UPDATE: News 12 video coverage. Rick Torres and Phil Blagys, Republican candidates for City Council in the 130th District, say some eggheads on the City Council are plucky about chickens and other farm animals receiving sanctuary courtesy of Mayor Bill Finch. They have a suggestion: follow the City Charter. Commentary follows … bawk bawk:
According to today’s CT Post, our City Council members aren’t about to be caught with their pants down when it comes to the mayor’s attempt to circumvent them in the creation of backyard chicken guidelines (see Post link below). In their view, chicken policy needs vetting, $400,000 driveways not so much.
We’d like to save the Mayor and the busy City Council some time by offering the following advice regarding this pressing issue. Leave it alone and just follow city ordinance. We know this may be a foreign idea, but if you just read Title Six, this issue is already covered–for chickens, pigs and other animals as well. “No person shall keep or maintain … hens, chickens, roosters … within the limits of the city without a written permit thereof from the Board of Health …”. Because we don’t have a Board of Health, this decision should be left up to the Director of Health. If there’s any question regarding this, have the City Attorney’s office weigh in. They’re pretty good at interpreting the code of ordinances. Just ask the five city employees who continue to hold City Council positions.
So on a “case by case” basis, the Director of Health would consider each applicant. He or she would figure out the rules which should include number of birds, coop size, setback, etc. And he or she will then direct Environmental Health to visit each property to confirm its appropriateness for backyard chickens based upon these criteria. And yes, the charter does provide for enforcement of these decisions by stating that permission can be granted as well as “revoked.” We believe in less government regulation, not more, and in empowering our respective departments heads to make decisions based upon human judgment, common sense and existing charter provisions.
CT Post story here.
What happens when the owner of the chickens and other animals can’t read, write or spell?
www .youtube.com/watch?v=zebvFBNZ3Mg
Which came first; writing, spelling or reading?
Joel,
Are you old enough to remember the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings at 8:00 PM? Singers (Elvis and The Beatles), dancers, humorists, jugglers, magicians and on occasion animal acts. More than one performer included a horse or a dog that could count, and perform what seemed to be some basic math. Though I don’t remember them using dollar signs.
$400,000 driveways are one thing that gets raised often since the story appeared. But what about October 15, 2013, tomorrow evening and time for a Budget & Appropriation meeting, over 100 days into just about one-third of the 2013-14 budget year and yet, as of Friday, there has not been one monthly financial report available for the public to review (or for the CC to paw the ground about, or bark about, either). Why not? Who will ask? Do you think your Council person feels any anxiety about this concern of yours? Obviously they do not understand the serious nature of financial oversight over taxpayer dollars in our City, right?
If you believe your taxes are dear to you, and the CC does not feel OPM (other people’s money) is very important, then taxes continue to rise, and combating “waste” is a low priority. Chicken “waste” (according to Steve Auerbach is good for his garden, though I may add it needs diluting or it may burn your plantings) at least, is useful to some of us.
But what about Council waste? What do you call it? Do you wrap it up in CT Post plastic? And where does it get ultimately dumped? Or do you just vote it out of our Council Chamber? Time will tell.
Lol.
Way to stay on topic, JML.
Alphabetically–reading.
Ha! good one.
And this is why I support Rick and Phil.
Sounds like Rick and Phil are chickens …
Does Rick have any live chicks at his cafe?
As I recall, Phil Blagys has chickens in a coop in his back yard.
Phil is fiscally fit. He doesn’t count his chickens until they hatch!
The lemon chicken at lunch is very tasty.
I am glad Steve has a “pot” because I sure don’t. I had to sell it to pay my tax bill.
City Council lays yet another egg.
If horses’ asses can be kept in City Hall, why shouldn’t we be able to have some chickens in our backyards?
This guy has a donkey, too. We have enough asses on the Council. We need a couple of pachyderms! Hee-Haw!
This just in!!! Bill Finch took a shit today. It was clean and green!
If there is one thing I don’t need it’s a freaking rooster waking me up at 5AM every morning. People want to own chickens, move to the suburbs.
Oh c’mon Andy. You sound like one of those whiners who used to be assigned to the Clarence Street firehouse.
Jim Callahan, I don’t if Andy was ever stationed at the Clarence Street firehouse but I was assigned there and there were chickens next door to the firehouse and they woke us up every day at 5am. The weekends were worse because you had cockfights, gambling and after-hours liquor being sold, all on that short street.
Haven’t met a politician yet who isn’t chickenshit!
Have you met Rick and Phil? 😉
I’m sure Lydia is already crafting a proposal to create more jobs for inspector positions for people she wants to help out from the “community” to address this latest fake emergency.
Lydia may have started something new for the City. We can first send Finch and his gang to the same chicken shelter and The City can change its name from the Park City to “First in Chicken Flight.” Maybe new auto plates will follow.
Fascinating how much expertise is out there on side issues. Someone told me chickens are permitted without number but no roosters. Is it because they may wake up the electorate?
I understand hen houses “go better” with roosters that don’t turn into roasters. I don’t want to disturb the feathers of any strutting rooster in this City, but I might encourage them to scratch up more dirt before every last one ends up on the chopping block. Time will tell.
*** Though I love the thought of having a few chickens and a rooster in a coop in the backyard for fresh eggs andchickens, but like any animals you must upkeep their food, health, home and surroundings, if not things can get messy real quick and draw unwanted critters which could lead to “live action” and a possible visit from the “TURTLEMAN,” no? ***
*** WHEN IN DOUBT, FOLLOW THE CITY CHARTER. IT’S THERE FOR A REASON! ***