‘Food desert’ justifies keeping fowl, city told

The recent washout on the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake could be good news for the local chicken population.

The recent washout on the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake could be good news for the local chicken population.

At a public hearing held Monday night on the proposed zoning bylaw, council heard from three residents who argued the city should move forward on permitting back yard hens to be kept in town.

“More and more people in the Yukon are starting to think about food security,” Christiane Woods told council, recalling how the washouts left some grocery store shelves in the city empty of perishables for days.

It’s situations like that which show just how important it is to find more local food sources, such as back yard chickens would allow.

“In the Yukon, we live in a food desert,” Woods said.

Around the same time that the washout occurred, Woods said she heard council had passed the bylaw permitting back yard chickens so she went out, obtained three and had a coop built for the birds.

It wasn’t long afterward that a neighbour filed a noise complaint and a bylaw officer was at her door explaining the bylaw hadn’t actually been approved. She was issued an eviction notice for the chickens for Friday.

It’s important, she said, to look at the bylaw and consider the benefits of it.

As a support worker for a local child, Woods said, she’s been pleased to see the excitement on the child’s face when an egg is laid and they then get to fetch the egg.

Despite her neighbour’s complaint, she argued noise from the birds is not a major problem.

Each of the birds make noise about once a day, squawking when they lay an egg. Having three birds in the coop means there are about three squawks in a given day.

Woods suggested there’s perhaps more noise coming from dogs in the area that smell the birds.

However, she pointed out, they seem to be getting used to the poultry and are barking less.

The coop is cleaned once a week, with the manure being used for compost.

Chicken manure is a good aid in the process of decomposing material, she said, pointing out that any gardening in the Yukon needs to be done using compost.

Another local resident with chickens said he moved here from Victoria a year ago and assumed that like Victoria, chickens were permitted.

“They make great pets,” he said, noting they don’t make a lot of noise and are useful.

Pointing to a human rights document that sets out the right of a person to raise their own food, he suggested it’s “absurd” not to permit back yard chickens.

That had Coun. Dave Stockdale wondering about the rights of neighbours who could be impacted by the birds and their noise.

As the presenter stated though, there is noise also caused by dogs and other situations (such as music playing).

With chickens, he said, noise is “minimal, it’s just so minimal.”

Peter Blum, who made a presentation to council last week, reiterated that while he favours residents keeping hens, he does not want roosters to be permitted due to the noise they make.

While the proposed regulations – which would limit the number of hens per property to six, put requirements on coops and so on – are in the animal control bylaw, it was during the zoning bylaw rewrite that the chicken debate began.

The Animal Control Bylaw changes are coming forward at the same time as the proposed Zoning Bylaw.

Chickens topped the discussion during the hearing last night, but council also heard from a couple of people on zoning matters.

Cam Koss noted his concern about the city potentially reducing the minimum lot size for single residential homes and changing frontage requirements.

He also suggested that fence limits be raised from two metres to 2.04 m to come in line with lumber available in town and provide more privacy.

Jonathan Lucas, meanwhile, suggested the proposed agricultural zone should have a two-hectare limit instead of the proposed four hectares.

He argued there may be residents interested in having a piece of agricultural land who won’t be able to because they wouldn’t meet the four-hectare limit.

Along with reviewing the comments that came forward last night, officials will also be looking at 37 written submissions.

A public hearing report will be presented at next week’s meeting, with second and third readings of both bylaws expected to come forward on July 9.