NUISANCE NONSENSE

San Diego, Los Angeles and Stockton are among the many California cities that allow backyard hens in residential neighborhoods. Seattle, New York and other cities across our nation permit hens. Kern County residential neighborhoods are zoned for hens. County islands, such as Old Stockdale, are surrounded by residential city neighborhoods. Old Stockdale residents own hens safely and legally.

In 2020, testimony from California cities was shared with Bakersfield City Council members. California cities were asked, “Has your city’s hen ordinance had a major impact on the number of calls you receive?” Edith Villalobos, supervising animal safety officer from Oxnard, responded, “Calls for service issues or nuisance complaints involving chickens are minimal. These types of calls do not impact our call volume.” Leslie Sennett, deputy director, Development Services Department from San Diego, stated, “Calls regarding this issue are very rare. There are no other problems regarding this ordinance of which I am aware.”

The backyard hen nuisance argument is nonsense. There are hens in every neighborhood throughout Bakersfield. The people who want them already have them. As reported by our city, only approximately 10 annual calls were made regarding chickens in 2019. Imagine how many dog complaints there were. With so few issues, the city of Bakersfield should be celebrating and thanking the backyard hen community for responsible pet ownership.

City Council members should align the ordinance with the practice. Backyard hens are safe and are not a nuisance. In fact, backyard hens enhance quality of life experiences for families.

— MR Merickel, Bakersfield