Chicken Week: The Hoopla

Yesterday, I was completely overwhelmed with the hoopla of what we have to do

to acquire our "special use" chicken permit now that the ordinance has been *approved.*

Today, I am MAD.  Really mad. It takes about one day for me to get over

the emotion of it all and for my blood to boil.

Let me detail for you all the steps necessary:

#1) file for permit at county land use building

#2) mail file to 8 local agencies by certified mail (about $3-$5 per mailing)

#3) return certified slips to county office

#4) notify my 10 adjoining neighbors by certified mail ($3-$5 per mailing)

#5) pay $675 fee for permit issue

#6) pay $100 to run an add in newspaper for a hearing

#7) pay $100 to post a county sign in my front yard announcing the hearing (SERIOUSLY?!)

(this gets refunded if the sign is returned undamaged, but I still have to have the money upfront,

and who knows if my neighbor might damage it)

#8) attend two hearings for review in which

anybody can come to protest even if they don't live by us

(as if we had a flippin' tiger in the backyard)

and we get to listen to anyone or any anti-chicken person drag us through the mud even though

the county *won't disclose* who reported our chickens (but we know who it was)

#9) committee then decides if they will issue the permit

#10) if denied, nothing is refunded.

THAT IS DISGUSTING.

Don't make ANYONE go through a process like this, take their money, but then deny them.

This is why I am so mad at government today.

And you know what, I don't want to hear that there are rules everywhere you go...

WE ARE TALKING PRIVATE PROPERTY.

I am confident we can acquire a permit at a hearing

because no matter what anyone says of us, our property is in order and maintained,

but it is still too much money they are asking of families

who want an eco-friendly and educational experience for their children.

This is not a commercial enterprise, this is for personal use.

If I were erecting a GAS STATION, an ADULT THEATRE, or MOTEL

which might attract questionable characters to my community

I would have to go through the same process.

There are several municipalities in Illinois that are nearby and

do not require a permit for chickens at all.

They include:

Chicago, IL

Plainfield, IL

Batavia, IL St. Charles, IL

Oak Park, IL 

Mount Prospect , IL

to name a few.

They just ask that the coops be humane and no roosters be onsite.  TOTALLY FAIR.

So I say the county should WAIVE IT ALTOGETHER.

We have made the decision to attend the next Land Use Committee meeting in August

to continue to address these excessive fees before we pay any money down.

Some county board members DO AGREE this is too much for families.  Thank you for your support,

I hope you will continue to stand by that.

Others feel everything *comes at a price.*

(is this a shared and rehearsed quote among my elected county officials?

Because I called all of you.  You know what I feel about that?  Some people don't

count the cost, they do it because it is the right thing to do.)

AND THIS PRICE IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY!

There is discussion that they may lower the fee, or reclassify it to something other than "special use,"

but nothing is promised and nothing is ever done quickly.

We still hope to have the girls back by October.

We will certainly do the hearing process if nothing gets changed.

Thank you to my readers for your support.

Chicken Week: The Inspection, The Vote, and Aftermath

I'll be posting some old photos of the girls today

as I update you all on our chicken news.

First, we had our -inspection- to come into compliance on Wednesday, and it went great!

The coop is in storage.

We are all in the clear and avoided court (and possibly the fine- but we will see).

Second, THE VOTE was today.

The GOOD NEWS is the ordinance passed to allow chickens to people in our area.  YAY!

The AFTERMATH ensuing is that the law takes effect October 1st.

Also, the *special use permit fees and requirements*

are extremely excessive.

We are talking about $1000 when all is said and done

and when you go up for your review, you can still be

"denied"

 depending on who comes "to protest" at your hearing.

Well, we all know what can happen here.

TOO MUCH government regulation at its finest, folks.

So we are sleeping on it.

I have made thirty phone calls today.

We have a stack of paperwork ready to go...

and tomorrow morning we decide to either move forward

or wait to see if they will reduce the fees (which others have complained about, too).

But, with government, nothing ever really goes down...

in fact, it goes up, which one county board member did predict.

So with that said, if we go forward tomorrow

to get our chickens back by OCTOBER

(they'll be staying at Grandma's longer than anticipated)

then we will be getting mentally prepared and

relying on St Joseph to get us through the war,

which I feel, in all honesty, is an attack on our home.

I think we can do it.

If not us, than who?


Sharing our news with

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

French Country Cottage

Green Day at Raindrops and Daisies

Chicken Week: Girls on Vacay

Continuing on with my updated chicken posts,

(please read my prior post if you are confused, as we have an ongoing saga

on the Town and Prairie),

the girls have gone to stay with Grandma for a few days.

Here is what the chicken yard looked like before:

And now after:

We have removed all chicken paraphanalia from the yard

and stored them away in the garage so we can be in compliance

for the inspection tomorrow morning.

St. Joseph is STAYING (he's in the red rum lilies).

I have complete confidence this will all work out.

Wish us luck!

Thursday is THE VOTE!

Chicken Week @ Town and Prairie

I said there was a 

BIG CHICKEN UPDATE 

coming soon and I wasn't kidding.

Our not so lovely neighbor... who lives yonder on the other side of my

"I hate you," hedge...

(let's be frank here, she planted a crummy one first, so I had to show her how it was done...)

(see 6 foot tall flowering shrubs below)

...decided that she was going to call the county on us about our chickens.

This person has failed to mind her own business since we moved in.

We have done nothing but clean up and beautify a property

that had been overgrown, dated, and vacant for a year.

But you know the type.

And you know what...

we are not the only people that keep chickens even though it is "not allowed."

It is SUSTAINABLE to teach your children how to grow a garden...

to use what you grow at your table...

and have your own sources of food in your backyard.

It is important to know what goes into your food

because it goes into your body.

The way people create so much DRAMA over it all you would think raising a handful of chicks

is equivilant to having a crack lab in your backyard.

It wasn't so long ago that many people had

their own self-sustaining forms of agriculture

and it was a normal way of life.

I REFUSE TO BE LABELED A CRIMINAL

for educating my children about what goes into food.

Four hens on almost an acre of property aren't hurting ANYONE.

Well.  We DID get a letter from the county. 

We DO have to have an inspection to show that the chickens have been temporarily moved.

TEMPORARILY??

 

YES.  Enter St. Joseph who has been watching our backs (and the coop) this WHOLE TIME!

And the remarkable backyard miracle that is about to evolve

right in front of us.

She starts battles but we DID NOT lose the war.

In my doings with the county to resolve the issue, I discovered that

a new ordinance has been drafted by our county and is up

FOR A VOTE

this Thursday.

There is a lot of support on the "YES" side!!

The new ordinance will allow people to have chickens AND goats AND pot-bellied pigs.

SO!

After THE VOTE on Thursday (which we will be attending),

(assuming it all goes our way)

and after our official -inspection-,

(the girls are going on vacay to Grandma's for a few days)

we can purchase a brand new special use permit

and bring the girls home permanently.

HOME CHICKENS RULE.

YOU WILL NEVER EAT GROCERY STORE EGGS AGAIN

ONCE YOU CAN RAISE YOUR OWN.

I will continue to update this week on proceedings.

Sharing with

Garden Party at Delightsome Life

Garden Party at Fishtail Cottage