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Barnyard Buddies:  Chickens in Ogden, UT  |
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 20 2016 : 05:24:01 AM
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Ogden is one of the few towns in Utah that DON'T allow chickens in the city limits. There is a local group pushing to change this.
A couple of weeks ago, the gentleman who started said group went to the city offices and asked to see the specific bylaw regarding keeping chickens. People have been made to get rid of their chickens and faced fines. And yet....they could not show him the ordinance. He pushed for a meeting with ...not the whole city council, I don't think, but some faction of city gov't. Well, that meeting was yesterday or the day before and the results were...interesting.
Quoting from the post in the group Facebook page - "Wow! The meeting had an underlining prejudice toward chickens and "what sort of people tend to own them" ...very disappointed! However, we aren't stopping here. They really had no good answer about the unclear codes. They had two attorneys who talked in circles! When we showed them where it said "fowl are allowed" they actually argued that "fowl is a parakeet, not a chicken" ...are you kidding me, lol.
Sooooooo, we know what we are up against! Our attorney has agreed to go the extra mile with us and support our alliance!"
Apparently 'chicken people' are a neighborhood undesirable. Who knew?
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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ceridwen
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Carole
New York
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2016 : 07:25:08 AM
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Natalie, I can sympathize with you. It is the same in our village. The zoning law states that we are allowed to have infrastructures to house domesticated animals. The definition of a domesticated animal includes chickens amongst other animals. My DH, who was on the zoning board and has recently been asked to resign due to the chicken issue, has been working on this for the past 2 years. The village's argument is that it is agriculture, which is not permitted in the village. Well, so is gardening and all forms of horticulture. If you allow small scale agriculture, why are you disputing chickens on a small scale. We do not have a rooster and our chickens are in a caged area. They have a beautiful stationary winter coop and their summer coop is mobile. It gets moved around every other day along with the caged area. I call my girls "pets with benefits" 
On a funny note, there is this family in the village that have, for a quite a few years, owned a peahen and a peacock (I didn't know you could eat peahen eggs) among other fowls. Someone left the door open and it was loose, roaming around the neighbourhood. It ended up in our back yard, hanging out with our "girls". The village went ballistic over it! The owner is fighting it and now has a note from a Dr stating that they are therapy animals! The village wants to fight it. It is insane the amount of money the village has spent on the fowl issue. We are such a small village. Here is Mr. Peacock, such a handsome fella - I think he impressed the "girls"! lol
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Wishing you all the best on this issue. It hasn't been easy for us with the recent request that my DH resign (who by the way has done lots of work on improving the forms used to ask for variances etc, always came prepared to the meetings and knew the zoning code like the back of his hand). All that tells me is that where I live, it's not about the law and working towards an understanding but about who rules and what they want. And if they don't like what you stand for, they try and get rid of you so that decisions will be stacked in their favour.
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
http://www.fibrejunction.com |
Edited by - ceridwen on Aug 20 2016 07:30:33 AM |
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2016 : 5:49:59 PM
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Yeah, exactly. Beautiful peacock!
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6705 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2016 : 10:47:06 AM
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I'm so sorry they are being stubborn, Natalie. I am really hoping they can change their minds and allow you guys to have some chickens. Keep fighting. I know you guys will get somewhere. It's just sad how some of the rules come into play nowadays.
Krista |
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2016 : 11:28:36 AM
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Oh, the Chicken Alliance isn't stopping. :-)
Thanks
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6705 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6705 Posts |
Posted - Jan 11 2017 : 2:17:55 PM
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Natalie, how are things going with the local group? Any new changes?
Krista |
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AFinkberry
True Blue Farmgirl
310 Posts
Ally
Kalama
Washington
310 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2017 : 12:24:16 PM
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Just think how our foremothers would be rolling in their graves to know that a vital part of feeding ones self and family is now "illegal" and prohibited in some areas! This is a worthy cause!
Ally
Farmgirl Sister #5672
"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness." ~His Holiness the Dalai Lama |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2017 : 1:26:22 PM
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My town made me get rid of my hens too. It's so stupid. I loved the fresh eggs and the hens were so funny! I loved to give them cantaloupe and watch them go after the guts!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6705 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6705 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2017 : 8:36:17 PM
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Alee, is there anyone fighting against that in your town?
