Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Garner might allow chickens

But opposition to woman's campaign is lining up

A dozen or so chickens wander around Kristen Warren's backyard. Her children chase them, and the family eats lots of eggs for breakfast.

Warren, who has formed Friends of Hens, lives just outside Garner's town limits. But she's pushing town leaders to change a strict law that bars most town dwellers from raising chickens.

The Town Council probably won't make a decision until February or March, but Warren's request is already facing resistance from a homeowners' association and skepticism from some town leaders.

Warren says chickens don't cause problems. Her neighbors have even grown to like the birds, she says.

"Nobody has complained, and you know why?" Warren asked. "Nobody can see, smell or hear them."

Odor and noise will likely be part of the chicken debate in Garner. The current law prohibits chickens unless a homeowner's lot is at least one acre. In that case, residents can have four chickens, but most in-town lots aren't that big. Roosters aren't allowed.

At a Town Council committee meeting last month, Town Planner Brad Bass said he would recommend adopting standards for chickens. The town could require people to get permits or to notify neighbors if they plan to raise chickens.

Councilman Gra Singleton said he thinks a limit of 10 is reasonable. That's a number Warren can live with.

Last month, the president of a local homeowners' group said she wanted the town to keep the one-acre rule. Wanda Nicholson of Greenbrier Estates said she also wouldn't want the town to grant permits to residents if the homeowners' association said no.

"We don't want to see the town work in opposition to our covenants," Nicholson said.

Otherwise, Nicholson said, the group would have to resort to legal action.

A subdivision's covenants trump town law in such instances, said Town Attorney Bill Anderson, but the homeowners' association must enforce its rules.

Warren said asking residents to get permission from their homeowners' group would add another layer of bureaucracy.

The town will have to balance the desires of those who want chickens with neighbors who aren't as excited, said Bass, the town planner. "You're going to have to start thinking about how it's enforced," he said.

Rules in Triangle towns vary. Durham and Knightdale require residents to get a permit to raise chickens, according to Garner's staff, while many other towns do not. Chapel Hill has recently relaxed its chicken rules to allow up to 10 hens. Apex has no limit on hens. Neither does Raleigh.

Warren took part in an effort to relax the rules in Cary. In the end, though, town leaders decided they didn't want chickens in urban areas.

Rules also differ in terms of housing the chickens. Garner's current law requires residents to keep a chicken coop at least 300 feet from a building.

If town leaders vote to change the law, the town will likely have to set housing standards for chickens, Singleton said. Hens could be prohibited in front yards, and coops could need to be a certain distance from property lines.

Singleton said residents have asked when the town will allow chickens. "I don't really have a problem with it," he said.

Councilwoman Kathy Behringer, who serves on the council's law and finance committee with Singleton, said last month that she wanted to explore the option of requiring permits. That way, she said, the town could revoke permits from residents who don't comply with the rules.

Warren said her family has benefited from raising chickens. They spend more time outside, she said, and they even started a garden.

"You find reasons to go outside and be with them," she said of the hens, which she buys for about $3 each.

Housing the chickens is the hardest part, Warren said. She spent more than $1,000 on a large coop. But cheaper options are available for less than $200, she said.

Mature hens can lay three to five eggs a week. It's enough to feed her family, said Warren, who has big plans if the Town Council changes the law. "I hope to have a big party when this passes," she said.

On the party menu: probably eggs.