I am so excited! I watched from my computer (I could not attend the city council meeting in-person) as the discussion took place and the votes were counted....laying hens are now allowed in Sacramento neighborhoods!
This is something the local CLUCK group has been working on for some time, and while I don't live inside the city limits, this ordinance will help influence other local communities to adopt the same modern concept - that chickens are a GOOD thing! Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, and countless other urban areas across the nation have already adopted ordinances allowing backyard chickens, so it seems fitting that Sacramento has now (finally ;-) joined the chicken movement!
According to the article in the Sacramento Bee, residents can apply for permits ($15 plus $10 per hen, limit of three) and as long as they follow the basic guidelines they are ready to raise chickens legally (no roosters, of course). This is a huge "first step", and the city council plans to revisit the subject in six months to see if the ordinance needs to be revised. After seeing the opposition and hearing what they had to say, proponents for chickens are going to have to work hard to educate the community as well as be on their toes to protect the ordinance against any negative feedback, most of which was opinion-based and not factual.
Congrats, Sacramento! Perhaps Lodi and Stockton will be next!
View the news article at:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/31/3873647/council-oks-up-to-three-hens-in.html
If you want to join the chicken-promotionn group forming in the San Joaquin area, go to the Delta Backyard Poultry Meetup:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Delta-Backyard-Poultry-Meetup-Group/
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