By SHERI McWHIRTER
EDITOR'S NOTE: Newsmakers '09 explores the stories that made headlines in northwestern Michigan in 2009. Past articles in this series can be read online at record-eagle.com/newsmakers.
TRAVERSE CITY -- Urban farming proponents clucked this year until Traverse City officials changed rules to allow residents to keep small chicken coops.
City leaders approved an ordinance amendment this year to allow residents to keep up to four chickens -- but no roosters -- in their yards. It's a citizen-driven issue, said Mayor Chris Bzdok.
Kimberly Dante, of 12th Street in Traverse City, helped launch new chicken rules when she told city officials she wanted to keep some for egg production and pest control. She's an advocate for the local food movement, and grows food in a greenhouse attached to her home and an organic garden in her backyard.
"It's such a huge movement across the United States, it's only natural that Traverse City would embrace it," she said.
Dante said she's going to get four "girls" in the spring, after spending this winter building them a "condo" coop in her yard, complete with easy-access panels to retrieve eggs and a solar panel component. She's undecided on whether to get four chicks and raise them, or buy four grown hens primed for egg production.
"The advantage of getting chicks is you really bond with them," Dante said.
Proponents argue keeping chickens for egg production is healthier and more environmentally friendly than paying for them to be transported to area grocery stores. It's a concept that's becoming more mainstream, said Hans Voss, executive director at the Michigan Land Use Institute in Traverse City.
"Northern Michigan is a leader in the development of a local food economy," he said. "There is a lot of potential in backyard gardens and raising chickens."
Elizabeth Whelan, Boardman neighborhood president, is not convinced chickens in the city is a great idea, but said it could work out if it's done responsibly. She expects there will be at least some city residents who try it out, she said.
"I think there will be a few and I think there are areas in the city where it would work well," Whelan said. "I'm sure in the spring people are going to experiment with it."
One concern is whether chickens would be appropriately placed at homes in historic neighborhoods, where lot sizes tend to run smaller, Whelan said.
City officials adopted several related restrictions, including requiring a fully enclosed shelter with an optional covered fence enclosure kept at least 25 feet from neighboring homes. They also prohibited chickens from being slaughtered outdoors.
No permit is needed to establish such a small chicken operation, said Russell Soyring, city planning director.
"If we receive a complaint, we would probably check it out and make sure conditions were being met," he said. "I think we have some pretty reasonable standards."
Bzdok said time will tell whether the city's new chicken rules work out beneficially as part of the growing local food movement.
"It's nice to get those local, homegrown supplies of food. It has the potential to be a positive for the city," Bzdok said.
