Another - Brawwkkk! - Theory

As I was driving to Milwaukee today - to watch the Brewers get pounded by the Cardinals as it turned out - it dawned on me that we had all missed the obvious explanation for the surprising election victory of Scott Munson. To paraphrase Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign refrain, "It's the Chickens, Stupid."

OK, this theory has no facts to back it up - thank goodness we don't have exit polling to spoil the fun - but it does have a certain surface plausibility. Scott Munson was a visible and vocal supporter of amending our city code to clarify the status of chicken-keeping. His campaign treasurer, Ben Redding, wrote a really smart analysis of the controversy (A New Take on Chickens).

OTOH, Alder Thomas opposed changing the law and proposed instead a municipal version of "don't ask, don't tell" with regard to chicken keeping. 

Munson wins, Thomas loses, chickens come home to roost.

Res ipsa loquitur ! Eh, literally accurate ("the thing itself speaks."), but lawyers don't use it literally.

Q.E.D. (By which I mean good old quod erat demonstrandum and not the Urban dictionary version that you find here.)

Hey, makes more sense than the "Speight Lost" theories that attempt to assign significant meaning to what was essentially a statistical tie and whose progenitors thereby get Lost in Speight. (Feel free to groan.)

Chicken Envy

If you want to learn how and why you should do something that the Monona city government won't let you do, truck on over to the Pinney Branch Library in Madison (don't check anything out while you're there!) for this program:


Urban Chickens Event Type: ADULT - EDUCATIONAL
Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009
Start Time: 7:00 PM Library: Pinney

Description:

Ron Kean, University of Wisconsin-Extension's poultry guru, will discuss the basics of chickens in the city: how and why to get started, and how to address common chicken pitfalls.

Age(s): Adult

Brief Council Brief

Monday, July 20, 2009. By a 4-3 vote, the Monona city council voted 'yes' to retain the 8'-wide sidewalk along the east side of Monona Drive south from Cottage Grove Road to Winnequah Road as recommended by the ad hoc Monona Drive advisory committee. A proposal to build a 6.5' sidewalk was defeated when Mayor Kahl broke a tie to retain the 8' width.

The council also voted 5-1 to 'indefinitely postpone' a vote on the proposed chicken-keeping ordinance. At one point during the discussion, it looked like another tie vote was possible, but it was not to be. Some aspects of the discussion were puzzling as just about everyone on the council said they did not care if other people kept chickens, but were not willing to support this proposal or offer specific amendments. It is possible revised proposal could come back to the council.

Supporters of the 8' sidewalk and allowing chicken-keeping turned out in impressive numbers when I really thought everyone was going to be burnt out on chickens. I think it was 27-0 for chickens and 15-ish to zip for the 8' sidewalk.

The 4-way stop at Midmoor and Greenway was approved. A raise for the Senior Director was also approved as an agreement to put the powerlines underground along Monona Drive from Broadway to Nichols with the city footing the cost for the portion from Femrite to Nichols. MG&E already placed the lines underground south of Femrite at its own cost.

A New Take on Chickens

embers of the Monona Common Council,
A letter to the city council from Ben Redding. Believe it or not, he manages to give a fresh take on chicken keeping.

Important reasons to vote yes for the chicken ordinance (that don't involve sustainability)

I will be unable to attend Monday's meeting when the issue of chickens will be brought to vote, but I wish to register my support for the ordinance. While I do not plan on raising chickens (raising a 1 year old is enough for now), I respect those who wish to, and I believe it is not the city's place to say you can't, especially when something like raising chickens is, in my opinion, quite trivial and benign. It is also my belief that, while chicken raising clearly appeals to members of the community with a high interest in sustainability pursuits, there is appeal to this for many outside of this group, and there are reasons to vote yes beyond the typically cited "green" support points.

The specific points I'd like to make regarding this ordinance are summarized as follows:

1) My personal experience is that chicken coops fit into the urban landscape
2) Urban chicken keeping is an upscale, civilized pursuit that appeals just as much to the epicure as it does to the "east side Madison-type", and is not an activity that makes an area "tacky"
3) There is strong support for this ordinance in Monona and beyond
4) Voting no on this ordinance works against Monona's vital mission to attract new, young families to our community.

