The Results of the final count on were 75 yes, 21 no. Out of 167 residences, only 96 bothered to return their ballots. So once again the effort to change the covenant failed. Even though of those that voted, clearly the majority are in favor of changing the covenant. In my opinion, the rest of the residents are "chicken". They clearly won't take a stand either way. Now those numbers have changed by late ballots coming in and the number of yes votes continues to climb.
One of the supporters posted a sign in the mail house speaking to the frustration of the "Apathy" in the community and how we are now ruled by it. If we do not vote for a president one will still be elected by the majority. Not so in an HOA.
Why fight an HOA? I am really not against an HOA if they are reasonable. However, I have found this one to be ruled so tightly due to the fact that they have been to Court that they can't see past that. Not everything ends up in Court, but now that something has, they are so afraid everything will that they are scared to death to make any change at all. I simply want to expand our self sufficiency skills by supplementing our small garden with a small flock of hens. Many cities do this now, however we can't get a community of 5 acre lots to get this done. It is so infuriating.
Luckily I have some great neighbors that are still willing to find a way to change this. So we will continue to work at this.
We need help!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Hold on there Partner....
In a surprise ending the board sanctioned the mailing process for the vote to change our covenant to allow Chickens. We were "invited" to the board meeting to "present our information" last night. We did so with the intent to come to an agreement without delaying this process. Turns out a gentlemen who was there for something completely different came up with a solution to a problem that was keeping one of the board members from even entertaining the idea of sanctioning our mailing. However in the end, with a simple change we successfully worked out a process that worked for all of us. I like that.
Today I am doing some reprinting, stuffing, labeling and will make the trip to the post office. It is a very happy day for me. I am so excited to turn this blog into a place to update the antics of my hens with pictures, share advice of things I have learned as well as others. Of course this will all depend on our residents and how the votes come in - I am very optimistic! Voting ends 9/28/12 - Next up.
THE RESULTS.
Today I am doing some reprinting, stuffing, labeling and will make the trip to the post office. It is a very happy day for me. I am so excited to turn this blog into a place to update the antics of my hens with pictures, share advice of things I have learned as well as others. Of course this will all depend on our residents and how the votes come in - I am very optimistic! Voting ends 9/28/12 - Next up.
THE RESULTS.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Outlaws
I saw the cutest Tshirt on the internet. It said "Where Chickens are Outlawed, only Outlaws will have Chickens". I guess that doesn't sound very cute, but it was. It speaks to me because at this point I find the issue of having to fight for the right to have 8 hens on my 5 acre property so completely ridiculous, I find myself more and more thinking like an outlaw. It is so very tempting to skip all the BS and just get my chickens. I have joined blogs, liked facebook pages, read books, talked to folks who own chickens, I even won a sticker for my car that says "I ♥ my backyard chickens". Now, if only I had some.
I sent a copy of the ballot to the president of the HOA this week along with the plan the committee came up with for a PO box for the ballots. The idea was formed to eliminate any tampering of the ballots by either side. Side, meaning the HOA board or the Chicken Committee. The PO box will be rented, ballots will be mailed, no keys to the box will be distributed until the ballots are picked up 3 days after the voting ends. The ballots are to be picked up by one member of each committee and counted together.
Last night I received a one line message stating the board is meeting on Thursday at 6pm, you can present your information for approval at that time. Ok, so now I have to do a formal presentation. Fine. Done. I will show up at their meeting as they hash this apart. I will fight to keep this mailing simple. No delays. No BS. Just get it done. Get it done fairly.
On the bright side, I have found the most adorable chickens. Have you checked out a bantam Cochin Frizzle (pic above - from The Chicken Chick)? How about the adorable Silkie (below)?
To sum things up. On Thursday I present the "information" to the Board. Either way, the mailing is sent on Friday voting ends on September 28th. So by the first week in Oct we'll have our answer. If it passes and is sanctioned by the board we'll have our change. If not we'll have to register the change with the Courts. If it doesn't pass. I shall be an Outlaw.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Meeting. Cluck Cluck!
