{"id":28894,"date":"2021-03-04T14:09:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T19:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=28894"},"modified":"2021-03-12T00:14:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T05:14:05","slug":"backyard-hen-program-not-coming-home-to-roost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/backyard-hen-program-not-coming-home-to-roost\/","title":{"rendered":"Backyard hen program not coming home to roost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was promoted as a way help residents \u201creconnect\u201d with their food and, in some ways, get back to nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a motion which would have looked into the feasibility of Aurora adopting a backyard hen program pilot project, one which would have allowed property owners to raise chickens and collect their own eggs, was scrambled on arrival last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a vote of 4 \u2013 3, lawmakers defeated a motion from Councillor Rachel Gilliland which would have tasked staff to report back to Council by the end of next month on the feasibility of such an initiative and the implications any programs might have on the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been proven to work in other municipalities such as Toronto, Newmarket and Georgina,\u201d said Councillor Gilliland, kicking off the debate. \u201cLet\u2019s find out why this worked. I was skeptical too at first, so I decided to do a little digging and came across this quote from Toronto City Staff [on their pilot] which said, \u2018None of the predicted blights have materialized. The predicted chorus of neighbours [with] complaints, not a peep. There aren\u2019t any complaints about noise or unsanitary conditions in any of these locations with registered hens. We have made a couple of educational visits about coop sizes, but everything seems to be going smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making her pitch to colleagues, Councillor Gilliland said that hens are great for keeping pests such as mosquitos, ticks and fleas under control, help homeowners keep down unwanted vegetation and, of course, are organic fertilizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what led me to believe that raising chickens [for eggs] is something people can do in a healthy and safe way,\u201d she said. \u201cThese urban backyard hens will produce sustainable, organic, non-GMO foods, offer an educational and therapeutic value for both kids and adults. It is not about raising roosters or chickens for meat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the discussion itself, the motion received a boost from residents at large who submitted written delegations to Council supporting the initiative, including from Marc Mantha, a former resident of Newmarket, who said he saw the benefits of backyard hens firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is wonderful how we\u2019re reconnecting with food and healthy lifestyles,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are gardening in record numbers and backyard hens enrich a progressive community. Pilot projects are the best path to due diligence and being able to observe and report firsthand a very manageable sampling. A pilot project also provides everyone the opportunity to learn and better understand backyard hens. It was a wonderful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aurora resident Miriam Klein Leiher expressed similar sentiments, adding that within online community discussion forums the interest level is high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of us have done our research and feel Aurora would greatly benefit from hen coops in private backyards,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of our neighbouring towns and cities have successfully launched pilot projects in their backyards with great success. Myself and my family are not keen on factory farms. Urban hens are a more ecological answer to how we get our food to the table. Hens in the community bring citizens and families together as well. This year has been challenging and this will help my family start a wonderful life-changing project. We all want to do it. Plus, they make great little companions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Councillor\u2019s motion received support from Councillors John Gallo and Wendy Gaertner who said it was worth exploring some of the positives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it is a great idea,\u201d said Councillor Gallo. \u201cI am actually quite excited about it. The benefits to us are far and wide, especially for children and how much they can learn. There are many, many good reasons to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Councillor Gaertner: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like [a feasibility] report would be onerous or a huge amount of time for staff to put together. I would like it to be on a public report what the findings are and then vote on it as a Council.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others, however, disagreed and nixed the feasibility report before it was able to get off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Harold Kim, for instance, said he did not question the merits of backyard hens, dubbing it a \u201cnoble cause\u201d but he said he believed \u201cthe vast population of our Town are not ready and do not want chickens at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are just not ready to live next to a house where their backyard has chickens running around,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps within a few years of public education and marketing and communication we will get people\u2019s buy-in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Toronto, Newmarket and other communities that have put a similar program in place, the feasibility studies are already out there, he argued, and there is enough information to make a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to waste more time on studies. They are available. We either do this or we don\u2019t,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stating his opposition, Councillor Michael Thompson said there are already pockets of the community, primarily in more rural areas, that are currently zoned for backyard hens, but he too said the feedback he had received since a hen program was first floated at Council this winter by resident Darryl Moore has been largely negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe conversations I have had with residents, I have simply said to them, \u2018How would you feel if your neighbour put up a coop?\u2019 The vast majority of the people I have spoken to don\u2019t want it next to them,\u201d he said. \u201cMany of our [residents] don\u2019t want to see it in their neighbourhood. I am cognizant of that. I am also concerned with the health risk. I have seen a number of different reports and studies with regards to health risks. The most relevant one I found for myself was put out by Public Health Ontario [which] talks about health risks associated with backyard chickens\u2026 we are living in the midst of a pandemic and even though everyone takes as much precaution as they can, there is still a risk associated with it. Based on all that I have read and looked at, I don\u2019t see a report changing my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also opposed, but for a very different reason, was Councillor Sandra Humfryes who said that specific lot sizes would be required for backyard hens and, with that in mind, such a program would not be \u201cinclusive\u201d for the whole community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey all said it is a great idea, but not beside my house,\u201d she said, instead stating that emphasizing garden boxes and other means to grow food would be a better fit for Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in stating his opposition, Mayor Tom Mrakas cited the complaints the Town generally receives from abutting properties when community gardens are proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree that a lot of people think it is a great idea, but not beside them. I think we will run into those issues,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, with the issues as far as how big of a yard you need, it wouldn\u2019t be inclusive to everybody in our Town. The program wouldn\u2019t be available to everyone. I think as Councillor Thompson mentioned, as we do have areas that do allow for hens\u2026in a chicken coop, that we continue to look at those areas. Maybe we have staff report back to us on any findings from the areas that are allowed currently in our Town and if there is anything in those areas that can show us how things are happening, if there are chicken coops right now being utilized in those areas, and you can see the information that comes from that\u2026 I don\u2019t think that there is anything that would come back in a report that would change my mind, so I won\u2019t be in favour of asking staff to move forward in working on this and bringing us back a report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it was clear by the end of the discussion the matter wouldn\u2019t move forward, Councillor Gilliland said it was important for a report to look at \u201cwhat is good for Aurora.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe point is allowing people to [have] that option,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know who this vast majority is because I haven\u2019t seen the vast majority [of communications cited by the rest of Council]. Part of the process in each municipality is for public consultation and I don\u2019t take that lightly. If the public says, \u2018That\u2019s not what I want,\u2019 I would like to listen to what the public has to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Laura Johansen<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2021-03-04-08.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7w2","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-28 14:11:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}