Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

Garner doesn't loosen chicken rule

GARNER Lots of chickens aren’t welcome in this town.

The Garner Town Council decided this week not to change the town rule to allow anyone to raise hens. The existing rule requires residents with hens to have at least one acre of property.

The two members of the council’s law and finance committee, which considered a proposal to change the rules, couldn’t agree on a recommendation to the rest of the board. Gra Singleton said he was in favor of allowing chickens. Kathy Behringer was not, and the issue did not make to a council-wide vote.

“We also have to consider the freedoms and the rights of people who don’t want chickens,” Behringer said. Kristen Warren, who lives just outside Garner’s town limits, founded Friends of Hens and asked the town to allow urban chickens. Early on, the Greenbrier Estate subdivision homeowners association expressed worry.

This was the latest Triangle town to debate chickens. The Durham City Council voted to allow residents to keep up to 10 hens, as long as they get a permit. Cary voted against urban chickens outside agricultural zones. Raleigh has no limits on chickens.

“I thought we would be a little more open-minded,” Warren said of Garner council members. The Town Council also decided against taking part in a state-run deer-hunt program aimed at reducing the deer population. Sixteen North Carolina towns allow bow hunting within town limits during the urban archery season, which runs from Jan. 10 through Feb. 14, before the regular season starts.

Councilman Gra Singleton said the police department worried about safety and enforcement.

“I think there are too many issues that can happen,” Behringer said.