To elaborate on these points:

1) My personal experience is that urban chicken coops are barely noticeable. I have seen coops in the following cities:

• Honolulu, Hawaii: I have seen several coops here, all in "nicer" neighborhoods. They were all clean and fit in nicely with the dense urban landscape. I used to visit often for work, and the only reason I noticed them was that my work at the time (DOT contractor) required me to be driven slowly through neighborhoods and pay a lot of attention to things on the side of the street.
  
• Suburban Antwerp, Belgium: my childhood best friend married a Belgian girl. Her family lived in a very upscale neighborhood and raised chickens, as did a neighbor. The chickens were quiet and the coops were very clean.
• Neenah, Wisconsin: I had a college friend whose family lived on the very upscale E. Wisconsin Ave in Neenah. I am from Appleton and visited him a few times one summer. His neighbor had chickens, had had them for years, and everyone seemed to think that this was very nice.
• Oddly, I have never seen a chicken coop in Madison, despite having several "east side Madison"-type friends, as today's State Journal article puts it. Again, I think this speaks to the low profile of the urban coop.

2) My personal experiences with urban chicken coops is directly counter to one of the fears of this ordinance's opposition: that urban chicken keeping would make Monona seem "tacky."

• My wife's extensive Martha Stewart Living magazine archive has articles reaching back several years touting the benefits to raising one's own hens, with advice on urban hen raising in a few of the articles. You don't get anymore anti-tacky than Martha.
  
• Many, many current cooking shows, magazines, and culinary-focused books and magazines also tout the benefits of personal coop-keeping. These materials are typically directed at an educated, well-read audience and tout the epicurean benefits of this pursuit much more than the "green" side.
  
• The two urban coops I have seen up close and personal have been anything but tacky.
  

3) The notion that there is "overwhelming" opposition to this ordinance is overstated at best.

• My friends (from Monona and otherwise) have no problem with the idea of urban chicken keeping.
  
• The neighbors I've spoken to about this also seem to agree that this is a non-issue.

4) I believe that a no vote to this ordinance does damage to Monona's reputation in our area and works against young families looking to purchase homes here. Not because they want to raise chickens, necessarily, but because they recognize that chicken raising is a viable urban activity, and they see opposition to urban chicken raising as the sign of an "older" community that isn't open to new ideas. There is clearly a generational divide on this issue--do not underestimate this very important point. Monona certainly struggles with this perception enough as it is, and a yes vote on this ordinance is a very simple way to move Monona away from this perception. Let's ride the positive wave of Monona Drive's renovation by continuing to attract positive attention to ourselves from young families looking to move. I'm 29 and have owned a home here for 3.5 years, and I can tell you firsthand that we really need to work on our image to the first-time home buyer demographic. There aren't many young families like mine around here, but they're everywhere in Madison! We can do a better job as a city in appealing to the young family.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Ben Redding
Monona

Monona in the News

Mike Ivey covers the cell phone/texting-while-driving-ban:

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/458310

By the way, while this did not originate with me and the Public Safety Commission may disagree, my expectation is that any such ban would not apply to the use of 'hands free' devices.

And Gena Kittner covers chickens in the WSJ:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/458623

And Adam Mella reports in the Herald that the Monona Grove School board eliminates committees. My good friend and educational expert Dean Bowles supported the move and I expect that was probably pretty influential. He expressed the view that the Board has become 'factional', but I wonder if having all the discussion occur at the Board level will instead increase division.

Board President Susan Fox explains it in her letter to the editor.

How is the Board going to get the benefit of community involvement? There will be no more citizen members on committees because there will be no more committees. Yes, people can still speak at Board meetings, but that is not the same thing by a long shot as having community members involved in full discussions and making recommendations to the full Board. Committee members often offer insights and ideas that are extremely helpful.

