With a Packed City Hall Residents Speak on Proposed Chicken Ordinance

Last night the 9^th floor of City Hall was packed with people who were there to discuss a proposed ordinance change that would allow city residents to raise chickens within the city limits. Even before anyone stepped up to the microphone Mayor Heartwell said, “during my time as both Mayor and Commissioner this issue has generated more e-mail than any other.”

Clearly, the proposed ordinance change was a contentious issue, with both sides speaking passionately about chickens in an urban setting. However, the bulk of those in attendance were in favor of the ordinance change and of those who addressed the commission directly there were 28 in favor and 9 against.

As we mentioned in a previous article, one of the largest egg producers in the state, Herbrucks was opposed to the ordinance change and 3 of the Herbrucks grandsons addressed the commission. They all spoke about the potential for diseases in an urban setting, but mostly they focused on wanting to protect the profitability of their businesses. After members of the Herbruck family spoke, the vice president of production got up and painted a grim picture about avian caused diseases, even though he never cited any documentation to support his position.

The disease spreading claims were countered by several people who are already raising chickens, have researched the issue and found that if raised properly chickens in an urban setting pose no health risks to humans. One of the residents cited a document from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), while another cited the World Health Organization (WHO). Advocates for raising chickens in an urban settling made it clear that if the chickens are cared for properly there would be no health risks to humans whatsoever.

Many children addressed the City Commission and expressed their desire to have chickens as pets and for the eggs they would produce. One young girl read off a list of cities in the US that currently allow urban chickens. Their parents and other adults who spoke in favor of the ordinance expressed the importance of having an opportunity for children to learn where their food comes from as well as an opportunity to do something outdoors and away from the TV or computer screen.

Cynthia Price, speaking on behalf of the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council said that adopting such an ordinance would promote sustainability, more local food production and reduce fossil fuel use for transporting food long distances. She also stated that chicken waste could provide needed fertilizer for urban farmers and that chickens also eat insects, which would reduce the need for people to use insecticides. Price also stated that she was in communication with city officials in Madison, Wisconsin and other cities and they told her there was little money spent on enforcement.

The cost of allowing chickens in the city was a concern raised by one man from the Westside who felt that in this time of massive budget cutting the city could not afford any added costs. However, several people speaking in favor of urban chickens stated that the city could charge a permit fee, which would generate income and more than cover any needed costs for inspection of homes that raised chickens.

Two Westside neighborhood Associations (SWAN and WGNO) said that their board of directors were opposed to the ordinance change, mostly on the grounds that homes were already to close to each other and would not allow enough room to raise chickens. While this would be true in some cases there clearly are plenty of homes that have adequate yard space that would allow residents to have chickens that would not negatively impact neighbors.

Rick Beerhorst, whose family has already been raising chickens at their southeast side home, spoke to the issue of neighbor complaints. He stated that one neighbor complained to the city and said that the chickens were attracting flies. Rick took it upon himself to talk with that neighbor and other neighbors and found that one of them had a dog and didn’t always clean up after them so they put out fly traps, which solved the problem.

Berrhorst also stated that this whole issue has provided him an opportunity to get to know his neighbors better and build community. This was a theme that several residents addressed and one parent said that their chickens were an incentive for other neighborhood kids to come and play at their house.

Other residents argued that having the opportunity to raise chickens could help reduce food budgets, promote healthier eating and could be another component of the City’s efforts to promote itself as a model for sustainability.

However, there were a few other dissenters during the evening. One man who said he used to live in South America said his neighbors had chickens and the flies were awful. He also said that the chickens attracted mice and rats.

Having lived in Latin America myself, where neighbors had chickens and pigs, sanitation was never an issue. It seemed as if the gentleman was trying to infer that having chickens in an urban setting would be like living in a “third-world” country. This man was followed by George House, the executive director of Michigan Allied Poultry Inc., which advocates on behalf of the industry on government matters. House also raised concerns about the risk of diseases, but considering that he is essentially a lobbyist for large egg farms it seems to this writer that he was just defending the economic interests of large egg farms.

One woman who addressed the commission said that she has a garden at her Grand Rapids home and gets eggs from a neighbor. She stated that what is happening is that the “Chemlawn monoculture that we grew up with is on its way out.” She also stated that more and more residents are trying to live sustainable lifestyles and the city needs to recognize this.

After nearly 90 minutes of public comment on this matter the hearing was adjourned with no clear date when the City Commission would decide on this matter. This means that people still have an opportunity to weigh in and let the City officials know what you think about the possibility of raising chickens in the city of Grand Rapids.