Bringing back farming

Chickens, considered colorful when they roamed the Sonoma Plaza until visitors started getting pecked, may be the center of controversy once again with a proposal that encourages poultry and rabbit keeping in residential neighborhoods.

The City Council will get its first look Wednesday night at an ordinance that would allow even the smallest residence in Sonoma to have 16 chickens and eight rabbits, and owners of large lots to have up to 200 chickens, roosters and rabbits.

"We do see throughout the nation this movement for locally produced food," said Linda Kelly, Sonoma's city manager. "This is a small way for the city to make it less onerous for people who want to produce their own eggs and to keep hens and rabbits."

Raising rabbits and poultry are a step toward self-sufficiency and provide healthier meat and eggs, proponents contend.

"Every single person should keep chickens," said Bob Cannard, a former city councilman who has had chickens for nearly 40 years. "If everybody kept three chickens for every person in the household, we would change the nature of this country."

Some Sonoma officials, however, are expressing a cautionary tone. Sonoma is no longer a rural city; noise, odors and insects could accompany backyard barnyards and there are questions of who will enforce the codes and resolve complaints.

"I don't know the noise level of 16 hens or one rooster. I don't know the health effects if there will be flies and other insects," said Councilman Stanley Cohen. "Does that person coming from San Francisco or another state want to have these animals next door? And then do I have to go to my police department to enforce the code, and how much time is that going to take?"

The proposal will be presented to the City Council at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Meeting Room, 177 First St. W.

It's not the first time chickens have become the center of controversy in Sonoma. Chickens once wandered the city plaza, but were banned after incidents of aggressiveness.

"They were colorful, a little bit of residual agricultural texture," said Mayor Joanne Sanders. "There were some problems. I don't know if the kids were chasing them or they were chasing the kids, but we don't want kids hurt."

The ordinance was proposed by Sanders, who said it is a way for people to eat healthier and for the city to help reduce its carbon footprint.

"We are not talking about commercial endeavors in backyards, but being able to have your own homegrown eggs. And it seems in keeping with some of the goals we have established in society," Sanders said.

Under the proposal, any home can have 16 chickens and eight rabbits in the back yard, with a setback for henhouses and pens of five feet from the fence.

For lot sizes of over 10,000 square feet, the proposal allows for a flock of 200 chickens and roosters and for 200 rabbits.

The proposal also requires an enclosed henhouse or pen, and wire enclosures with tops, standards for cleanliness and a provision that slaughtering be done humanely and only for home consumption.

It requires a permit, costing $123, and an inspection of the enclosures.

The current code prohibits chickens and rabbits on parcels smaller than 10,000 square feet. For larger parcels, it prohibits chickens or rabbits within 50, 75 or 100 feet of any house, depending on the number of animals and whether roosters are present.

Councilman Ken Brown said that if a new code is adopted, he is proposing that it be reviewed in six months.

"The issues are noise, smell, and people have different levels of ability to care for animals. They have rights as well," Brown said.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.