Council denies children’s bid to raise farm animals

By Forrest Adams

By a vote of 3-2 (June 22), the Chanhassen City Council rebuffed efforts by Stephanie Hoder, 11, and her brother to gain permission to raise chickens in their backyard.

That bucks a nation trend, which is toward more locally grown and raised food and in some cities has meant city dwellers are raising chickens in their backyards. The cities of Minnetonka, Minneapolis and St. Paul have special exceptions allowing residents to raise chickens on single-family residential land. In Chanhassen chickens are allowed in the city on land that’s zoned agricultural, but not single-family residential.

Birds tweeting back and forth across the wetland in their backyard brought down the darkness as Stephanie, her brother, and their parents explained why they think the City Council should have made an exception in their case.

 “This is home,” said Ellen Wolaner, Stephanie’s mother, with a sweeping gesture accompanied by a chorus of frogs. “It’s not exactly an urban setting.”

“We have porcupines, possums, fox and deer back here,” her husband, Marc Hoder, said, as the family’s big black pet dog came bounding around the north side of the home.

Guarded from their neighbors on either side by a grove of mature maple trees and an expanse of green grass, vegetable gardens, and shade trees, Stephanie and her younger brother, David, 9, want to raise chickens for 4-H. Their parents approve. The city does not because their family is on land that’s zoned residential. Learning of the city ordinance that forbids the raising of chickens on their property, which is two acres and not large enough to be considered agricultural, Ellen garnered support from friends and accompanied Stephanie to the council meeting to make their case.

Reading a statement written by David, who was at soccer practice, and one she wrote, Stephanie told councilors why she thinks she and David should be allowed to raise chickens.

“I want chickens because they are great pets,” she said. “If I am allowed to have chickens, I hope you will come to see them at the Carver County Fair.”

Councilors failed to see the same potential. Mayor Tom Furlong and councilors Jerry McDonald and Bryan Litsey told the kids and their adult supporters that chickens wouldn’t be appropriate and had the potential to be a public health risk and a big nuisance to neighbors. A neighbor of the Hoder-Wolaner family also showed up at the meeting to express his opposition.

Councilors Vicki Ernst and Bethany Tjornhom sided with the children.

“What’s a reasonable level of tolerance?” Tjornhom asked. “I am certainly not promoting mini-agricultural hobby farms in the backyard for sustainable living, but neither am seeing a huge problem with this case.”

“I think we work hard to be a city that says, ‘Yes’, instead of ‘No’,” she added after the meeting.

Community Development Director Kate Aanenson, who began discussing the issues of farm animals, wild animals, birds of prey, and residential zoning with the Chanhassen Planning Commission in April, said in the late 1990s there was an issue with nuisance chickens in the city. Since then there have been no problems with the chickens permitted on agricultural property.

It was enough for Ernst to conclude, “I think cats are more of a nuisance than what I’ve heard about chickens.”

Aanenson said the city gets occasional requests for permission to keep birds of prey, including falcons and hawks, or farm animals, such as llamas or chickens. Until now, the definitions of different types of animals and the districts that permit them were never clarified. With passage of this ordinance, the council defined farm animals, wild animals, birds of prey. For specific language in the ordinance, access the city code at www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/inside/code.html. Aanenson told councilors that throughout her discussion with the Planning Commission, members “spent a lot of time discussing what kind of community we want to be.” Their decision, on a 3-2 vote, was that animals classified as “farm animals” should be kept out of urban districts.

The next step for the Hoder kids if they still want to raise chickens in their backyard would be to ask the Planning Commission to revisit and change the ordinance.

Readers can contact Forrest Adams at fadams@swpub.com.