Dear Editor:
I commend Council on asking for “Chicken Feed Back” in our September 2015 Newsletter. Here is my feedback on the proposed bylaw to allow chickens to be kept in residential zones.
At first I considered making comments on the humorous side – like “Stop the Cluck”…etc., but then I realized this is no laughing matter.
As a Summerland resident in a non-agricultural zone, I am opposed to the entire proposal for many reasons.
Having lived in other towns that allowed this I speak from experience.
This is not a good idea. How on earth do you think a bylaw enforcement officer will be able to keep on top of all the regulations in enforcing the bylaw — easy to say “no roosters, no burying dead chickens on the property, they must be kept in a coop, no selling of eggs or meat” etc. —nice try. But realistic?
The smell in the summer, yes even from “up to five allowed chickens,” is not pleasant. The varmints they attract are as unsavoury.
How about the real estate factor — selling your house now or in the future. Would you buy a house next to a neighbor with “harmless” chickens?
I completely agree with Karen Matheson’s views expressing her opposition to this proposed bylaw stated in her recent letter to the Summerland Review. Keep the chickens on the highly prized, valued and designated agricultural land, not in residential areas.
This proposal does impact our taxes directly. I urge you all to keep in mind that the residential tax payers of Summerland are already taxed to the hilt.
Of all the brilliant ideas tossed around leading up to the last election on new development and business plus attracting folks to our lovely town and searching out growth and development, this is not at all what I expected of the “new blood on council” nearly a year later.
As for our newly painted rainbow crosswalks, first the safety factor worries me. Visibility is very poor, day or night.
Second, I think the way to make everyone feel “inclusive and welcome” is to not single them out.
Barbara Robson
Summerland