On Saturday, July 28th, 2012 Pawnee Hills Community came together, 71 attendees (including proxies) met the requirements of quorum. A formal HOA meeting was held. A new resident, Dennis Brown and a long time resident and previous secretary of the board Ginger Wood were present on the ballot for the new Board Members. Of the five positions available there were five candidates including the current board. It really wasn't a vote, these volunteers would have become the board vote or no vote. Regardless, it is nice to have two new members on the board.
But what about the Chickens? Although we did not have the required 112 yes votes required to change the covenant, we had a lot of pro-change attendees and good discussion. A few were outspoken against the change even going so far as to say the covenants were "perfect" as they are and don't need to change, and if we start allowing chickens when will it end? It will open the door for llamas, goats, alpacas etc,. There were negative comments indicating that if the community wanted it, it would have passed and it was obvious only a small group wants the chickens. We did a straw pole vote and out of the folks present at the meeting (including proxies) 55 were in favor of chickens and 19 were not. Clearly those in favor are NOT the minority.
Why didn't the change pass? The requirement to have a change pass is very very difficult. Out of 167 homes, 112 yes votes are necessary. That is a really big challenge. People are busy, some people don't pay attention and some just don't understand. There was quite a bit of discussion on how we can reach everyone in the community in order to do all that we can. It was decided that a Chicken Committee would be formed (outside of the board) to raise the money required to put together a mailing of ballots to each resident so everyone would have the opportunity to vote on the issue. The Ballots will resemble a political ballot marked as such on the outer envelope and have a "return by" date. Calls will be made the residents as well once the ballots have been sent. Any resident may donate to the committee and by the closing of the meeting $84 had been collected. Eight volunteers including myself comprise the Committee which plan to have their first meeting in the near future to get organized and get this going.
Am I disappointed? Yes and No. It would have been a dream to have it pass on the first attempt. I am not disappointed by the amount of positive support and logical people. This is not a petition to overrule the HOA or bring in Zoo animals. We simply want to raise a few chickens, have fresh eggs and some cute pets.
But what about the Chickens? Although we did not have the required 112 yes votes required to change the covenant, we had a lot of pro-change attendees and good discussion. A few were outspoken against the change even going so far as to say the covenants were "perfect" as they are and don't need to change, and if we start allowing chickens when will it end? It will open the door for llamas, goats, alpacas etc,. There were negative comments indicating that if the community wanted it, it would have passed and it was obvious only a small group wants the chickens. We did a straw pole vote and out of the folks present at the meeting (including proxies) 55 were in favor of chickens and 19 were not. Clearly those in favor are NOT the minority.
Why didn't the change pass? The requirement to have a change pass is very very difficult. Out of 167 homes, 112 yes votes are necessary. That is a really big challenge. People are busy, some people don't pay attention and some just don't understand. There was quite a bit of discussion on how we can reach everyone in the community in order to do all that we can. It was decided that a Chicken Committee would be formed (outside of the board) to raise the money required to put together a mailing of ballots to each resident so everyone would have the opportunity to vote on the issue. The Ballots will resemble a political ballot marked as such on the outer envelope and have a "return by" date. Calls will be made the residents as well once the ballots have been sent. Any resident may donate to the committee and by the closing of the meeting $84 had been collected. Eight volunteers including myself comprise the Committee which plan to have their first meeting in the near future to get organized and get this going.
Am I disappointed? Yes and No. It would have been a dream to have it pass on the first attempt. I am not disappointed by the amount of positive support and logical people. This is not a petition to overrule the HOA or bring in Zoo animals. We simply want to raise a few chickens, have fresh eggs and some cute pets.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Campaign and the final countdown BGAWK!
Our HOA meeting is this Saturday July 28th. This is our Summer meeting where they put on a Barb-B-Que to entice the homeowners to attend. We are hoping for a stellar turn out for this meeting. Al and I have been campaigning for the past few weeks by posting our sign "Vote yes for Chickens" at the community mail house and accepting Proxies for the meeting. It has been great to meet our neighbors and talk so positively about having Chickens in our community. A few have been HOA bashers, but for the most part they just want the ability to live a nice country life style with a few hens. Some, in fact many don't want to have their own Chickens, they do want the community to have the ability to.
The past "Chicken Wars" has come up frequently and it is clear there are still open wounds, however most of them are healing as so much time has past. A common complaint we did hear was that the current board is too rigid, won't listen to the community and will entertain changes but in the end will make their own mind up. I certainly hope this is not the case.