Personally, I think this policy change is a mistake. Certainly, running a school system is different from running a city, but I cannot imagine abolishing our city committees. If the concern was that too many decisions were being made at the committees, then a different solution would be for the Board to give less deference to the advisory committees.

Peter Sobols blogs it: http://petersobol.blogspot.com/2009/07/thanks-but-no-thanks.html

Chickens on the Frontburner Again

At its meeting on Monday, July 2o, the Monona city council will take up the Consideration of Ordinance 02-09-591 Amending the Code of Ordinances to Allow the Keeping of Chickens in Single-Family and Two-Family Residence Districts. Yeah, finally, a decision.


The council will also take up the installation of stop signs on Midmoor Road at Greenway Road (to create a 4-way stop), a proposal to squeeze the sidewalk along the west side of Monona Drive and to choose a reconfiguration of the Cottage Grove Road/Monona Drive Intersection.

You can see the full agenda: AGENDA 7/20/09.pdf

The packet has not been posted yet, but when it is, it will be here: http://www.mymonona.com/pages/calendar/details.php/41/city+council/2009-07-20/

British Chicks

Those crazy Brits are knitting sweaters for rescued chickens. Awww, aren't they cute? Well, no, not really. Chickens are ugly, especially rescued chickens who are missing most of their feathers.

But, when you read about the lives of these factory chickens are treated, the price of organic eggs seems more reasonable (besides being tastier and healthier).

Minneapolis organization: Chicken Run Rescue

Monona Public Safety Commission Rejects Chickens

Among other items, the Monona Public Safety Commission voted unanimously to reject the proposed ordinance to allow the keeping of chickens in residential districts. (The Commission Chair, me, does not vote except in the case of a tie vote.) There was little discussion, but one concern expressed was that the city is lacking in the area of code enforcement and this chicken ordinance would add to the enforcement duties. I did point out that the city has received no complaints about the existing chicken coops.

Here is the commission's main listing.

In other action, the Commission approved the 5-year capital plans for Fire, EMS, Emergency Communications, and Police. Big ticket items include an ambulance in 2012 for $160,000 and an ongoing upgrade to the police/dispatch record management system.

PSC Agenda Item 5a Emer Com Cap.pdf

PSC Agenda Item 5a EMS and FD.pdf

PSC Agenda Item 5a Law Enf Cap.pdf

PSC Agenda Item 5a PD Fleet Mileage.pdf

The Commission approved the addition of stop signs at Midmoor and Greenway to make it a 4-way stop intersection. PSC Agenda Item 6a.pdf

The Commission also approved a three-year extension of the agreement with MG School District and the Village of Cottage Grove for a school relations officer. PSC Agenda Item 6b.pdf

All actions by the Commission are recommendations to the city council and not final decisions.

At a future meeting (probably July 22), the Commission will begin consideration of an ordinance to prohibit the use of cell phones and texting while driving.

The Commission also be looking at a pedestrian safety plan similar to Middleton and Marshfield

Monona Plan Commission Rejects Chickens UPDATED

On a split vote, the Monona Plan Commission recommended that the city council not approve the proposed ordinance to allow chicken keeping. I arrived late and missed the actual vote. The vote was 3-2 with members Brian Grady and Alder Jim Busse supporting the chicken proposal and members Homburg, Devenish, and Dorschel in the majority.

(I was originally told the vote was 4-2 to reject the ordinance, but have confirmed the correct split was 3-2). The Plan Commission Chair (alder Kathy Thomas) does not vote except in cases of a tie.

The Monona Public Safety Commission will take up the ordinance at its July 1 meeting. Both committees only make recommendations. The council decides.

The ordinance will be sent on to the council possibly for its July 20 meeting.

Proposed Chicken Ordinance at the Monona Plan Commission

On Monday, June 22, at 7 pm at the Monona Library Media Room, the Monona Plan Commission will return to the proposed ordinance to allow the keeping of up to 5 chickens (no roosters) at residences in single-family and two-family districts.

It is likely that the Plan Commission will vote on the measure and make a recommendation to the city council.

Anyone can register or speak during the appearance section which is at the beginning of the meeting. Your participation is important. Be brief, direct, and polite.

