Cary chickens out of allowing poultry

Unfortunately the Cary Chicken Proposal was brought up at a public forum rather than being placed on an official meeting agenda. I think if the commissioners had been better educated about the benefits vs disadvantages of backyard poultry, and the proposal was presented earlier in the evening, this could have gone in a different direction.

I especially love... but am completely appalled, by the complete hubris of this line by Commissioner Jack Smith, "Is it really Cary?"

This prevailing thought is what has given Cary the reputation of the elitist neighborhood in the Triangle. It appears that the Cary board really prefers to have a gated community that calls itself a World Class City

Here in Wake Forest, we are already entering into one-on-one dialogs with our commissioners to find out where they stand on the issue. So far, we're very pleased with the reactions we've received. A special thank you goes out to commissioner Frank Drake for his kind words at the farmer's market a week ago. - Dave

Cary chickens out of allowing poultry

Smell, predators cited as concerns

Cary's Town Council turned down an idea, by a 4-3 vote, to look into allowing laying hens throughout the town. The decision came near the end of a meeting that stretched nearly until the cock crowed Friday morning.

Jack Smith said he had been approached with the idea by Cary resident Alissa Manfre. The item made it to the council agenda after Gail Adcock seconded Smith's request for discussion.

At the meeting, Adcock moved to have town staff look into the pros and cons of allowing the birds before the council reached a final decision.

Smith, along with Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Erv Portman and Don Frantz kept the motion from taking flight.

Several hours before the council discussion began, Manfre, who does not have chickens, used the Public Speaks Out portion of the meeting for avian advocacy.

Her concept for an ordinance would forbid roosters to limit noise, allow only six to 10 hens, ban backyard slaughter and impose a permitting fee to cover possible animal-control expenditures.

Benefits from the birds include better eggs, pest control, weed reduction, reduced fuel consumption and lower food costs, Manfre said.

Chickens also eat ticks and weeds, she said, and keeping them on premises means fewer trips to the grocery store.

"It's simply cheaper to produce your own organic eggs," Manfre said. Her estimates put the cost at $2 a dozen instead of $5 a dozen at a grocery store.

Julie Robison was intrigued and said during the discussion that she might agree to the proposal.

Beyond any ordinance change, the major hurdle for Robison to gather feathered friends, and likely for many other Cary residents, would have been getting the blessing of her homeowners association, she said.

"We do allow chickens in Cary" in areas that allow homes on 40,000-square-foot lots, Portman said. "I don't think we should expand it."

Frantz just didn't care after being cooped up with his colleagues at the meeting that had already run six hours.

"It's just kind of a Pandora's box I don't want to open," said Frantz, who cited smell, noise and predators as possible side effects of allowing the birds.

He also had concerns about parents dealing with children who might unexpectedly witness a neighbor's layer being turned into a broiler.

"Quite frankly the only chicken I want to see is in the frozen-food section of the grocery store or on a plate right in front of me, because it's 12:30 [a.m.] and I'm starving."

Dave Bissette said:

Alissa, thanks for taking the time to set the record straight. I based my opinions on what I read in the BackyardChickens.com forum thread.

Keep up the good fight. Change doesn't happen overnight. If it's truly the will of the people, ill informed politicians will only be able to listen to the wheel squeak for so long before they decide to oil it.

August 01, 2008

Alissa Manfre said:

The chicken issue was actually placed on the official Town Council meeting agenda. Before we brought it up, we contacted Animal Control, the Town Clerk, and Planning and Zoning Department. The answer that we got from all of them was that the way to change the ordinance was to approach members of Town Council, and ask one of them to sponsor it. Jack Smith agreed to sponsor it. We sent emails detailing the proposal, citing information about what other cities had done, and various facts about how keeping chickens in a suburban setting would work. I personally spoke to 2 council members, and outlined the proposed plan, and discussed potential pros and cons.

We were directed by Jack Smith (who told me he thought it was a very interesting idea, and was glad to sponsor it for discussion), that we should not gather signatures in support, or start an email campaign, or anything of that nature. The only thing council was voting on was whether or not they should have staff look into the idea. It was not a yes/no vote on chickens in Cary, but rather, a yes/no 'should we consider it' vote. I was told that the time for petition signatures would come after this vote, when research was being done and the council was seriously considering the matter.

Sadly, 4 members of Town Council (all the men) refused to take the matter seriously, or consider any facts that they had been presented with. They did this in spite of the fact that more people emailed IN SUPPORT of the measure, than against. 11 individuals or families, not including us, emailed to support the measure. Only 4 emailed to oppose the idea. So not only did the Town Council members refuse to look at the facts, they also refused to listen to the wishes of their constituents.

I just wanted to say, they WERE educated on the benefits vs. disadvantages, and it was placed on the official meeting agenda. This vote was the only way (we were told) that the measure could move forward to have staff look into it, and make a recomendation. The problem lies not in the fact that they were not educated, but the fact that they are willfully ignorant and seemingly incapable of understanding facts.

I should also state that the three female members of council did an excellent job of fairly considering the matter, and respecting their constituents who emailed them in support.

We are currently working on mobilizing the Cary community to demonstrate the strong support this measure has, and will also be exploring bringing this up to the new committees Cary has formed, to force the Town Council to consider the measure again. I just wanted you to know about all of the backstory that was left out of the article.

August 01, 2008 | url