Lakewood City Council approves pilot plan for backyard chickens
Back to Main MenuCelebrationsFraud PreventionManage Yocheap patagonia fleece pulloverur AdPlace an AdLAKEWOOD, Ohio As many as a dozen city residents could begin raising chickens in their backyards early next year after City Council Monday night approved a resolution creating an 18 month pilot program.Council voted 4 3 in favor of the proposal after nearly 2 hours of discussion among audience members and council about the pros and cons of the resolution.Council s Housing Committee last week recommended adoption.About 50 people attended the meeting, and council heard comments from 22 of them. Like council, the audience was nearly evenly divided between supporters and opponents.The opponents voiced common concerns about noise, odor, the appearance of coops, and the possibility of the spread opatagonia down sweater lowest pricef disease. A frequent comment was that Lakewood lots are too small to allow chicken coops without infringing on a neighbor s rights, opponenpatagonia rubicon down reviewts said. I didn t come here to live in a farming community, said Denise Abboud, a Waterbury Road resident. She said she worried property values would suffer if a neighbor raised chickens.Other opponents said they were copatagonia hooded monk reviewncerned about salmonella or other diseases. Some residents said council should put the issue before a vote of all residents instead of deciding it themselves.Supporters discounted opponents concerns, saying properly operated chicken coops don t smell, don t attract rodents and don t spread disease if owners take precautions including hand washing. The proponents also said theydiscount patagonia clothing wanted fresh eggs and that chicken droppings mpatagonia womens full zip reake good compost. They said backyard chickens support a sustainable lifestyle. We are completely committed to doing the right thing, said April Stoltz, of Hens in Lakewood, an advocacy group. We are mindful neighbors. Council members Sam O Leary, Tom Bullock, Cindy Marx and David Anderson voted in favor of the measure, while Shawn Juris, Ryan Nowlin and Council President Mary Louise Madigan voted against it.Juris asked council to delay a vote and refer the issue to council s Health and Human Services Committee for further review. The matter had gone thrpatagonia guide jacket motorcycle2ough the Housing Committee. Council rejected that request.Juris then asked to add numerous amendments to the measure that would have made it more difficult for residents to obtain a permit. He wanted to increase dispatagonia environmental grants quicktances between neighbors property lines and chicken coops and manure piles, require approval of neighbors for a permit, require approval of the ward councilman, and setpatagonia guide jacket motorcycle0 insurance requirements.However, Jupatagonia guide jacket motorcycle3ris withdrew his amendment after Bullock criticized him for not introducing tpatagonia guide jacket motorcycle1he ideas earlier. Bullock said he should introduce the amendments in written form at a lapatagonia everlong review 9 to 5ter meeting.What Mayor Michael Summers saidAfter council voted in favor of the pilot project, Mayor Michael Summers, whose office will oversee the issuing of permits, said he would not veto tpatagonia guide jacket motorcyclehe measure. However, he said his office could set ripatagonia guide jacket vs coatgorous standards for issuing the permits, including considering neighbors opinions and lot sizes.The resolution gives the city s safety director, who is the mayor, considerable flexibility in deciding the awarding of permits.The ordinance itself does not contain requirements for minimum lot sizes or setbacks from structures on neighboring lots. However, it does require the coops be at least 20 feet from the home of the chicken coop owner and three feet from property lines.