When we moved into Pawnee Hills I had no notion to have Chickens. However as I see the counties, cities and HOA's change their covenants and ordinances to allow for poultry in the backyards it just makes sense to me for us out here in the country to be able to have a few hens to raise. Fresh eggs, in this economy or any economy makes sense. Gardening is second nature to me and this will be the next level of providing fresh food for my family. I've done the research, I've presented the research to those in the community who were open to it.
There are a couple of scenarios that could happen at the meeting. Al and I alone do not have enough proxies to pass the vote. The best scenario is that others in the community have also collected proxies and those along with all that attend the meeting and vote yes, a quorum is met and the proposed change passes. Oh my that is just such a nice dream.
Another scenario is that a quorum is met, however not enough yes votes for the change to pass.
The third scenario is that a quorum is not met - meaning enough people show up for the meeting, I think this number is around 53, meeting adjourned. I'll carry the proposed change to the December meeting.
Regardless of how many attend the meeting I imagine discussion around this issue will take place. Who is to know if those against the change will show up or not. If they do will they voice their issues? The only indication we have gotten that there are some against this change is by words written on my postings in the mail house. "No Damn Chickens" was one. When Al and I were campaigning for proxies, some residents went out of their way not to look at us, to completely ignore us. That baffles me. You may not agree with me, but I am your neighbor and I am waving at you. Can't you still be friendly? I hope we can have good discussion without anger at the meeting. Perhaps a change on the board would be good. Perhaps they are tired an would like a rest? We have new residents who have expressed an interest in serving. Lets discuss it.
Most of all. Let's open our minds and try something new. If your neighbor has chickens it is not going to change your life and if it does, talk to your neighbor and have them make some changes! Let's make Pawnee Hills the place people want to live at. Not the place people hear about because of the Chicken Wars!
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Meeting
I would call tonight's meeting a success. The speakers were great, we had a good discussion both for those for and the opposition as well. The turnout was not huge, but we were glad to see homeowners come and take part.
Kim Allyn, D.V.M., first spoke about her experiences raising her own flock for 4-H with her daughters. Some key points made were that chickens do not smell, are quiet, easy to keep, do not attract predators that aren't already in the neighborhood. She spoke about the importance of keeping them well fed and watered as well as keeping their coop clean. They do not require vaccinations and are relatively easy to care for. They are also fun animals with personality. Roosters are not fun, are not quiet and are not required for hens to lay eggs. To keep chickens safe they need to be protected from predators such as raccoon, foxes, coyotes, dogs, cats, etc. They hens will stay in their coop at night and can be keep in a protected run during the day or have free range, keeping in mind they are vulnerable to predators. Chickens are friendly but can have their own personalities just like any other pet. Some are more friendly than others.
Sundari Kraft spoke about her experience in succeeding in changing ordinances an how to handle opposition to Chicken law. Sundari spoke of the many cities in the metro area that currently have laws allowing chickens, Denver, Littleton, Ft. Collins, Arvada, ...the list was long. She addressed common concerns such as smell. Mainly fears about smell come from folks who grew up in rural areas near commercial chicken farms. This is completely different because there would be an odor from a farm that housed hundreds or thousands of chickens in a small area for profit. 8 chickens on a 5 acre lot would not cause any additional odors. Noise should not be a concern as the hens would not make near the noise as a barking dog would. Concerns of predators was a common fear she explained when speaking to people in the Denver area. Adding chickens to a community does not increase the number of predators. The ones that are already here will be interested in the new food, but it will not add more predators. Someone said they had heard concerns that having chickens would scare the horses. Sundari did not agree that this could be a problem. In comparison to our popular domestic pets, dogs and cats, chickens are a much cleaner choice. The likelihood of disease transmission from chicken to human is much less than it is from a dog to a human. Chicken waste is safe to put on a garden for fertilizer however dog and cat waste is toxic to humans.
The attendees had great suggestions as to the language for the covenant change and several volunteered and assigned themselves to a section of the community to get proxies assigned to them for the July vote.
We didn't have a great turn out in terms of numbers, but the turnout we had was great!
