If you live on a lot less than two acres in size and you want chickens in your backyard, Cobb County will at least consider your request now.
With Chairman Tim Lee and and District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell opposed, the Board of Commissioners Tuesday night voted 3-2 in favor of a code amendment that allows Cobb residents to apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals for backyard poultry on lots of that size.
The final vote didn't sit well with several East Cobb residents who urged commissioners earlier in the evening to oppose the amendment.
"I know first-hand what backyard chickens can do," Melanie Skinner said. "I had a neighbor who illegally was raising them on ¾ of an acre. When you have poultry in your backyard, it's going to bring the vermin, the vultures, the coyotes into your area. It's not just having chickens in your backyard. It's what the chickens are going to bring in your neighborhood."
The president of the East Cobb Civic Association also spoke out against the amendment.
"We cannot support the proposed amendment as written," Jill Flamm said. "It does not differentiate as to why backyard chickens are any different than any other types of livestock with respect to food or companionship. It opens the door to yet other forms of livestock or we may face continually opening the code to other amendments."
Flamm and Skinner, however, were in the minority.
Until Tuesday, residents weren't allowed to own any livestock on lots less than two acres. Clad in yellow and red T-shirts and buttons, the majority of the speakers at Tuesday night's meeting said it was time to change that. They said commissioners were wasting their time trying to regulate chickens.
"To me, it's not logical that I can have a neighbor on the left of me who can have 15 dogs or cats or turtles or fish and then my neighbor on the right is only allowed to have one chicken," said Lisa Baer of Acworth. "I read the news a lot and I have yet to hear about a child being mauled to death by a chicken."
Ray Palermo of East Cobb said he knows of neighbors in his subdivision who own boa constrictors, iguanas, monkeys and pit bulls.
"I don't even know why we're here talking about a chicken," he said. "... I moved here 32 years ago when my next door neighbor was a horse and there was horse poop everywhere—including down the side of my house. That was just where I chose to live. This is a lifestyle issue."
Maxine Saless of Marietta drew one of the loudest applauses of the night after she spoke in favor of the code amendment.
"I would much rather have a couple of chickens in my neighborhood than a couple of my neighbors."
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Responsible owners should not be penalized because of a minority irresponsible owners.
Try asking that question and you will get the same answer that I did, that the City of Smyrna declines to answer, but reserves the right to act should they deem action necessary. Which you can decipher as - We not going to say you can have chickens, but if you have chickens, we're going to tell you you can't have chickens.
Where have you been?
Jim: Chicken = 8 pounds. Cow = 800+ pounds. Chicken: Can ride on your shoulder. Cow: Notsomuch. It ain't rocket science.
I'm not saying you're making anything up, but basing your opinions on "the exception" rather than "the rule," and your situation IS a minority in backyard keeping for most of us Backyard chickenkeepers. It's somewhat of a self-solving problem, as poor keeping practices tend to lead to poor quality chickens and other problems. I will agree, "backyard horses" aren't a great idea in most suburban residential areas, but lumping an 8 pound bird in the same category as a 900-1200 pound horse is kinda ludicrous, and MANY municipal officials and "anti-chicken folks try to do just that. As for the ones who don't keep chickens in a clean and sanitary manner, most municipalities have general health and nuisance ordinances that are sufficient to deal with the occasional irresponsible moron. We don't really need to worry about "teaching" folks, at least from a legislative standpoint. Most of us figure it out without government intervention.
Bummer for your relatives in Winder. I had tried to help some folks in winder a year or two ago, but they kinda lost the resolve to fight for their right. Invite them to look up "Georgia Chickens" on Facebook. It's a page I started to help folks learn how to fight Municipal Officials who don't understand the concept of "liberty" and are not friendly to the idea of keeping backyard chickens. It is possible to get things changed, even if every official sitting on a commission or council is against the idea.
Why restrict all of Cobb from chickens? Those who want chickens and don't want chickens have the option of being able to live in Cobb either way.