INNISFAIL - The town's great chicken flap has taken a new twist.
More than three months after longtime Innisfailian Lisa Reid appealed to council to change the current bylaw that outlaws her having urban chickens, the fowl issue will now go directly to the people on whether they should be allowed as pets in the community.
"That makes me nervous," said Reid, whose chickens were put in the public spotlight last spring after a Napoleon Meadows neighbour complained to bylaw officials she was harbouring a quartet of pet fowl. "This doesn't make me feel as confident. I just hope we get enough people in town who just don't care or are willing to let it (new bylaw) go through. That is a tough one."
At council's Agenda and Priorities Meeting on Aug. 20 administration was directed to develop a public consultation plan as early as this week (Aug. 27). That plan could come in the form of a survey, which might be put to the public at the annual Fall Registration Night on Sept. 4. Council was expected to receive a detailed public consultation plan at its regular meeting last night.
"It is an easy topic to take lightly, flippantly but (for) the end result we are going to have to take it to the community and say, 'give us some direction here. What do you want?' We have to have that public input," said Mayor Jim Romane following the Aug. 20 meeting. "Quite frankly I'd let the community decide."
The latest move by the town followed weeks of preparation by staff to develop a draft Urban Chicken Bylaw, which was tabled at council on Aug. 20 with a recommendation it be put to first reading.
But following lengthy discussion, several council members did not want to give the draft bylaw first reading, arguing the public might interpret it as council wanting to move forward with the issue, which has generated passionate mixed opinions in town and on council, without seeking public input.
"I do think first reading implies that we are going this way except if we hear otherwise," said Coun. Gavin Bates. "I think if you truly want public opinion you go out and seek your public opinion."
Coun. Glenn Carritt agreed with Bates but not before he let it be known he has no use for pet chickens in town.
"Chickens belong on a farm. We shouldn't be allowing chickens in town. It doesn't make sense to me," said Carritt. "We can still have public opinion without doing first reading. I am all in favour of public opinion. I am not in favour of having chickens. That's my opinion but I am here for the citizens. If they say, 'chickens' we go to chickens."
The draft bylaw by staff was created after extensive research on what other Alberta municipalities have done with the issue. Many communities either have no bylaw or have defeated attempts to legalize pet chickens, such as Camrose, Calgary and Fort Saskatchewan. However, many other Alberta municipalities have given the green light to create different kinds of urban chicken bylaws or regulations, including Edmonton, Red Deer, Airdrie, Okotoks, Grande Prairie, Peace River, Lacombe, Red Deer County and Rocky Mountain House.
Innisfail's draft bylaw proposes allowing a maximum number of pet chicken licences, which would cost $50 annually, of one per thousand citizens, a total of seven or eight. It sets out mandatory guidelines on proper care for the chickens, with a maximum number of four allowed per licence. Roosters are not permitted.
However, the draft bylaw may never get passed if enough citizens tell the town through the upcoming public consultation process that they want Innisfail to remain a no pet chicken zone. However, there are many, including a few members of council, who are not threatened by the prospect of adding fowl to the list of acceptable pets for Innisfailians.
"I got a number of comments from citizens about the noise thing and they say, 'chickens don't bark,' and people are just plagued with dogs barking, barking, barking and barking, and personally I don't see a whole lot of harm in it for chickens. It's not a big deal in my opinion," said Coun. Doug Bos. "There seems to be a lot of mixed feelings out there and I don't know how we are going to get past it. It is going to be interesting to see how it all turns out."