Kim Allyn, D.V.M., first spoke about her experiences raising her own flock for 4-H with her daughters. Some key points made were that chickens do not smell, are quiet, easy to keep, do not attract predators that aren't already in the neighborhood. She spoke about the importance of keeping them well fed and watered as well as keeping their coop clean. They do not require vaccinations and are relatively easy to care for. They are also fun animals with personality. Roosters are not fun, are not quiet and are not required for hens to lay eggs. To keep chickens safe they need to be protected from predators such as raccoon, foxes, coyotes, dogs, cats, etc. They hens will stay in their coop at night and can be keep in a protected run during the day or have free range, keeping in mind they are vulnerable to predators. Chickens are friendly but can have their own personalities just like any other pet. Some are more friendly than others.
Sundari Kraft spoke about her experience in succeeding in changing ordinances an how to handle opposition to Chicken law. Sundari spoke of the many cities in the metro area that currently have laws allowing chickens, Denver, Littleton, Ft. Collins, Arvada, ...the list was long. She addressed common concerns such as smell. Mainly fears about smell come from folks who grew up in rural areas near commercial chicken farms. This is completely different because there would be an odor from a farm that housed hundreds or thousands of chickens in a small area for profit. 8 chickens on a 5 acre lot would not cause any additional odors. Noise should not be a concern as the hens would not make near the noise as a barking dog would. Concerns of predators was a common fear she explained when speaking to people in the Denver area. Adding chickens to a community does not increase the number of predators. The ones that are already here will be interested in the new food, but it will not add more predators. Someone said they had heard concerns that having chickens would scare the horses. Sundari did not agree that this could be a problem. In comparison to our popular domestic pets, dogs and cats, chickens are a much cleaner choice. The likelihood of disease transmission from chicken to human is much less than it is from a dog to a human. Chicken waste is safe to put on a garden for fertilizer however dog and cat waste is toxic to humans.
The attendees had great suggestions as to the language for the covenant change and several volunteered and assigned themselves to a section of the community to get proxies assigned to them for the July vote.
We didn't have a great turn out in terms of numbers, but the turnout we had was great!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Preparing for the meeting
I have two dynamic speakers coming to the meeting which I am very excited about. I however am not a dynamic speaker by any means. The only thing I have got going for me is my passion to have this covenant changed and my love for chickens! I plan to have a great meeting regardless of the number attending. I will write my introduction spiel, have samples of my proposal available, current covenant regarding poultry, information on the county zoning regulations. I will also have a write on flip chart with bullet pointed informative quips on chickens. Possibly pages hung around the room. Light refreshments will be served. I am thinking of having a sign indicating "Opinions welcome, Respect demanded". What do you think? I need to be prepared for those opposed. Coop questions will need to be addressed as well as Predators. Chicken Predators that is. We will need to discuss placement of coops, built in accordance to architectural committee guidelines. Notes will need to be taken and distributed. I have one volunteer to help (not including my husband). I'll ask her to take notes. I will also put a jar up for donations as I have already spent around $200. I won't expect much but it doesn't hurt to ask.
COWS?
On my way to work Wednesday I went to the community mail building to see if the flyers I had put up had been taken down. Much to my surprise they were still there. Flyers, regardless of the information on them, Lost, Found, Services usually are torn down within a few hours. It seems some of the residence don't like them even though we have very large boards to hang them on. I mean very large, there is enough room for the entire community to put up their very own flyer. On one of my flyers someone had written a little note. It read "What about cows? We should be able to have them". No signature, just that statement. Well, this comes as no surprise, well maybe a little. I was expecting a piggyback in for form of goats or perhaps donkeys, but not cows.
I left the flyer up for a few days and then replaced it. In the back of my mind I'm thinking are we even zoned for cows? I couldn't imagine our community with cows. I guess some of the residence may feel that way about chickens but the two don't really compare. Theoretically you could raise a chicken in your house. You could never do that with a cow. I have read about miniature cows that are more sustainable than a normal size cow because they need less feed to harvest. This reminded me that I need to be focused on pushing my agenda and prepared to let others like this "cow" person know that they are free to submit a change to the covenant, however my submission will be for poultry. At the meeting I will ask for suggestion on my wording for the covenant change. I would like it to included ducks and possibly turkeys as the county does. I did have a fleeting thought that if there was a piggyback, and I could convince them to include a caveat that voting either way included a yes for chickens, I might be open to it. Now I start thinking like a politician. Yikes.
