The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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March 5, 2009

Chicken story has legs: 19 comments

City chicken to set public hearing

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — Chickens scratched.

Fowl won�t soon be gracing Mankato�s backyards after the City Council stopped an �urban chicken� proposal on a 4 to 3 vote.

Supporter Becky Rossow was �shocked� the council didn�t allow for a separate meeting for public comment.

�It�s disturbing that they won�t even have a public hearing,� she said after the meeting.

Three council members opposed the concept of chickens within city limits.

Councilman Mark Frost said his constituents �don�t want the city turned into a barnyard.�

Councilwoman Tamra Rovney said enforcing urban chickens would be a burden on city staff at a time when budgets are tight.

�I feel like we have much more serious things to do,� she said.

Councilman Vance Stuehrenberg agreed, saying police �will not have the time to take a chicken complaint.�

And there�s no obvious location for wayward or unruly chickens.

�We don�t have a chicken pound,� he said, provoking laughter in the council room.

Council President Mike Laven also voted against holding the public hearing, but said it was because the ordinance under discussion would require neighbors� consent. Laven said dog owners don�t have to meet this burden, and that he may have supported a proposal without that component.

The three remaining council members were more sympathetic to chickens, or at least holding a public hearing on the matter.

�I think this is really getting blown out of proportion,� Councilman Jack Considine said.

Councilman Charlie Hurd gave what he said was a pitch for property rights. Homeowners should be able to use their property for their own enjoyment as long as it doesn�t bother other people, he said.

Mayor John Brady also voted for holding the public hearing.

The vote effectively stops the proposal, but the council could bring it up again if it chooses.

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