Urban Chickens

I think urban chickens are a terrific idea under very specific circumstances.  I'm a big fan of food that's local, fresh and natural.  Chickens for eggs (and later for meat, if you can handle that--and you should if you're a true locavore) is a good way to eat local and save money.  I especially encourage folks in poor communities to use chickens and (if their lot is not large enough) develop a community garden.


Caring for chickens is not difficult, but it must be done every day.  If the regular care and maintenance jobs are ignored several problems will occur very quickly--especially odor issues.  For the uninitiated, chicken poop is perhaps one of the most foul  smells on earth (no pun intended).  I know chicken waste is one of the best fertilizers because of its high nitrogen content, but a single family can only use so much fertilizer.  What happens when you have a surplus--which you will eventually?  Therein lies a significant problem.


When one purchases chicks, it's not possible to tell if they are male or female.  Where chickens are permitted in urban areas, only females are allowed as males are noisy and aren't necessary for eggs.  If you happen to buy a chick that becomes a rooster, what will you do with it?  Chickens lay eggs for only a short portion of their lives.  Do they then become pets?  What if you want more egg layers and you still have a lot of non-layers wandering around your pen?  Most all cities that allow backyard chickens have a number limit per household, or a pen size allowance per chicken.  You could have a pretty large brood of birds after a number of years.  Our animal shelters do not have a special housing for chickens.  I am not aware of a chicken rescue group in our area, so when the eggs stop coming we have another significant problem.


I would love to believe that all urban chicken farmers would be conscientious about caring for their birds and that they would be considerate of any problems they have with their neighbors.  Unfortunately we can't even get dog owners to pick up their own pet's waste, so how can we expect folks to do what's necessary to keep chickens in the city?  And I don't even need to mention feral cats


With chickens come their natural predators.  They will seemingly come out of the woodwork to explore their new food source.  Many such predators--and I'm thinking of snakes--are difficult to deter.  Chicken wire keeps chickens in, but does nothing to stop predators.  Rats are especially fond of chicken feed, so any left out or not properly secured will bring the vermin out in large numbers. I know there are solutions to these problems, but will all chicken owners be educated and motivated enough to do what's necessary?


One of the biggest problems from the city's perspective is enforcement of any ordinance regarding backyard domestic fowl.  The requirements will be strict, very specific, and will require regular re-inspections at least every 2 years.  Southport simply does not have the resources to properly enforce a chicken ordinance.


It might be a different situation if we were a large urban setting far from agricultural land (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago).  But we are directly adjacent to such land, and many local farmers sell fresh eggs.  I'll even bet they'll let you take some of the chicken poop off their hands (and noses).  It would take a lot of at least an R-20 to house chickens such that problems with neighbors would be minimal.  Our city has no R-20 left and the ETJ has some that will fall into city limit ordinances if they are annexed.


A few cities in NC have chicken ordinances, but none I have seen completely address the problems I've covered above.  I've contacted some of those cities and a number of them are still on the fence as to how well the ordinance is working.  I've also followed the progress of proposed chicken laws in cities that are closer to our size, and they have been rejected for the same reasons I've stated.  The only municipalities who have fully embraced urban chickens are large cities with major resources like Raleigh.


The pro chicken petition and supporting documents are being sent to the planning board and city staff for their recommendations.  We will be giving the proposal every consideration possible before making a final decision.


But as of today, the bottom line on urban chickens is:  great idea...just not in Southport.


Your feedback to me and other aldermen is encouraged and thank you for hearing (reading?) me out. - Ken

Signs,Trees, Spray Field Land, and Chickens

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Since last we met a number of issues have passed through the Board of Aldermen.  This is a brief update on those likely to be of interest to you.  The board held a special meeting on March 2 concerning business signs--primarily the use of A-frame signs along the state highway right-of-way and the rest of the business districts.  The mayor appointed a task force composed of 3 downtown merchants, 2 aldermen (including me), 2 planning board members and the city planner.  Our mission was to come up with possible changes to the UDO that would allow regulated use of A-frame signs by businesses in the Central Business District and Business District (basically Howe Street south of 12th Street, East Moore Street to Atlantic and a block down most side streets off of Howe).  The task force had until the April 8 board meeting to come up with its recommendations. See below for the results.

Other issues from the March 11 Board of Aldermen meeting included:

• A permanent change of meeting start time from 7:30 PM to 6:00 PM beginning with the April 8 meeting.
• A resolution urging the NCDOT to reinstate the Long Beach Road extension project to the department's TIP list (projects next up for funding). 
• A repayment schedule (3 annual payments with no interest) for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant used to purchase property near MOTSU for a spray field (no longer needed for that use). 
• The mayor and city manager will look into the market for selling the above noted property. 
• A policy will be drafted for use of the municipal facilities--especially the alderman's chambers--which will include regulations and fees.
• Get a second opinion from Brunswick County Extension Center arborist regarding 2 live oak trees that the Forestry Committee deemed to be in need of immediate attention, then get bids to treat the trees. 
• Appointment of Aldermen Ed Boguskie and Donnie Potter to a special committee to recommend individuals for the Forestry Committee (all of whom have expired terms) and make sure they have money budgeted to them in the 2010-2011 budget (the current budget only has a $1,700 grant listed, which has been spent). 

I also brought up a number of important items during my board comments:

• The new fire station is HUGE and is bigger than the current (and forseable) fire department needs. I asked the city manager to look into putting another city department into that building, like the Police or Rescue departments. 
• We have not yet arranged a meeting with Tom Eager and the NC State Ports Authority as per our resolution at our January meeting. I urged the city manager to submit another inquiry, which he did on March 15. As of today we have yet to hear from the Ports Authority. This meeting was supposed to be scheduled when the mayor and 2 aldermen met with Eager on Feb 16. 
• I made a motion to remove a member of the Planning Board who has missed just under 50% of the board's meetings in the 12 month period ending in January 2010. The UDO states that a planning board member can be removed if they miss 25% or more meetings over a 12 month period. The mayor denied my motion because it wasn't on the agenda and deserves more consideration. Had I called for a point of order, and had the board voted to accept my motion, we could have considered it then. Now it will be on the April 8 meeting agenda.

Just as a note, I am one of the 2 aldermen appointed as a liaison to the Planning Board and tasked with getting that body in shape.

We've had serious problems with the Planning Board over the past 6 months.  The UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) deems attendance at meetings to be one of the most critical criteria for selecting Planning Board members. The guidelines are very specific and there are no criteria for "excused" absences. If a board member cannot attend the meetings, he/she doesn't do the Board of Aldermen any good in terms of making critical planning and zoning decisions. Furthermore, Planning Board members serve at the pleasure of the Board of Aldermen and they may be removed at any time for any reason. In the case stated above, the violations of the UDO are clear and egregious.

Our upcoming meeting on April 8th should be mercifully shorter than any so far this year. The key items of public interest include consideration of a petition to allow chickens within the residential zoned districts of the city, a report from the sign task force that will recommend changes to the city ordinances to allow A-frame signs in the business districts within the city limits, and a discussion of the absentee policy for the Board of Adjustment and Planning Board.

For a copy of the agenda for April 8 please go to my website at www.ken4alderman.com.

I hope to see you at the meeting on Thursday, and remember that the start time has been permanently moved up to 6:00 PM.