Plan Commission Agenda 6-22-09.pdf

Chicken Ordinance 0676_001.pdf

Some concerns and ideas expressed by Plan Commission members at their April 13th meeting:

Ÿ Add or increase fees

Ÿ Increase separation from property line

Ÿ Give neighbors control over whether a household could have chickens or not

Ÿ Require approval from adjacent property owners in the application process

Ÿ Require a building permit

Ÿ Restrict building materials to certain ways of being painted or stained

Chicken Keeping Ordinance Delayed to June 22

The Monona Plan Commission will NOT consider the chicken keeping ordinance at its next meeting on June 8, but I am assured by the Chair that the Plan Commission will take up the proposal at its June 22 meeting.

Plan Commission Update

Last evening, the Monona Plan Commission considered the ordinance to allow the keeping of chickens as well as several beer gardens that implicate the smokefree ordinance.

The meeting started at 5 pm with the showing of the Mad City Chickens movie.

The Plan Commission heard from numerous citizens in support of the ordinance and then had a full discussion of the proposed chicken keeping ordinance. The committee ultimately tabled consideration to its next meeting. It was a pretty good discussion overall. One possible amendment that I would not favor would require approval from one's immediate neighbors as a condition of approval.

In the meantime, I have requested a formal legal opinion from the city attorney (request has to approved by either the Mayor or city administrator) as to the current legal status of chicken keeping.

***

I left at that point but am informed that the Plan Commission approved the Tully's II outdoor patio and what amounts to a smoking room at the Bridge Lounge. For the full story see the Herald's report by Adam Mella at Additions approved for Tully's II and Bridge Lounge.


For a full preview (with links to the committee packet) see my earlier posting: Important Monona Plan Commission Meeting

Important Monona Plan Commission Meeting

On Monday, April 13, the Monona Plan Commission will take up several items of interest, especially to persons interested in chicken keeping and also the implementation of the smoke free ordinance with respect to 'outdoor' areas.

Tully's II proposes basically an open air patio. Bridge Lounge proposes a more enclosed smoking area, and the Village Lanes bowling alley proposal is yet more enclosed. Tully's II and the Bridge Lounge are on for decision. Village Lanes is making its initial appearance.

Plan Commission Meeting 4/13/09
Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7:00 PM

April 13, 2009 Plan Commission Agenda

Proposed Draft Ordinance Amendment for the Keeping of Chickens

Tully's II Proposed Outdoor Patio Area Plans

Bridge Lounge Addition of an Area for Smoking and Alcohol Consumption Plans

Village Lanes Proposed Attached Smoking Area Plans

Veserat Sends Attack Letter

Monona aldermanic candidate Mike Veserat recently sent out an attack letter to selected voters - I wasn't selected, but I did obtain a copy. Basically, Veserat takes up his cudgel to bash alder Chad Speight and I for daring to propose new ideas. The letter contains no outright lies, but does misinform its recipients through the use of half-truths.

Veserat attacks Chad's pedestrian safety plan by distorting it into a sidewalk plan. It is not just a sidewalk plan, Chad stated when he brought the idea forward that he did not expect many if any sidewalks to be built, but he wanted to start the discussion about pedestrian safety. Veserat wants no part of such a discussion. Veserat wants to kill the idea and dispatch it's carrier.

Second, Veserat attacks the proposed chicken-keeping ordinance as a waste of "valuable city council time." When the government prevents people from using their private property in a way that does not disturb their neighbors for no good reason, I do not consider it a waste of the council's time to look at revising the overly restrictive law.

(By the way, the city council has finished its last 2009 regular meetings at 10 pm, 9 pm, 8:45 pm, 10 pm, and 8:33 pm.)

Veserat next attacks a purported proposed ordinance to allow composting toilets. Since the ZBA ruled that composting toilets are allowed, there is no need to change the ordinance. But, again, yet another attack on a new idea.

