Residents, Council to discuss backyard chickens at Monday’s meeting

Backyard chickens will be considered at Monday’s Council meeting. Photo from RSPCA article about whether keeping backyard chickens is right for you. Photo credit: Sarah Burke. 

by Marsha Chartrand

Has the rising price of eggs got you down? Do you think that you’d like to raise your own chickens but you live in the City limits? Things may be changing so that in the near future you will be able to legally obtain some hens and once again serve breakfast to your family. (Caveat: It’s not quite that simple!)

The City of Manchester will discuss forming an exploratory committee for determining a course of action on the question of backyard chickens at its meeting tonight, February 17, at 7pm in the Council Chambers (lower level of the library). This will assist the Council in deciding how to move forward with residents’ requests.

The process is as follows: A petition is currently circulating among residents to put the issue to a public vote, which is the first step in putting a resolution on the ballot. The petitioning group needs to draft an ordinance to accompany their initiative. (Sample ordinances are available online). If the required petition and ordinance are gathered, the group may present it to City Council, who can either adopt the ordinance as drafted, or reject it. If it is rejected, however, the issue would still go to voters of the city for a final decision.

Backyard chickens were at one time allowed by the Village, but were eliminated by ordinance in 1987 due to some residents who did not take proper responsibility for their poultry. Times have changed in the nearly 40 years since, and the idea is gaining popularity again, not only around Michigan, but across the nation. Here in Lansing, in fact, State Sen. Jim DeSana (R-Monroe) has recently introduced legislation to disallow local governments from banning chickens, with several stipulation as to yard size, flock size, and poultry care.

If you are interested in this issue, please attend Monday night’s meeting if possible or contact City staff via their website at www.city-manchester.org to make your comments, pro and con, be known. Get involved!

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.