My understanding is that downtown Ithacans are allowed to have up to three chickens - has anyone double-checked this? I personally love my chickens - each one has a different personality, and they're very funny and friendly; they follow me around while I'm gardening. charles-the-Rooster does indeed wake up early, but his is a reassuring voice reminding me that I am increasingly connected to a more natural rhythm of life. The eggs are delicious and far more healthy than those bought in stores. I haven't found the manure smell to be a problem - and it makes great fertilizer.
LEVEL GREEN - fostering sustainable community through collaborative initiatives in hospitality, education and the arts, in the 150 year-old democratic spirit of the Danish Folk School. 1519 Slaterville Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 339-9472 --- On Tue, 12/16/08, brooke hansen <[email protected]> wrote: From: brooke hansen <[email protected]> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] Fw: Re: Small Livestock, Poultry and Zoning -- plug for chickens To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 10:34 AM Let's promote the chickens! I say if the the ordinances are not there allowing reasonable numbers of chickens, then let's change that! I keep chickens and many a visitor has commented on how the chicken coop and yard don't smell -- there are ways to effectively control this. Roosters are another story, I don't have any. No food waste from my house, or any restaurants we eat at, goes in the trash -- it's all chicken food or compost. It's a wonderful recycling system and the eggs are the best ever. I think we should get chicken coops on the Ithaca College campus and supply our populace here with eggs. They are so low maintenance. Natural Home magazine had an article in May 2006 about how municipalities in Belgium were giving households three chickens each to recycle biodegradable garbage -- which they estimated could save some municipalities $600,000 annually in trash management. One chicken can consume 9 pounds of chicken garbage a month. The manure I get from it (also not really a smell problem for me) is awesome -- it grew 8 foot valerian plants in my garden last summer. -- Brooke Hansen Department of Anthropology Ithaca College Jon Bosak wrote: > [George Frantz:] > > | I recommend that everybody interested in raising small livestock > | and poultry should check their local zoning regulations, because > | the ban on such activity tends to be applied across the board in > | suburban-type zoning districts and developments, including those > | covering much of Tompkins County. > > Good idea! > > | I suspect it's not permitted anywhere in the Town of Ithaca unless > | you are located in areas zoned CD-Conservation or AG-Agricultural. > > It's also allowed in areas zoned Low Density Residential. > > | Even if the zoning regulations do not explicitly ban such uses of > | the property, do not assume you can still do it. Many municipal > | zoning regulations in New York state, are written in a manner that > | if a use is not listed as a permitted use within a particular > | zoning district, it is prohibited within that zoning district. > > More good advice. > > | I have have no problems with my neighbors here in Ithaca having > | poultry. I'm in the one percent of the population that has no > | problem being awaken up at the crack of dawn by chickens and ducks > | next door. The other 99 percent of the neighborhood however > | probably prefers to sleep in. Moreover no manure smells as bad as > | chicken manure. > > Chickens and ducks don't actually make all that much noise; the > problem is roosters. Places like Portland (OR) that allow > chickens within city boundaries put a limit on the number (three > is typical) and prohibit keeping roosters. > > As pointed out in the TCLocal article, the manure problem is one > aspect of proper maintenance and could be addressed through > education and regular municipal inspection. > > | So I don't hold out much hope for chickens and ducks being let > | back into Ithaca or the surrounding suburbs. > > Unemployment and food shortages (which could start developing > within the next couple of years due to a collapse in liquid fuel > production) may change the way people feel about this. The Town > of Ithaca is in the initial stages of revising its 1993 > Comprehensive Plan; this might be a good time to revisit the > question. > > Jon > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > Questions about the list? ask [email protected] > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