Finally, Veserat blames me for delaying the Monona Drive project because at one time I supported a roundabout at the Nichols Road intersection. First, yet another attack on a new idea and also another half-truth. Yes, I did support a roundabout, as did a majority of the ad hoc Monona Drive committee and city council, but to suggest that consideration of a roundabout seriously delayed the project is simply wrong.

The Monona Drive project is federally funded, which brings in to play many federal safeguards and hoops. One of the requirements is preparation, review and approval of an environmental impact statement for the entire corridor. Another task was to choose the design. Another is to acquire needed right-of-way from literally dozens of property owners. One of the consultants state that in her 20+ years of experience working on federally-funded local road projects, the Monona Drive project was the most challenging and complicated. Veserat knows all this - or should - since he sits on the ad hoc Monona Drive committee.

I suppose we should thank Mr. Veserat for clarifying the choices.

Now THIS is a Logo!

The latest in proposed logos.

Public Safety Committee Meeting is Cancelled

From the city's web site:

Public Safety Commission-CANCELLED
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 5:30 PM

Public Safety Committee Tabels Chicken Ordinance

After public input and committee discussion lasting nearly two hours, the Public Safety Committee voted to table the chicken keeping ordinance until their March 25 meeting.

A motion was initially made to approve the ordinance subject to a requirement that structures housing chickens be subject to the same code provisions that apply to accessory structures. The Committee decided it wanted to take a closer look at the amendment language before voting on it. My sense was that the committee would have approved the motion, but I did not take that as necessarily meaning that they wanted the council to pass the ordinance. Their task is to review the ordinance within the purview of their committee's building code and other duties.

Plan Commission Considers Chicken Keeping - Report

As previewed here: Plan Commission Considers Keeping Chickens and here: Complete Packets for Plan Commission Now on Web Site, the Monona Plan Commission took up the proposed chicken keeping ordinance last night.

About ten people spoke or registered in support of the proposed ordinance. My comments are posted below.

Plan Commissioner and council candidate Jim Busse gave a very fair and accurate description of our visit to a backyard chicken coop. Commissioner Grif Dorschel was fairly adamant that chicken keeping is inconsistent with the aesthetics of suburban life. He also expressed a concern about a proliferation of outbuildings in general. Alder Kugle expressed some support for a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The other members in attendance (Alder Thomas, Chris Homburg, Jane Kuzma, and Busse) basically expressed no settled position at this point.

A couple thoughts on the appropriate aesthetics of suburban life: Aesthetic values evolve over time. I think many people in Monona (or likely to move to Monona) are open to a bit more diversity in their surroundings than they were in the past (I am inevitably reminded of the song Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds and popularized by Pete Seeger. See Little Boxes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). (For more see MALVINA REYNOLDS: SONGWRITER / SINGER / ACTIVIST and Pete Seeger).

Monona will lose the battle to attract people looking for the classic suburban life of big houses with big garages on big lots with immaculately mowed bluegrass. People looking for that lifestyle are going to move elsewhere - places where they still turn cornfields into subdivisions.

The Plan Commission will hold a formal public hearing at its April 13 meeting (State law requires a published notice of changes to the zoning code.). The Commission will probably vote on the proposal at that meeting.

***

Below are my comments that were presented to the Commission and will bew presented to the Public Safety Committee this afternoon at 5 pm:

Statement on Proposed Ordinance to Allow the Keeping of Chickens

March 9-10, 2009

My belief and purpose in proposing this ordinance is that the government should NOT prevent a person from using their property in a way that does not interfere with their neighbors’ use of their property.

Imagine that dog ownership was not already legal. If we subjected a proposed dog-keeping ordinance to the same high level of scrutiny that this ordinance has received, I doubt we could pass an ordinance to allow the keeping of dogs.

We should not use the coercive power of the government to prohibit a use of private property just because some of us or even a majority of us think the proposed use is odd, unconventional, or nontraditional.

Under current Monona ordinances, the legal status of keeping chickens is unclear. Monona ordinances place very few restrictions on the keeping of animals as pets. Monona ordinances do NOT prohibit keeping chickens. The Monona zoning code DOES prohibit agricultural uses in single-family and two-family residential districts.

