On July 12, the Zoning Board of Appeals hears a request from Audra Karp for a zoning variance that would let her keep live chickens in a coop outside her home at 49 Firth Rd.
The hearing starts at 10:30 a.m. in the board's eighth-floor hearing room at City Hall.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
Not what I thought.
By Chris Owens
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 4:32pm
When I saw the headline, I thought the neon waving chicken sign, late of WRox, was coming back. Alas, no.
Whose Eggs?
By Brett
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 5:42pm
Damn chickens! This is going to drive down rent in Roslindale and de-gentrify the place. Where will all the hipster-turned-yuppies go to live?
Keeping chickens in the city
By HenryAlan
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 9:12am
is the new hip thing to do.
Poultry ladies
By massmarrier
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 6:15pm
By coincidence, I met another Roslindale chicken lady over the weekend at a party in Hyde Park. I'm all for this.
First, they want only up to 8 hens(no noisy roosters).
Second and to me more important, the city regs allow chickens, but the bureaucrats play puerile games by not issuing the requisite permits.
Third, the list of cities that allow hens for eggs include Belmont, Brockton, Brookline, Chelmsford, Lynn, Newton, Wenham, and Westwood, plus a long list of major cities like NYC, SF and Chi.
I have a petition now and shall gather some sigs. Really, let's get with the program.
good for them. I think they
By linda
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 6:37pm
good for them. I think they should be allowed to keep them, bring some contry into the city
First chickens, next pigs
By Chris Owens
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 8:19pm
I once lived in Chicago. There was a couple who kept a pygmy pot-bellied pig in their apartment. Because it was a fancy lakefront co-op building and because the press loves nothing better than to highlight a spat among the privileged, there was extensive coverage of their dispute with their co-op board, who said that it was not a domestic pet, but rather livestock, and had no business in a high-rise. (see: "Pigs is Pigs"
I met the pig in the street once. It was about the size of a medium dog, it came right up to me and was affectionate, outgoing, and curious; it enjoyed being petted and spoken to. It was quieter than a dog; I couldn't imagine what anyone's objection was.
What about their excrement?
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 8:59pm
If you had 8 chickens in your yard, what would you do with the excrement? It has a noticeable smell--would that be okay with the neighbors (and with you)? I also wonder about the public health issues. I know it seems cool to bring the country into the city, but in most cities, public health has been greatly improved by removing the excrement from the public environment (indoor toilets, no livestock, etc.)
What about it?
By anon
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 12:33am
Add it to compost or just put it in the garden/flowerbed directly, and let the elements disperse the smell. As long as it's regularly collected and put to use in the yard (and the chickens are not kept in too small a space for the size of the flock), there won't be a smell issue.
Meanwhile, a small flock of hens can bring many benefits to the yard: in addition to chicken manure being pretty rich in nitrogen, chickens will till topsoil as they scratch about, and will also help control insects as they forage. And all the while, they will provide eggs and make minimal noise. (I, for one, wish the bark-happy dog next door could be swapped out for some hens...)
Sounds like a perfect world to me
By merlinmurph
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 1:05pm
Never happen. Or when it does happen, the T will start running on time, the escalators will run continuously, corruption will end in Massachusetts, and Whitey Bulger will be caught.
This is going to stink.
You better not start prophesying the end times
By adamg
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 4:09pm
"and Whitey Bulger will be caught."
Um, yeah, about that ...
Would be happy to sign a petition
By ideoplast
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 3:14pm
I walk by this house two to three times a week. There's no smell, the coop is pretty far back from the sidewalk - and even when I've seen the chickens out around the yard they're quiet.
I hope that the zoning board lets the family keep their hens - as they appear to be doing a fine job of caring for the birds so far (as far as one can tell in walking by).
-- withholding snarky comment about responsible Roslindale chicken owners versus countless irresponsible Roslindale dog owners --
chickens in roslindale
By anon
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 7:47pm
i was raised in roslindale 1939-1950 we had 50 chickens i had an egg route when i was in 1st grade
Was this common....
By Michael Kerpan
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 9:34am
...back then?
(And which part of Roslindale did you live in?)
Near the ice house?
By Jeff F
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 4:41pm
Until just a few years ago, there was what appeared to be a very old (ie mostly fallen into a pile) coop in the back lot of one of the buildings on Franklin.
