CATOOSA SETS CHICKEN RULES
Backyard chicken proponents: New ordinance doesn’t end threat of lawsuit against county
Catoosa County’s commissioners, in a 3-1 vote on Tuesday, April 18, approved a new set of regulations for allowing chickens (hens) in residential areas.
Commissioner Charlie Stephens voted against the new ordinance. Commissioner Chuck Harris was absent from the meeting. At the time of this article, Harris had not responded to an email asking how he would have voted had he been at the meeting.
As of this article, commissioners had not responded to emails asking for further comments. Commission chairman Larry Black said the county attorney has advised commissioners not to speak about the chicken issue because of possible upcoming litigation.
THE NEW LAW
The amendments allow people in R-1 (residential) zones to own up to eight chickens (hens) if they live on an acre or less and up to 12 chickens if they live on an acre or more. People living in A-1 (agricultural) zones will be allowed unlimited chickens and only two R-1 requirements will apply to them (see below).
Commissioner Jeff Long, District 1 representative, introduced the eight-chicken limit, up from six in the amendments under consideration. He also suggested that slaughtering chickens be allowed and that citizens be given 90 days to comply with the new code. The changes were agreed upon by the other commissioners present.
Commissioner Charlie Stephens, District 4, recommended that citizens in R-1 zones who own three or more acres be allowed six months to apply for a zoning change to A-1 (agriculture) without owing a fee. The other commissioners agreed.
The amendments include size specifications for chicken coops and chicken runs, decreased setbacks from 500 and 700 feet to 25 and 50 feet, and make general requirements about cleanliness and food storage.
People living in A-1 districts will have no limit on the number of chickens they can have. The two requirements in the amendments that apply to both R-1 and A-1 chickens have to do with keeping conditions sanitary and with sales — neither R-1 nor A-1 chicken owners will be permitted to sell chickens, eggs or chicken manure.
After the vote passing the amendments, citizens were able to express their thoughts during public appearances. Following those comments, commissioners had their usual time to express their thoughts.
Most citizens expressed extreme disappointment in commissioners, some were angry. A number of citizens spoke about lies they felt commissioners had told, about misinterpretation of current code, about lack of communication, hypocrisy and devious tactics.
At the end of the meeting, during commissioner comments, some commissioners defended themselves and scolded citizens.
Citizens assured commissioners that the battle was not over and would be addressed again at the ballot box and possibly in court.
CITIZENS REACT TO COMMISSIONERS’ VOTE
Citizens had another chance to speak at the April 18 board meeting after the commissioners passed chicken amendments in a 3-1 vote
restricting chicken ownership to 8-12 in residential zones. The tone from citizens ranged from deeply discouraged and disappointed to angry.
Christine Lawson, an attorney who during an earlier commissioners’ meeting, had addressed them with a draft ante litem, putting commissioners on notice that the chicken proponents may sue the county over the issue.
“I want to thank you for the changes that were made,” Lawson said, “however we still have all the procedural problems that were laid out in the draft ante litem notice and additional compounding procedural problems that have occurred since the last meeting. Understand there are consequences for actions.”
Kristi Ware: “I guess some of you think you are generously granting us the ability to have chickens in R-1, instead of seeing the tyranny and nonsense of the proposal. All the things that Mr. (Chad) Young (county attorney) pointed out apply to commercial chicken farms. People in a residential setting are not going to have a 500-foot setback to put up a chicken coop. I strongly encourage the commission to seek additional legal counsel. I believe you are being led astray by your current legal counsel.”
Adrianne Kittle: “I don’t know what to say at this point. I don’t like the way you talk to citizens and for that reason I am going to go over the government’s 10 codes of ethics again …”
Nick Ware: “It’s really hard to fathom how this has all come about this past year, how it’s formed this divide, this division. Some people don’t like to keep hearing about the writings of the founders, but this is the foundation of this nation.” Ware went on to speak about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Paul Lee: “For years we had no ordinances or zones and people did just fine. When cities and counties want to be bigger than they need to be, that’s when they come up with all these rules. People don’t like to be controlled by the government.” Lee also called for the resignation of Board of Commissioners chairman Larry Black and Planning Board chairman Jerry Hawthorne, claiming the Black lacks moral authority and that Hawthorne, as “the biggest contractor in the county,” has too many conflicts of interest.
Will Houston: He spoke about unity, the need to listen and the value of compromise. “This country was built on compromise,” he said.
Tonya Rogers: “You want us to follow your rules, right? If I have to follow your rules, you have to follow your rules.”
Donna Evatt: “You have voted to restrict our rights. You voted to raise our taxes and now you threaten our ability to feed our families. The seed of liberty has been planted in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Catoosa County. With this vote tonight, you all have crossed the Rubicon.”
David Everett: “What you’ve effectively done is put a heavier burden on people who have flocks in their yards now. If there’s a problem with chickens, let’s deal with it on a case-by-case basis. We’re all in this together.”
