Lately, some “liberty” (I use the term loosely here) activists have gotten it into their heads that local governments are trying to persecute them.
How?
By saying “no” to roosters in subdivisions.
So they had their go-to boy, State Rep Bobby Franklin, introduce a bill that would preempt local control on this issue and mandate that no local government could prohibit gardening nor the keeping of chickens, goats, or rabbits – and nor could they require a permit for these activities.
I don’t know much about farming – while my grandfather was a farmer and I spent quite a bit of time with him as a kid, I’ve always lived a much more suburban/exurban life. But I do know that to create an edible chicken egg, you need sperm. Sperm, in chickens, comes from roosters. Roosters tend to crow a lot, and not just in the mornings. They are VERY loud and can, in the right conditions, be heard for MILES around.
Again using the City of Leesburg as my basis: Leesburg is roughly 2 miles square. It is possible for a rooster to crow on the farmland just north of my house and be heard – again, assuming the right conditions – clear across town in Indian Oaks (some of the southern most homes in the City).
To my knowledge, goats have a similar problem as roosters. They bleet a lot. (Is that the right word for their vocalizations?) They’re loud. They probably can’t be heard quite as far away as a rooster, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want one within 20′ or so of your bedroom wall, as property lines in subdivisions often are.
I don’t know much about rabbits, but I know they multiply like crazy. Being herbivores, they are also prey for animals such as bobcats, wolves, foxes, and coyotes. Ever heard of the sequence 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21…? It is the Fibonacci Sequence, and historically it describes the population of rabbits. It is also an exponential function – numbers start very small, but get very large VERY quickly. In real life, as the population of rabbits grows, various things start happening: rabbit poop everywhere, cars running into rabbits on the road, rabbits interfering with peoples’ gardens… and rabbits being eaten by growing numbers of predators.
The problem for suburbanites and exurbanites is that we tend to have small animals as pets. These small pets are often roughly the size of… rabbits. If a large population of predators is attracted to an area due to an abundance of rabbits, these pets are now at risk.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I support local control outside of a clear violation of trust or a clear reason a higher level of government MUST handle the duty in question. As a man active in his local government, and as a former and potentially future candidate for my City Council, I have genuinely serious reservations with this bill. Quite frankly, this decision is not one that deserves to be made 300 miles away in Atlanta. It deserves to be made, for Leesburg, about a mile and half down the road from my house at Leesburg City Hall.
If you don’t like what your city or county has done on this issue, work with them to change it, work with your fellow citizens to change the governing board via the ballot box, or move to another town.
Don’t force Leesburg down one path just because Marietta said you couldn’t have a rooster in your subdivision.
Jeff,
I am AMAZED at your learned and insightful analysis, especially since you haven’t even seen a copy of the legislation that was passed. Even though I specifically told you that there was a substitute.
This bill is about families being able to feed themselves. My neighbors and city council should not have the capacity to keep me from growing crops and raising small animals for food for my families, so long as I do not infringe on another’s life, liberty, or property.
I’m sorry you feel the need to publish your ignorance, but, hens do not need roosters to lay edible eggs.
Even if someone chose to own a rooster or goat, how does your noise analogy differ from the noise a dog can make? Or a radio? Or an outdoor party? It doesn’t, regardless of the animal, if it is making noise at an inappropriate time, at an inappropriate decibel, or in any way that is bothersome, a nuisance complaint can be filed.
As I told you before, this bill does not negate any nuisance ordinances, this bill does not negate any subdivision or neighborhood’s private covenants.
I don’t mind that you don’t agree. I mind that you do so in such an adversarial and insulting manner. If you want to criticize it, at least read the bill first, otherwise you just look like a guy who hates people who want to raise their own food….and one who is criticizing just because he doesn’t like Rep. Franklin.
P.S. I don’t think anyone is trying to persecute me….except maybe you.
I read the same copy of the bill that is online for the public to read – hell, I linked to it.
The bill that is online does NOT allow for nuisance complaints. It explicitly says “No county, municipality, consolidated government, or local government authority shall prohibit … chickens, rabbits, or goats”.
While it DOES have a clause saying private covenants (such as HOA rules) are not subject to this, there is NO allowance for local noise/nuisance ordinances.
In other words, if you are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with stringent HOA rules (and don’t mind giving up your freedom in order to do so), you don’t have to worry about this – other than from the poor guy across town who DOESN’T live in such a neighborhood and has the rooster.
By and large, a dog- even a large, loud dog – will only be heard a block or two away, even in the best of conditions for sound travel. Roosters can be heard at FAR greater distances under those conditions.
I have no problems with people raising their own food. My parents have a garden most years, and it typically takes up a sizeable chunk of their backyard. (Also typically produces some dang good okra.)
I do have a problem with a person’s rooster waking me up at 5am, or their bleeting goat keeping me awake all night, or their rabbit escaping and reproducing and causing predators to come into my neighborhood which threaten my pets.
I do have an even bigger problem with the State butting its head into a truly local decision.
As I said, if your local governing body has decided that you can’t have a rooster in a subdivision, you’ve got three valid choices: 1) work with them to repeal the ordinance, 2) work with your fellow citizens to repeal the board members in question, 3) move.
Crying to your pet State Representative and begging the State to interfere in a genuinely local decision is NOT a proper route for anyone, let alone someone who claims to be a “constitutionalist”.
So has this bill now morphed into a complete ban on planning & zoning? This is unbelievable!!!
See this:
House Resolution 3 http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display.aspx?Legislation=31988
A RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that no restrictions shall be placed by any government or governmental entity on the use of property within this state; to provide that land use and zoning laws, ordinances, and resolutions shall be prohibited; to provide for related matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.