The case for chickens

The quote from this story that appeared on page one of the News Letter Journal was mistakenly attributed to City Clerk/Treasurer Greg James in his official capacity. Mr. James, in fact, made it clear to the News Letter Journal that he was expressing his opinion on the matter as a private citizen, and the quote displayed on the front page should not have indicated in any way that he was speaking as an administrator of the City of Newcastle. We regret the error.
 
Jen Kocher
NLJ Correspondent
For as long as Lyra Qualheim can remember, her son Mikey has wanted to be a farmer. He even dresses in bib overalls and chunky boots. The kindergartner is resolute in his desire and helps his mom in the garden and with other outdoor chores. 
In the past, Mikey’s older siblings have kept rabbits for 4-H projects at their home near Dow Park, and Qualheim, who grew up in the country, is looking for ways to stoke Mikey’s interest. Why not chickens?
She started an online petition on GoPetition that as of press time has had 26 signatures. The petition, which is addressed to the Newcastle City Council, asks that home owners be allowed to keep six hens, no roosters. Thus far, Qualheim has reached out to Councilman Tom Voss, who said the petition needs a lot of work regarding specifics but that he was generally open to the idea of allowing residents to grow their own food for the purpose of feeding a family.
“I don’t want to tell people what they can or cannot do on their property if they are trying to feed their family,” Voss said. 
Under current law, chickens are fowl and, as such, are not permitted within Newcastle city limits per Ordinance 4-2, section b. There seems to be misconception about whether or not chickens were ever legal in the city, but Clerk-Treasurer Greg James, who has served in city government for the last few decades, said he’s not aware of a time when they were ever legal. 
“To the best of my knowledge, at least since I’ve been involved,” he said, “there has never been an ordinance allowing chickens in town.”
There is no evidence that chickens were ever allowed in town, apart from one instance where an owner, who kept a lot of chickens, was grandfathered in for as long as he was alive and using the property. The stipulation was, however, that the exception would not be transferable to the next owner of the land. The reason for the exception was zoning. Very few areas in the city are zoned for agricultural or residential suburban, which allows fowl and barn animals. Those include a handful of properties on the north side of Latigo Street in the Saddle subdivision and a small area off McArthur Street. 
As far as chickens ever being legal in town, James said he couldn’t be sure without hours of research, but he did cite an ordinance passed in 1941 that prohibited keeping cattle, horses, sheep, goats and hogs within city limits. The ordinance did not mention chicken or fowl. In later years, James said, Ordinance No. 12, Series 2004, specifically prohibits the keeping of chickens in an area not zoned for that use.  
James said that he’s just fine with that. In his capacity as a private citizen, James said, he agrees with the current rules on the books: chickens have no place in the city.
“That’s barnyard stuff,” he said. “This is 2018, not 1918. If people want to raise chickens, they should move to the country.”
Qualheim and the other signers of the petition disagree with James. Qualheim points to the burgeoning backyard chicken movement that has been sweeping the country for the past decade as part of the food-to-table movement of self-sufficiency and teaching children where food comes from.
This is not anything new, she added, noting that several much-larger Wyoming cities have adopted chicken ordinances within city limits, including Cody, Rawlins, Laramie, Cheyenne and Casper. Across the country, chickens are also permitted in major urban cities such as Las Vegas and New York City. 
Using Rawlins’ ordinance as an example, Qualheim said that the proposed ordinance would have specific parameters that dictate how much square footage is required per chicken, as well as a mandatory hen house and fence around the perimeter of the yard. 
“Chickens wouldn’t be any louder or dirtier than barking dogs,” she said, ticking off a long list of advantages that children like Mikey would derive from the extra chores. Building skills in animal husbandry, learning about chicken reproduction and where your food comes from are just a few. There’s also the benefit of added responsibility in caring for the animals and upkeep of the coop.
Qualheim said she sent Voss a sample ordinance and plans to follow up with him. She’s also still gathering signatures to gauge support of city residents. 
The petition can be found online at https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/backyard-hens-for-newcastle.html.