Backyard chickens dominate 5-hour Catoosa County meeting
Once again, a Catoosa County government meeting was packed, with more than 100 in attendance.
The draw to these Board of Commissioners and zoning board meetings of late? Chickens: how to define them, who can have them, how many they can have. The debate has been going on for ten months, since one lady was cited for having a halfdozen chickens in her yard.
On the agenda at the Feb. 21 BOC meeting were government-proposed amendments to the Catoosa County Unified Development Code to clarify or alter rules about “backyard” chickens.
The meeting was preceded by a public hearing that lasted more than two hours, during which about two dozen people shared reasons they believed the commission should take a hands-off approach to personal chicken ownership in the county and why they believed current nuisance laws were adequate to deal with any problems that might arise. One person spoke against chicken ownership in residential zones.
One of the main points of contention with pro-chicken residents regarding the new proposal was that it limited people in R-1 (residential) zones to six chickens (under a variety of regulations). Residents complained that six chickens was not enough to provide adequate eggs for most families, much less enough for a family with several children and neighbors they wanted to help.
Residents had a second chance to address commissioners before a final vote during the meeting. The meeting ran to nearly five hours and tensions mounted. It became clear that there was still a deep level of misunderstanding and mistrust between the two sides. At one point, a resident approached the podium and asked if she could pray. She recited the Lord’s Prayer from the Bible.