Urban farm backers, foes flock to council
The protesters' signs outside city hall said "Halifax Welcomes Chickens" but what unfolds over the next few weeks could prove otherwise.
A small group of people — some wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Urban Chickens are Cool" — staged a peaceful demonstration at the Grand Parade on Monday night just as a meeting of the Peninsula community council was getting underway.
Their protest, which included an impromptu chicken dance, was in support of Louise Hanavan, who has run afoul of city bylaws for keeping chickens on her property.
The Edinburgh Street woman moved in about a year ago and introduced a trio of chickens to the backyard about three months later.
She said Monday night that she talked to a handful of neighbours before introducing the birds so she could use their eggs, but she didn't make contact with others.
"I think I need to work on creating personal relationships with my neighbours, which I've done with the ones who live directly around me," she said in an interview after the meeting.
"But there are ones who live on my street who aren't able to see my chickens . . . but who have just felt upset about it."
Within months, a few complaints were lodged with the city and she was informed that the practice of urban farming was against land-use bylaws on the peninsula.
On Monday night, Coun. Sheila Fougere (Connaught-Quinpool) received support from her three counterparts on the community council for a staff report on the practice of urban farming in this municipality and in other locations where it's permitted.
The councillor has looked into it and discovered that certain rules are already in place.
Other North American jurisdictions that permit urban farming have requirements like minimum lot sizes and set distances between chicken coops and the nearest residence.
