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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (12112)	5/9/2011 10:17:39 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24232

High end homes and backyard chickens clash in Clyde Hill by ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News KING5.com Posted on May 6, 2011 at 10:46 PM CLYDE HILL, Wash. -- It was a year ago that Linda Boyd and her son Gavin brought their new pets to their Eastside home. "We were very interested in organic food and farming practices," says Boyd. Their three hens are kept in their yard on their half-acre property, where they have a small garden and apple trees. Gavin and his father built a chicken coop. Last summer, they realized one of their chickens was actually a rooster, and they found it a new home. Many neighbors don't seem to care. "Not a big deal, no," says Rowena Pineda, who didn't realize Boyd had chickens until she saw them in the yard last week. "I guess as long as I don't hear them." But in this affluent Clyde Hill neighborhood, chickens didn't fly with all the neighbors, especially those trying to sell their homes. "Let me put it this way," says Matt Simmons, who lives behind Boyd's home. "I don't think it would be something that would be a selling point." Boyd says last year, city officials called, saying her animals were illegal. But she saw egg all over their faces. "Since it's inception, Clyde Hill has always complied with the county code, which explicitly allows chickens," she says. So Clyde Hill decided to amend its municipal code. The city now bans the birds. "It began to feel a little vindictive. We got notices that they were going to charge us $250 a day," in violations. The city manager says they didn't change the law, they clarified it. It was specifically to address Boyd's case. The law goes into effect mid-May, and the city plans to enforce it. Boyd has hired an attorney. Owning chickens is legal in a number of neighboring cities, including Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, and Redmond. But because of their rising popularity in urban and suburban areas, some cities are taking steps to regulate them. king5.com