Discussion seeks ways to allow city residents to keep chickens
It may have been the first task force meeting in City Hall history that included the distribution of chick-shaped chocolate peeps and candy nests. But the inaugural session of the “Chicken Task Force” wasn’t child’s play. A group of neighborhood activists, city officials and legal experts sat down Friday to try to hatch a plan for bringing back urban chicken farming in Buffalo.
A city lawmaker said he believes he has enough Common Council votes to pass an ordinance, as long as it includes tough restrictions.
Growing interest in the local food movement and urban farming has made city chickens a hot issue nationally.
Buffalo passed an ordinance in 2004 banning people from keeping chickens, ducks, turkeys and other fowl.
That was news to Monique Watts. The Rhode Island Street resident reviewed the city code before she bought five hens last summer. It turns out the document was outdated. Her chickens — as much family pets as they are producers of fresh eggs and rich fertilizer — are now in hiding at an undisclosed location. Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera, who represents Watts’ neighborhood, agreed to convene brainstorming sessions to craft a new ordinance.
The fact-finding mission began with a review of laws in 27 cities, including Rochester, New York City and Cleveland. Most restrict the number of chickens on a given property, with limits ranging from two to 25. Three to six appeared the most common number.
Imposing a chicken limit is probably smart, Rivera said.
“We don’t want it to get out of control in certain neighborhoods,” he explained.
Rivera added that many city lots are small, so restrictions should apply to how close coops can be built to property lines. Rules governing the construction, placement and cleaning of coops could prevent complaints, other group members said.
Some cities impose annual or one-time permit fees that range from $5 to $40, and violating rules could result in the immediate revocation of a permit. Brian C. Bray, the Council’s senior legislative assistant who has been researching the issue, warned that creating a permit system for chicken farming could spawn red tape.
“It might sound very easy in a meeting, but making it happen is a lot more work,” Bray said.
Many cities also ban roosters because of the noise they produce.
Rivera conceded that a list of rules could spur some to think twice before becoming chicken owners. But he was not sure that’s a bad thing.
“With all these regulations, the people who will end up doing this will be really into urban farming,” he said.
“I imagine there’s going to be a lot of opposition to this as far as the neighbors go,” said Assistant Corporation Counsel Robert E. Quinn, who will help to draft the law.
Rivera vowed a public discussion in a committee meeting before a vote is taken.
Does he think he has enough Council support to pass some type of ordinance?
Rivera, seemingly reluctant to count his chickens before they hatch, said at least five of the nine lawmakers have tentatively endorsed the plan.
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