Candy Hullender.: Hullender shared her experience watching commission chairman Larry Black and some other guests on an episode of “Night Talk,” a local TV talk show. She said one guest was blast
ing chicken proponents as extremists and Black was praising him for doing a good job representing the other side. “Shame on all of you,” Hullender said. “This is not the end. It’s just the beginning. You guys have set yourselves up for some hard knocks.”
Rob Nolen: After trying to help uninformed fellow citizens by asking chairman Larry Black to read aloud rules of conduct for speaking at meetings, Nolen had this to say during public appearances at the regular meeting on April 18:
“Tonight, Mr. Chairman, you made a spontaneous determination to alter the published rules to allow additional speakers time to provide feedback to the board (during the pre-meeting public hearing). (Those) speakers were not required to review or agree to the same public comment rules that bind other speakers.”
“I approached you and asked if you would read the three short rules to the larger crowd so they would be aware.
“The response I received was, and I quote, ‘I won’t read any of those. I’m not going to debate you, and I don’t have anything to say to you.’
“If the chair is going to reference Roberts’ Rules of Order while admonishing citizens for breaking rules they were never given, the chair would be advised to use his discretion under those very rules to explain to the public what rules have been violated and to advise the remaining speakers how to comply with those rules. This would create an environment with far less contempt.
“The board goes into very public forums outside of these meetings and, including you, Mr. Chairman, communicates negative things about the public and then sits here and says that the public attacks the board, but that goes both ways. When I approached you about reading these rules, you spoke to me like I was a piece of gum on the bottom of your shoe.”
According to Black, the county attorney has advised board members not to talk about the chicken issue because of possible future litigation.
COMMISSIONERS SPEAK
At the end of each Catoosa County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners have a time set aside to make comments, if they wish. Here are some comments some of them made about the chicken amendments they had just voted on at the April 18 board meeting.
Commissioner Charlie Stephens, District 4 representative: Stephens was the author of the change in the amendments to allow people owning three or more acres in R-1 zones to apply, free of charge for six months, to change to A-1 zoning. In the end, Stephens voted against the amendments.
“I apologize in coming off in the wrong way, but we all have a job to do.”
Referring to the change made by chairman Larry Black at the beginning of the public hearing before the commission meeting to allow the first five speakers five minutes each rather than the 10 minutes they had been promised: “Public hearings, the way the rules are written, it’s up to the chairman to make decisions. I’m glad he did make the change.”
“If I disappointed you in how I voted, I’m, sorry, but I had my reasons and the reasons are I feel like I made that decision and that is my choice and I have a right to that. I’m listening and the way it’s coming across to me is like everyone is attacking. Everybody here is passionate about their rights and liberties and their pursuit of happiness and so am I. I’m as disappointed as anybody here.”
“Now I’d like to see people work together better and get things done.”
Commissioner Vanita Hullander, District 3: “This has just gotten so out of hand. Citizens of the county, in 1991, voted to have ordinances. So are we to say they were wrong to make ordinances if I don’t agree with it in this day and time, so I think they should be overruled?
“Are we saying they didn’t have a right to vote that way? That’s wrong, folks. That’s wrong.”
In response to two citizens saying that commissioners would not talk with citizens: “I did meet with citizens. I talked with people by phone and through Facebook Messenger. So did commissioner Harris. To say I have not talked to the public — I resent that and I’m calling you out.”
Hullander went on to say that both she and County Manager Dan Wright spoke with chicken owners and owners of commercial chicken farms. “They all tell me that we have to keep the health and safety of the citizens in mind, not to mention other people’s flocks and commercial flocks because of avian flu and other things that can happen. These people make their living off their chickens and they don’t want their living taken out from under them, like if someone’s chicken contaminated their whole flock.”
“You have to wonder where we came up with the six chickens. There was a citizen that approached a commissioner and said, ‘Why don’t we have at least six chickens?’ That’s where the six came from.”
“One commissioner wanted this to go to a vote, (but people said), ‘Oh no, we don’t want people voting on this.’ Should they not have a right?”
“We have tried to compromise with everybody. You can’t just look at yourself. You have to look at everybody’s wishes and desires. That’s why we’re a democracy.”
Commissioner Jeff Long, District 1: “I know this has drug out for a year, but I don’t think some people understand. I know it might just be eight chickens now but if we had voted no — and I know (commissioner) Charlie (Stephens) did and that’s his right — but if we had voted no, there wouldn’t have been any chickens. I don’t think half the people understand that.
“So there is more than there would have been here and as (commissioner) Vanita (Hullander) said, we have to look out for all sides. I think this is a working thing and it can be modified in the future.”
Commissioner Larry Black, chairman: “Thank you for somewhat following the rules of decorum. Thank you Chad (Young, county attorney) for the presentation (of the proposed amendments) you made tonight.”