neighbor is being a nuisance -- if it's bothersome, you have a right to complain about it and work towards a compromise that doesn't leave you sleepless. I think my neighbors dogs that bark incessantly at 3am, or my other neighbor's cat that lives outside and craps in my garden beds is a far greater injustice then clucking hens. And those of us that are rooting for the right to have hens in the city are simply trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Many egg-lovers might live in the country if they could, but they can't. You make good with what you have. Look on the bright side... when food disappears from grocery store shelves or becomes too cost prohibitive, you can always lobby your neighbor to sell you their eggs.

JSUChick

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 6:36 p.m.

@Angela Barbash.. it should never even be allowed in a residential neighborhood PERIOD! The clucking is annoying as all get out.. not only do I work full time, but I am also a part time student. Chicken are noisier than the Rooster! it's not fair to residents whatsoever, take it to the rural areas where chickens, roosters, goats, etc belong, not in the doggone city. It's RUDE

Angela Barbash

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 5:35 p.m.

Roosters should not be allowable, and most ordinances do not allow them because of the noise. Coops smell if they're not kept clean, which also is regulated in most ordinances. I'm sorry to hear that you're having a bad experience with your neighbors.

Angela Barbash

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 2:06 p.m.

Way to go Chelsea for considering a backyard chicken ordinance! Ypsilanti Township is also considering an ordinance and it will be discussed at the July 19th meeting 6:30pm at the Civic Center Building on Huron River Drive. Please come out to support us, and spread the word with your chicken-loving Ypsi Township contacts.