The proposed ordinance would allow property owners to keep up to five chickens (hens only) in single-family and two-family residential zoning. The proposed ordinance would clarify the legal status of keeping chickens and would regulate the activity.

The primary factual argument that I have heard against allowing the keeping of chickens is concern about phosphorous and nitrogen runoff in stormwater. Let’s keep in mind the scale of the issue. We are likely talking about perhaps 50 chickens total being kept within the city limits. By contrast there are about 2000 dogs in Monona.

But, nobody wants to add harmful pollution to stormwater runoff. Unlike dog waste, chicken waste can be collected and composted. Unlike phosphorous in yard fertilizer, composted chicken waste is not spread across the surface of the entire yard, but rather is spaded into the garden soil.

The fact that some people may be irresponsible chicken keepers is no reason to deny all people the opportunity to legally keep chickens. Irresponsible people can abuse any activity, whether it’s dog ownership, driving a car, or drinking alcohol. We don’t prohibit dog ownership because some people fail get their dog vaccinated and an unvaccinated dog can be deadly.

I am available to answer any questions regarding the proposed ordinance. There are also a number of people here who know far more about the practicalities of keeping backyard chickens than I do. I would urge the Committee to take advantage of their knowledge.

Must See Movie: Mad City Chickens

Green Tuesdays: Films & Lectures on Sustainability

FREE w MONONA PUBLIC LIBRARY w 6:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

Next Tuesday, March 10: Mad City Chickens

This feature-length film premiered in April 2008 at the Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison. Mad City Chickens deftly weaves multiple stories and contextual issues on city chickens and their keepers in a non-linear fashion that one rarely sees in a documentary. From leading experts to urban newbies, experience the humor and heart of what’s fast becoming an international backyard chicken movement. Documentary filmmakers Tashai Lovington & Robert Lughai will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening.

We anticipate a large crowd. Please be prepared for close quarters, standing room only for later arrivals, and the possibility that we cannot accommodate everyone. Look for future screenings at Tarazod Films Mad City Chickens (http://www.tarazod.com/filmsmadchicks.html).

Complete Packets for Plan Commission Now on Web Site

On Saturday, City Planner Paul Kachelmaier updated the city web site and posted:

Staff report-Keeping chickens ord. amdmt.

Chicken Ordinance amendment background and

Chicken Ordinance Amendment background

Excerpts from the staff report:

[Monona contacted Coty of Madison staff]

Heidi Conde, Madison Zoning Code Enforcement Officer

Heidi Conde works on the east side of Madison and said they have gotten approximately five (5) complaints mostly regarding the illegal keeping of roosters crowing in the morning and residents keeping more than four (4) hens on their property, which exceeds the maximum number of hens allowed in the City in a residential property. She said she has not received any complaints and / or concerns of adjacent property owners regarding the cleanliness of the site, the treatment of the chickens, or any other health concerns. She said another complaint they have is the keeping of chickens without the proper licenses because residents do not know they need to acquire such a license. She said when they receive complaints, they go to the property in question, inspect it and take photos, send notices to property owners in violation of their code, and re-inspect the property once the property owner remedies the situation. She said she has never had to take any further action than this, but if she does, she has two options (1) issue a WI uniform citation or (2) refer the case to the City Attorney to take legal action against the property owner. Again, she said a notice usually fixes the problem and they haven’t had to resort to the other options as of February 25, 2009.

***

Matt Tucker, Madison Planning Department

He said they have had somewhere between five (5) and ten (10) cases a year of residents calling in complaints for people who keep chickens on their property. He said the complaints are generally quality of life complaints such as a rooster waking them up early in the morning, residents keeping more than four (4) hens exceeding the limit specified by the City code, the smell and traces of feces, and concerns about the chicken feed attracting rats to the area.

Madison City Treasurer

The representative from the Treasurer told her that [Madison] issued fifty-four (54) licenses for the keeping of chickens in the past year.

END OF EXCERPT

Prorating Madison's numbers to Monona, one would expect zero or one complaint per year.