Just over a year ago, I wrote a blog entry about the fact that if your property in the city of Chico is zoned R1, then a Use Permit is required to legally keep chickens. I learned that the price tag for this permit is $1,363. I found this completely ridiculous.
On July 13 of this year I did submit a letter to the Planning Services Director of the City of Chico regarding this issue, and received a timely and polite response from Angela Spain, Assistant Planner. She wrote that "Staff will consider modifying the requirements for the keeping of fowl" as a part of the General Plan update, and that the zoning code will also be revised in coordination with this update. She also passed on that the fee for a Use Permit Application is $1,416. (Inflation? Or perhaps I misread the literature the first time around?).
At this point I could have chosen to submit my letter to the City Council in hopes that they might move forward on this most pressing issue of poultry ownership in advance of the General Plan Update, but the reality is that it is unlikely that my need to be a keeper of chickens will outpace the finalization of the General Plan document.
I chose instead to submit the following letter to be included for consideration in the General Plan Update:
"For inclusion into the Chico General Plan Update, regarding the keeping of poultry within City limits:
In the near future, we would like to acquire a small number of chickens for the purpose of producing fresh eggs for our growing family, as well as to provide numerous benefits to our vegetable garden, including the production of a natural fertilizer and the safe, non-toxic management of pests. After studying the City Municipal Code and Use Permit Fee Schedule, we feel that the provisions regarding the maintaining of poultry by Chico citizens require revisions to allow for an increased number of Chico citizens who desire to responsibly keep poultry for the purposes of food, pets, or overall sustainable living to do so legally without it being cost prohibitive.
Poultry can be utilized to provide Chico residents with numerous benefits, many of which are aligned with the City's commitment to sustainability and a good quality of life for its citizens:
• Chickens and ducks can provide a backyard source of protein through the production of eggs and meat, thus reducing one's dependence on outside sources that require energy for processing, packaging, and transportation.
• Poultry can take the place of toxic garden pesticides in providing insect, slug, and snail control.
• The manure from poultry can be used as a natural garden fertilizer and thus reduce the need to purchase petroleum-based artificial fertilizers produced in distant places.
• Fowl will eat kitchen scraps, thus allowing human food waste to be diverted from the landfill and put to good use.
• As with any pet ownership, caring and maintaining for poultry teaches children compassion and responsibility.
Presently, the use permit that allows for the keeping of poultry on properties zoned R1 is the same as that for bulls, cows, goats, hogs, horses, pigs, and sheep. The fee for this use permit is of $1,363 (Planning Services Department Fee Schedule 21.010 III.B.1.a.). This is absolutely ridiculous. There should be cost differentiation between the permitting fees for keeping fowl versus larger farm animals. For the sake of comparison, a 3-year licensing fee for a pet dog is less than $50, and a 150-pound pooch arguably has the potential to impact a neighborhood much more than a couple of chickens.
The City of Chico should not impede its citizens' ability to keep fowl. Residents who keep poultry in a respectful and responsible manner benefit not only themselves, but also serve to improve the sustainability of our community as a whole.
For the reasons mentioned herein, we respectfully request that the City of Chico consider one or more of the following for adoption into the General Plan:
a) Amend Chico Municipal Code 19.42.020 to exempt the keeping of up to 10 adult fowl from requiring use permits in areas zoned R1, provided owners meet the requirements stipulated in 19.76.040;
b) Amend Chico Municipal Code 19.42.020 to allow fowl to be kept on properties zoned R1 without requiring a use permit, provided owners meet the requirements stipulated in 19.76.040;
c) Amend Chico Municipal Code 19.42.020 to allow fowl to be kept in all residential zones in Chico without requiring a use permit, provided owners meet the requirements stipulated in 19.76.040;
d) As it relates to the keeping of fowl, greatly reduce the $1,416 Use Permit Fee for properties zoned R1.
Thank you for considering the above recommendations for inclusion into the General Plan Update."
About Me: Jeremy wears many hats, including substitute teacher, school garden educator, hike leader, youth group advisor, Gardener's Swap Meet coordinator, husband, and father. His lifelong quests include the search for the perfect burrito, and more recently, how to sprout an avocado tree from a pit.
oh god jeremy - you don't know what you'd be getting into. Chickens require a lot of care. They are vulnerable to a million little maladies - ever see a bird with a rotting beak? Ever seen a baby chick with blood ticks all over it? Ever wake up to a chicken house full of blood and feathers and try to figure out what got in and how? One summer during a hot spell, our friend had to take a week off her job because her chickens were dropping dead in the heat - she had to stay home and watch them, keep a sprinkler running and a fan blowing. She found out, yeah, chickens are too stupid (curious) to be left alone with a squirrel cage fan (don't ask).
She lost over half her chickens, but it was for the best. She always had more eggs than she could use during the laying season (she scrambled them and fed them to her chickens - eeeeeewwww!), then the rest of the year, she had to worry about keeping them from freezing to death.
And let me tell you one last thing - toddlers and chickens don't mix well. In other words, the birds will just be another demand on your time away from your child.
Frankly, it never ceases to amaze me how the parents of young children, particularly fathers, will go to any length, get involved in whatever activity, to avoid paying attention to their kid - especially the needy little toddlers. What is with yuppies like you - gotta do it all, but no one thing really well. I notice you like to talk about your kid - kids are just accessories to people like you. I predict she will have a hard time getting your attention - watch out Daddy, you don't want to find out what kids will do to get attention from their distracted and neglectful pose-conscious parents.
No, I don't want my neighbor to have chickens. I think the special permit now required will discourage the idiots who don't know what they're doing.
Thank you for your words of caution regarding the raising of chickens; it sounds like you have a lot of first-hand experience. Yes, we understand that this is a big commitment (my wife has past experience working with chickens and ducks on organic farms), and if/when we do get chickens, we will not be taking the endeavor lightly and we will be seeking out the appropriate resources and advice to do it right.
As for your other points:
1) Should we decide to raise chickens, this will be a joint decision between my wife and me. We do not intend for this to be a distraction from raising our daughter, but rather an opportunity to enrich her and our family's life. If we find that toddlers and chickens do not mix, as you suggest, then of course we will find another home for the birds; however, we have many friends (including friends living in Chico) who have demonstrated that they can mix very well.
2) Even without the exorbitant fees, there exists within City code provisions that I believe are sufficient to ensure that chicken-owners are good neighbors, including limits to the number of birds based on square footage (one bird per 250 square feet), as well as requirements that the birds be kept no closer than 20 feet from any dwelling or occupied structure. Code also requires that chickens be maintained in such a fashion as to not ". . .cause damage or hazards to persons or property in the vicinity or to generate offensive dust, noise, or odor."
3) While I have and will continue to post on this blog comments with which I do not necessarily agree, "people like me" generally choose not to post comments that include personal attacks. I appreciate and welcome your comments and opinions about raising chickens, but I respectfully request that you keep disparaging remarks or generalizations about my personal life to yourself.