We are zoned for cows. Our lots are zoned as RA-1 (Residential Agricultural-One) (Minimum 5 Acres)
From the Elbert County Zoning Regulations, The maximum density is one (1) animal unit per one-half acre.
One (1) horse, mule or bovine = 1 unit
Five (5) sheep or goats = 1 unit
One (1) swine = 1 unit
One (1) Llama = 1 unit
Two and 1/2 Alpaca = 1 unit
Two (2) ostriches = 1 unit
Four (4) miniature horses = 1 unit
Elbert County Zoning Regulations -141-
Wowzer! I could have 10 cows. If I was a goat lover (they are really cute) I could by zoning regulations, have 50 goats. And wouldn't 10 ostriches be fun? Or I could mix it up and have a little of each and have a regular petting zoo! Goodness. Ok so zoning regulations aren't all practical for a covenant controlled subdivision, even in a rural area. Five acres is simple not enough land to raise 5 horse on. Our covenant allows for 4 and those who don't rotate the grazing areas or adequately supplement feed quickly have barren fields.
Getting back to CHICKENS...
POULTRY, FOWL AND SMALL LIVESTOCK (NONCOMMERCIAL)
Domestic, noncommercial use of poultry or fowl shall include, but not be limited to: chickens, turkeys, pigeons, small birds and ducks. Small livestock shall include, but not be limited ti: rabbits, chinchillas or similar animals.
RA-1: A maximum number of fifteen (15) poultry and/or fowl and twenty-five (25) rabbits or other small livestock shall be allowed.
These are the Zoning Regulations pertaining to chickens. In my proposal to change the covenant my original thought was 4 hens, but then I read that having eight chickens is best because it will allow you to build your flock slowly so when the first hens you bought retire, you still have room to buy new ones without having to kill your old gals. Chickens have a life span of around 10 years and only lay eggs for 2 to 3 years. Having the option of having up to 8 chickens gives you the possibility of always having some layers.
As for rabbits. I already have more than 25 rabbits on my lot - without trying. Rabbits are very dense in this area as are deer.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Chicken "Agenda"
The invitations have been sent. The speakers confirmed. Nothing left to do but wait for the people to show up. Well, not exactly. Just a bit of background....
I live in a community, an "Equestrian" community of 167 lots, average 5 acres each. We are located in the High Plains, aka Eastern Plains of Colorado. We are a semi-rural community, sometimes referred to as a bedroom community as there are many who commute to a larger city for work and merely sleep at there homes. I live and work in this community. My husband commutes 1 hour & 15 min. each way to work, 5 days a week, because we love it here. We live on dirt roads with nearby paved communities. Each home is different as each lot is different. Some have homes and outbuildings, some just homes and stables. We are several buildings on a lot including sheds. Saturday nights you can either hear the loudspeaker from the sports games being played at the high school, or the loud music from the house down the road, sometimes nothing at all.
There is one very unique thing about our covenant controlled community. As mentioned we are an equestrian community. I guess that is to advertise that we are horse friendly. The entire county is horse friendly. Regardless, that is the statement on the big sign as you drive in to our subdivision. The community encourages horses. That being said, we do not own any horses. We have dogs. Two wonderful active dogs that love it out here. We lived in the city and a backyard was simple too small for them so we bought them a dog park. Our five acres has a fenced in area of around an acre and the rest is protected by an invisible fence buried in the ground around the border of the five acres. We love the horses. The pass by on the bridal trails that border our property and we wave at the riders. We enjoy seeing the new horses come in as well as the occasional colt that is born, although that is a rare sight here. Next door to us there is a delightful miniature horse who entertains us to no end with his antics. Much to our delight two weeks ago he gained a new friend and now there are two. My granddaughter loves mimicking them and I love everything about them.
Our HOA was formed in the early many years ago and very few changes have been made to our covenants since the original ones were set. Regarding domestic animal,s we are allowed 4 horses, up to 4 dogs, cats, etc. No donkeys, cattle, sheep, any livestock really or poultry. This county is fairly active in 4-H and LLama/Alpacas are very popular as are goats for projects. Not allowed here. OK. I can deal with that, after all we only have 5 acres. But how does poultry fit into the equation? One could argue this a few ways, and many have tried. Known as "The Chicken Wars", this issue has been brought to the table long before my time here as a resident. One Chicken War ended up in Court costing one resident over $4000.00. Not to mention the fight it caused between homeowners...but that is another post.
