The Proposed Chicken/Bee Ordinance

30-5-2.63 Poultry and Bees (as accessory to single-family detached dwellings) (Subject to Chapter 5 of this Code)

(A) Where Required: RS-40, RS-30, RS-20, RS-15, RS-12, RS-9, RS-7, RM-5, RM-8, RM-12, and RM-18 Districts.

(B) General:

(1) No poultry shall be permitted to roam loose on or from a residential property addressed in this section. Some type of fenced area is required for all such animals.

(2) No male chickens over six months of age or other poultry animals that make sounds clearly audible off-site are permitted.

(3) Lots less than 7,000 square feet shall not be permitted to have poultry or bees.

(C) Location Behind Principal Building: Coops, shelters and colonies for such animals shall be located behind the rear wall of the principal building.

(D) Setback and Density: The location and number of animals/colonies located on the same lot as a single-family detached dwelling is dependent upon the size of the lot and is as follows:

(1) Lots which are greater than 12,000 square feet:

(a) Setback: Coops, shelters and colonies for such animals shall be not less than 50 feet from any property line.

(b) Maximum Density: No more than one animal over six months of age shall be permitted for every 2,000 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number exceed 20 animals.

(c) Maximum Density for Bees: No more than one colony shall be permitted for every 1,500 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number of colonies exceed 20.

(d) Alternate Standard: In cases where, due to lot configuration, the width of the area remaining after compliance with the setback requirement listed in (a) above is less than 10 feet, the setback from each lot line may be reduced by the same amount to achieve a 10-foot area but in no case shall the setback be reduced below 25 feet from any property line and 50 feet from any dwelling unit located on an abutting lot. The densities under this alternate standard shall be as follows:

(i) Maximum Density for Poultry: No more than one animal over six months of age shall be permitted for every 3,000 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number exceed 10 animals.

(ii) Maximum Density for Bees: No more than one colony shall be permitted for every 2,000 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number of colonies exceed 10.

(2) Lots between 7,000 square feet and 12,000 square feet:

(a) Setback: Coops, shelters and colonies for such animals shall be not less than 25 feet from any property line and not less than 50 feet from any principal building located on an abutting lot.

(b) Maximum Density for Poultry: No more than one animal over six months of age shall be permitted for every 3,000 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number exceed four animals.

(c) Maximum Density for Bees: No more than one colony shall be permitted for every 2,000 square feet of lot area. In no case shall the total number of colonies exceed six.

We're Back! An Update...

Hey, everybody! Brian and I (mostly Brian) have been working hard these past few months. Brian unsuccessfully applied for a variance, then met with the City Planning Dept to work on drafting a new chicken/bee ordinance (which I will post shortly).

The ordinance is scheduled to be reviewed by City Council at their monthly meeting on August 19th. PLEASE attend this meeting! We need all the support we can get here. And, if you're interested, we'd be eternally grateful to anyone who would like to speak for 2-3 mins on why the ordinance should be passed. I'll be talking all about the ordinance that was successfully amended in Raleigh, and what results.

Come on, Greensboro! Raleigh is beating us to the punch. We've made big strides towards becoming a forward-thinking, revolutionary city... Let's do even more! Make downtown Greensboro even more livable than it is now!

Sign the Petition Tomorrow at Deep Roots!

Come out tomorrow to Deep Roots from 12-4! I'll be there, in my chicken costume, collecting signatures for a petition we plan on taking to Tuesday's city council meeting.

Yes! Weekly article

Here is an article in this week's issue of "Yes! Weekly." It seems to be the most nonpartisan, best researched article so far. It's good to know what kind of opinions we're up against on city council!

By the way, it's been really hard looking at pictures of myself and watching myself talk on TV. Do I really look that dorky in real life? (Please don't answer that)

On the mend...

Sorry I've been missing in action for the past several days. I caught a nasty bout of the flu that has been going around. Hopefully I'll be fully recovered for this weekend's debut...

News 14 Carolina

Here is the link to our debut on News 14 Carolina.

Today's paper

Here is a link to an editorial in today's News & Record. It says I'll be appearing in a chicken suit this weekend, but it'll actually be next weekend. It seems like people are really excited about this chicken costume...

Adieu, adieu...

Well... We said our goodbyes this morning to Eleanor and Dolly. After a quick photo op with News 14 Carolina, we loaded the girls (and the coop) on the truck and shipped them off to Eden for a little vacation. Brian's aunt will be taking care of them until we get everything sorted out with the City...



Until then, we'll leave you with a shot of some of the eggs they've left behind, which'll probably last a day or two.

Homeless in Greensboro...

Here's a picture of our three girls--Eleanor, Nancy and Dolly (named after First Ladies, of course!). Sadly, we had to put Nancy to sleep last week after she was attacked by our Jack Russell. Shortly after that, we borrowed a *mean* rooster from Brian's aunt so that we could scare the crap out of the dog and make sure what happened to Nancy doesn't happen again. We've nicknamed the rooster "Elvis" and he's very protective of his girls. Which is good for them, bad for the dog.

Our TV Debut

Here is the link to our coverage on WFMY News 2 on Wednesday night.

Welcome to Free Range Greensboro!

If you're interested in supporting our fight for urban chickens in Greensboro, you've come to the right place!

So far... We've appeared on WFMY News 2 and Ed Cone's Super Blog. We've conducted interviews and posed for pictures with the News & Record and Yes! Weekly. Tomorrow, we'll be chilling with the news crew from News 14 Carolina (Hi, Bob! Hi, Dan Eaton!).

We've received overwhelmingly favorable responses to our campaign. Lots of people have written to tell us that they have chickens, had chickens when they were younger, have friends with chickens, or would like to someday have chickens. We've been talking with the great people at Deep Roots Food Market--our friendly neighborhood co-op.

Whew! I have to say that when we first contacted Pricey Harrison (part state representative, part superhero), I never expected such a big response. I will be making several appearances next week to collect signatures for a petition we plan to take to the city council meeting on March 4th. In a head-to-toe chicken suit. Do you have any idea how hard it is to track down a decent chicken costume in this town? And can you imagine the crazy look Brian gave me when I suggested we get one for each of us?

Many humiliating photos to follow...