Krista |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2017 : 12:50:44 PM
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Krista- oh yes- we have a whole group that has been fighting the city council about it. They have a weird ordinance that the chickens can not be housed within x amount of feet of any structure- like 45 or 50 feet. But the city council had deemed it okay to define a structure as anything man made on the property- including the house, the fence and even the chicken coop. So there is literally no way to legally house chickens in town. Its very frustrating.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6705 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6705 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2017 : 1:18:36 PM
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Oh wow that is frustrating! That really makes it impossible to have chickens. I hope the group will win and get things back to the way they should be!
Krista |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2017 : 1:38:17 PM
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Its crazy how we went from a country that considered it the Patriotic thing to do (having chickens and raising your own garden no matter where you lived) to a country that is so phobic of wholesome home grown food. There are so many kids these days that have never seen a seed sprout, a chick hatch, or know how to milk a dairy animal. If the electricity were to go out and all the food in the stores spoiled- there would be so many people that would not know how to fend for themselves. Sorry I know I am preaching to the choir but it gets frustrating sometimes. Nora loves gardening and we plan and plant different things each year- testing what works for us when we have more land. This year I am going to do more companion planting to get the most out of my little space. My mom and dad are both retired now so mom is gardening pretty heavily too. Plus it's nice to open that jar of garden fresh tomato sauce in the middle of winter! I just wish I still had my chicks to throw buggy veggies to or to let run through my garden to gobble the bugs!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2017 : 11:58:28 PM
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So, I thoroughly missed that there were responses in January. Sorry about that.
Our local college (Weber State Univ) launched a survey last September. They collected answers door-to-door and online for six (ish) months and today we had a meeting with all the compiled info. They even talked to a poultry vet regarding diseases etc. It was rather impressive. 700 some odd answers, with 85 or 90% giving positive or neutral answers re: backyard chickens. Next week, our presentation goes to the city council. There is one councilman who has been part of this process and, according to him, of the 7 council members, 3 are for the change, 2 are absolutely against, 2 are on the fence. So this could happen soon. Further, I checked with my landlord (I rent) and he is ok with us keeping chickens if the ordinance changes. Super excited!!
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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texdane
Farmgirl Legend Chapter Leader Chapter Guru
4658 Posts
Nicole
Sandy Hook
CT
USA
4658 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2017 : 06:17:45 AM
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This is one of the reasons why I am so thankful for our town. We have SOOOO many ordinances on so much, but thankfully we CAN HAVE CHICKENS!
Best of luck to you. It must be frustrating. How rude what they said!
Farmgirl Hugs,
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2013
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/
www.facebook.com/suburbanfarmgirlblogger |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6705 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6705 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2017 : 11:37:04 AM
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That's wonderful news Natalie! Looks like things might actually turn around. Thank goodness your landlord is fine with you having chickens!
Krista |
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl
3162 Posts
Shannon
Rozet
Wyoming
USA
3162 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2017 : 11:59:03 AM
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So happy to hear things might change for you!!!! When we lived in SC we were allowed to have chickens per the town... then our HOA had a PRIVATE board meeting and decided chickens were no longer allowed in the neighborhood. Knowing we would be leaving soon, we ended up just giving our chickens to friends. My children were devastated we gave them up!!! Three other families moved due to their "in-house" decision. Sad thing is we were a SMALL neighborhood - but were definitely ruled by the "mightier hands that be." For us, with hubby being military, it wasn't worth getting into a "legal dispute" over it!!! Now that we've moved and have our homestead, it is LOVELY to have the ability to have chickens again. We even have 44 Australorp chicks, that we got as a straight run in hopes of having a couple roosters to protect our girls and eventually keep our flock going. It will be our first time with roosters!!! Super excited, and kinda nervous. Anyways, I wish you the best of luck Natalie! I don't understand what people have against chickens, as long as they are taken care of!!!
~ Shannon, Sister # 5349
Farmgirl of the Month - January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ |
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2017 : 7:42:33 PM
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Thanks, ladies. I'm excited at the possibilities!
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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Barnyard Buddies: Chickens in Ogden, UT |
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Chickens in Ogden, UT