The reason for my blog is to document the journey to change our covenants to allow poultry. Our County zoning regulations currently allow for poultry on our lots so it is not a matter of changing county ordinance, just our HOA covenants. As I go up against this I have to wonder if it would be easier to change a county ordinance.
I have set up a meeting for the residents to attend to learn about chickens. As you will read in another post there seems to be some fears about having them in our community so I am bringing in a local veterinarian as well as a local author who is an advocate for changing city ordinances to allow urban homesteading. The invitations have been sent. I've received a few emails in support of my effort, which is awesome. I have a gut feeling that this meeting will be just the beginning. Although the timing for this was planned specifically for the upcoming July HOA meeting in which I will be submitting a request to change the covenant, this is a big challenge, one I expect to be working on for quite some time. I have planned this so I will have time in June to attempt to meet more homeowners and possibly collect proxies from those who don't attend meetings. So much to do...
I live in a community, an "Equestrian" community of 167 lots, average 5 acres each. We are located in the High Plains, aka Eastern Plains of Colorado. We are a semi-rural community, sometimes referred to as a bedroom community as there are many who commute to a larger city for work and merely sleep at there homes. I live and work in this community. My husband commutes 1 hour & 15 min. each way to work, 5 days a week, because we love it here. We live on dirt roads with nearby paved communities. Each home is different as each lot is different. Some have homes and outbuildings, some just homes and stables. We are several buildings on a lot including sheds. Saturday nights you can either hear the loudspeaker from the sports games being played at the high school, or the loud music from the house down the road, sometimes nothing at all.
There is one very unique thing about our covenant controlled community. As mentioned we are an equestrian community. I guess that is to advertise that we are horse friendly. The entire county is horse friendly. Regardless, that is the statement on the big sign as you drive in to our subdivision. The community encourages horses. That being said, we do not own any horses. We have dogs. Two wonderful active dogs that love it out here. We lived in the city and a backyard was simple too small for them so we bought them a dog park. Our five acres has a fenced in area of around an acre and the rest is protected by an invisible fence buried in the ground around the border of the five acres. We love the horses. The pass by on the bridal trails that border our property and we wave at the riders. We enjoy seeing the new horses come in as well as the occasional colt that is born, although that is a rare sight here. Next door to us there is a delightful miniature horse who entertains us to no end with his antics. Much to our delight two weeks ago he gained a new friend and now there are two. My granddaughter loves mimicking them and I love everything about them.
Our HOA was formed in the early many years ago and very few changes have been made to our covenants since the original ones were set. Regarding domestic animal,s we are allowed 4 horses, up to 4 dogs, cats, etc. No donkeys, cattle, sheep, any livestock really or poultry. This county is fairly active in 4-H and LLama/Alpacas are very popular as are goats for projects. Not allowed here. OK. I can deal with that, after all we only have 5 acres. But how does poultry fit into the equation? One could argue this a few ways, and many have tried. Known as "The Chicken Wars", this issue has been brought to the table long before my time here as a resident. One Chicken War ended up in Court costing one resident over $4000.00. Not to mention the fight it caused between homeowners...but that is another post.
The reason for my blog is to document the journey to change our covenants to allow poultry. Our County zoning regulations currently allow for poultry on our lots so it is not a matter of changing county ordinance, just our HOA covenants. As I go up against this I have to wonder if it would be easier to change a county ordinance.
I have set up a meeting for the residents to attend to learn about chickens. As you will read in another post there seems to be some fears about having them in our community so I am bringing in a local veterinarian as well as a local author who is an advocate for changing city ordinances to allow urban homesteading. The invitations have been sent. I've received a few emails in support of my effort, which is awesome. I have a gut feeling that this meeting will be just the beginning. Although the timing for this was planned specifically for the upcoming July HOA meeting in which I will be submitting a request to change the covenant, this is a big challenge, one I expect to be working on for quite some time. I have planned this so I will have time in June to attempt to meet more homeowners and possibly collect proxies from those who don't attend meetings. So much to do...
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