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    • Detroit considering ordinance that would allow residents to keep chickens, ducks and bees
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    Detroit considering ordinance that would allow residents to keep chickens, ducks and bees

    Sakege Posted on

    Detroit is considering amending city codes to allow residents to keep chickens, bees and ducks in residential areas, a change some say is long overdue, though others have reservations about animal waste and enforcement. law.

    The Detroit City Council is considering an animal husbandry and beekeeping ordinance that would allow residents of multiple residential zoning districts to have a maximum of eight chickens and ducks and four bee hives; Roosters would still be prohibited for noise reasons.

    Detroit gardens and farms would be allowed to have 12 ducks and chickens and six to eight beehives, depending on the size of the farm or garden.

    Approved by the council’s public health and safety committee earlier this week after more than a dozen people spoke in favor, the ordinance now moves to another committee for approval before finally moving to the full council for approval .

    “We feel very good about doing this,” Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero said at the public health and safety committee meeting, noting that the ordinance has been about 10 years in the making.

    Supporters say other cities already have similar policies and this will help Detroiters boost their food sovereignty, referring to their ability to grow and produce their own food.

    But some residents have raised concerns about odors and debris related to chickens, ducks and bees entering residential yards.

    Kimani Jeffrey, a City Planning Commission staffer, called those concerns “valid” but said meetings across the city while doing community outreach for the ordinance showed “there was a high level of support.” “.

    “People want the ordinance to pass,” Jeffrey said.

    According to the City of Detroit Planning Commission, the roots of the animal husbandry ordinance date back more than a decade and are closely associated with Detroit’s history of urban agriculture. The city’s urban agriculture ordinance was adopted in 2013 and originally included animal husbandry provisions, but they were removed so there could be more community discussion.

    At Monday’s committee meeting, at least two residents spoke during the public comment period and said they already have chickens in their backyard and often share eggs with neighbors.

    “In many cases, people don’t even know they have chickens, ducks or bees in their garden,” said Kido Pielack of Keep Growing Detroit, a nonprofit committed to advancing food sovereignty in Detroit that maintains a garden and offers a variety of programming. The ordinance “has been very well thought out. This should pass. It’s a great thing.”

    Keep Growing Detroit estimates there are now 2,300 urban gardens and farms in the city. Through its programming, it discovered that 1,477 Detroit residents have expressed interest in raising bees, chickens and ducks.

    Detroit’s proposed ordinance outlines several specific regulations for those who choose to keep chickens, ducks and bees, including distances of 30 feet from neighbors and five feet from property lines. The ordinance also requires that animal enclosures be “roofed, ventilated, prohibit intrusion, kept clean, and prevent the accumulation of waste.”

    It also requires that enclosures be confined to the rear of a lot and “be kept clean, offer shade, provide water, and be designed to prohibit intrusion by predators.”

    Residents who want to raise chickens, ducks and bees will also need to obtain a license under the ordinance.

    Those who violate the ordinance could face a misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine, 90 days in jail, or both.

    Sakege
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