The current regulations regarding the keeping of animals, adopted in 1934, are both terse and restrictive:
The keeping of poultry and other species of birds, cattle, horses, swine, goats, and sheep within a distance of 200 feet
The current regulations regarding the keeping of animals, adopted in 1934, are both terse and restrictive:
The keeping of poultry and other species of birds, cattle, horses, swine, goats, and sheep within a distance of 200 feet from a dwelling is prohibited, unless authorized by the board of health.These regulations would apparently bar even a farmer from having a chicken coop very close to the farm house. This regulation has always been puzzling to me, since many residents throughout the city, including downtown, kept chickens (and perhaps swine and goats as well). Especially during harsh economic times, such as 1934, chickens are the perfect animal: providing eggs, garden fertilizer, meat, all in exchange for eating all the table scraps and food waste. Still today, there are undoubtedly many backyard farmers who are unwittingly violating the 1934 animal ordinance.
The proposed new ordinance is much longer, and is more nuanced, applying different regulations to different types of animals. The Director of Health is given the authority to regulate animals which might