It doesn't appear to be there now, not sure when it was finally cleared away.
***
A properly maintained coop with a half dozen chickens doesn't have much of a smell. And in any case, chicken manure is far less nasty (biologically and olfactorally) than dog shit - and by-and-large people don't seem to have a problem with dog ownership.
I could see many community gardens in the city hosting a small coop. Great way to keep the pest population down without spraying poison all over our densely packed neighborhoods. (still freaks me out when I see clueless urbanites dusting/spraying malathion et al without a respirator).
Wow.
By Chris Dowd
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 9:14pm
Lot of issues- noise (do chickens make a lot of noise?)- waste- odor- etc. Might be a fun one to attend.
Chickens make almost no
By anon
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 10:19am
Chickens make almost no noise. Roosters are the noisy ones. Chicken poop is easy to compost and a great addition to gardens.
Hooray! A place I can live!
By chicken
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 12:03am
bawwk
Was waiting for you to show up
By eeka
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 8:04am
!
Surprised
By anon
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 9:33am
I am surprised so many people here are pro keeping chickens in an urban, residential enviroment. They are noisy, unsanitary and attract rodents and other predatory animals. Not to mention the smell.
Yet another example of people wanting to keep innapropriate animals in an urban enviroment.
The chickens don't attract
By ArchAngel13
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 1:18pm
The chickens don't attract rodents. The chicken feed does. As long as the owner keeps the area clean and the feed secure, there shouldn't be a problem.
Hens
By Bob Mason
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 12:11pm
Although I'm in Chicago slow at getting email, it seems the decision has been made to go through with the hearing, rather than try and change the ordinance. I'm acutally for chickens in the city but even as a 60's guy I believe permits should be limited.
Mainly because those who presently have or had chickens, from what I can tell, take great care for their hens. That's because they do it undercover and really know what they are doing, taking care of their hens.
I also believe there will be people that will try and raise chickens (like dogs or cats that end up in Shelters)that have no knowledge other than going out and getting a couple of cute chicks. These folks will not take care of their hens.
So, my thoughts are
1. to limit the # of chicks to 6, and feed one's own family. Otherwise, we may run into TOO MANY chicks and the selling of their eggs.
2. Permit the chicks with a cost permit tha benefits the city as a whole to at least cover Health Dept, and Animal Control costs.
3. Related to #1, if I thought that most people on my road had chickens, I would sell and move to another city. I don't think chickens should be a reason to move, again, keep the #'s of Hens to a limit in an area, whether a road, neighborhood, whatever.
4. There is always the chance that people in Boston will want other Barnyard Animals and I don't see anyone building a Barn. I left 20 acres to come to the city and am skeptical of going beyond allowing chickens only. Goats, sheep, etc. belong on a farm or at least in a barn. Now for me this is important in any PERMIT, that CHICKENS BE LISTED AS PETS PERIOD. That way, other barnyard animals will not fall under Pets as in cats, dogs, chickens. I'd like to hear more from folks on this one.
I'm personally not interested in other cities or what happened 50 or 60 years ago. This is now. Legalizing chickens is the objective, now.
Finally, I do believe that if we take the route of least resistance it might take longer but we might also have a greater chance of succeeding in getting what the Chicks want, a home in the city. I'm not as nobody is sure of the logistics of whether a hearing vs. getting our councilor to help us begin an ordinance process. It's not my decision. I'll just say I would go with not against legalees that want to help the cause.
Good Luck!
Cyotes
By Roslindalian
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 1:31pm
I am all for chickens in Roslindale but I suspect that they will make better food for our growing cyote population than egg layers. 8 is also pretty agressive, as they will each lay an egg a day. I hope they like omlets for breakfast lunch and diner. For the record, hens do not make noise and they are certainly no dirtier than dogs in terms of excrement. Many cities allow small numbers to be kept in yards.
Coyotes
By Adam Rosi-Kessel
Fri, 06/24/2011 - 6:01pm
To my knowledge, none of the many Roslindale (and Boston) families with chickens have lost any to coyotes yet. Raccoons are a bigger problem but avoidable by keeping the chickens locked up after dusk. Hawks can be an issue in the winter as well; but if the chickens are not in wide-open spaces they are unlikely to be attacked.