Fayetteville City Council Reviews Urban Agriculture Laws

Final Vote On More Farm Animals, Residential Sales Set For Tuesday

STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Honey bees enter and exit hives Don Steinkraus and his students operate for research Friday, March 14, 2014, at the university's agriculture complex in Fayetteville.

STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Honey bees enter and exit hives Don Steinkraus and his students operate for research Friday, March 14, 2014, at the university's agriculture complex in Fayetteville.

Monday, March 17, 2014

— Residents will have one more chance Tuesday to weigh in on a set of proposed "urban agriculture" ordinances.

The laws, if approved, will allow goats, beehives and more chickens and ducks in residential areas depending on the size of the property.

AT A GLANCE

Goats, Bees And Fowl

A set of proposed “urban agriculture” ordinances would allow goats, beehives and more chickens and ducks in residential areas.

Chicken coops would have to provide at least 3 square feet of living space for each fowl. The coops would have to be kept in a securely fenced yard at least 25 feet from any residential structures on an adjacent lot.

Goats would have to be kept in a securely fenced side or backyard with a shelter that provides at least 5 square feet of living space for each goat. The shelter would have to be set back at least 50 feet from neighboring residences.

Beehives would have to be kept at least 20 feet from an adjacent securely fenced property line and at least 100 feet from an unfenced property line next door.

The following number of chickens, goats and beehives would be allowed depending on the size of someone’s property:

ChickensGoats*Beehives

8,000 square feet60*3

10,900 square feet (1/4 acre)82*4

14,500 square feet (1/3 acre)112*4

21,800 square feet (1/2 acre)173*4

25,000 square feet203*4

Source: City Of Fayetteville

Homeowners would be able to have more than four chickens, and roosters would still not be allowed. Male goats would be prohibited. Cows, horses and other farm animals still would be confined to agricultural zones.

In addition to animals, the ordinance would regulate agricultural sales in residential areas. Just like garage sales, homeowners could sell goat cheese, tomatoes, honey or other produce from their driveways. Residents could have sales up to four times a year for three consecutive days each time. People who want to offer year-round sales would have to apply for a permit from the Planning Commission.

More than a dozen people who spoke to the City Council about the proposal during the past month all said they support the changes.

Some see it as an opportunity to fight "food insecurity." According to statistics from the nonprofit group Feeding America, 1 in 5 Arkansas residents does not always know where their next meal will come from.

Alderman Justin Tennant said he's all for fighting hunger, but he questioned whether the proposal would really achieve those goals.

Tennant said it costs a lot of money to raise animals. The proposal would require shelters for chickens and goats. Feed is expensive. And people who don't own their own property would have to get permission from their landlord to take advantage of the ordinance.

"This is not going to benefit or harm very many citizens," Tennant said.

Nicole Civita, a visiting assistant professor in the University of Arkansas' agricultural and food law program, acknowledged the ordinance changes might not solve local hunger issues.

"Urban agriculture in and of itself may not provide all of the calories a struggling family needs," Civita said. "But a policy like this does something very important. It sets the stage. It creates an opportunity. And it makes a framework for people of all socioeconomic statuses to engage with food in a different level."

She said low-income residents who don't have a convenient way to get to the grocery store would be able to buy eggs, goat milk, fruit or vegetables from a neighbor. If people don't have the resources to plant their own garden, maybe someone down the street will let them use some of their land, she added.

"These things seem a little bit, maybe, too happy, too Mayberry, too Utopian," Civita said. "But in the research I've done -- and it's extensive. I've just built a curriculum for a whole course on urban agriculture. This stuff is happening. It's happening all across our country. And it's transforming the way neighbors are relating to neighbors."

According to research by Peter Nierengarten, city sustainability and resilience director, other cities, such as Cleveland and Fort Collins, Colo., have enacted ordinances allowing fowl, beehives and goats in residential areas.

Joyce Hale, a longtime resident, emphasized the educational aspects of the ordinance changes.

"Growing up with the responsibility of an animal -- a dog and a cat -- is wonderful," Hale said. "But one that produces? That's entrepreneurial."

Hale said she benefited from 4-H Club experiences. She said children in urban areas would benefit from something similar.

"I think that, truly, even a small taste of agriculture and the benefits that it can derive on a personal and community level is something that we just can't afford not to consider," Hale said.

Bernice Hembree, Apple Seeds' board chairwoman, said the new laws would go hand-in-hand with a "teaching farm" the nonprofit group is planning north of Evelyn Hills Shopping Center. Apple Seeds helps plan and maintain gardens in Fayetteville schools.

Hembree said the group doesn't have the ability to be in schools all of the time. The 5,000-square-foot garden will demonstrate to students, parents, teachers and administrators what is possible, she said.

"Early education on produce and farming leads to healthier citizens," Hembree said. "If we do not teach our children where food comes from, in 20 years -- I think that soon -- we will be in so much trouble, because we are going to lose our local farmers, and we're going to lose our local scientists and biologists, because they just don't know early on what is so important in life, which is food."

Apple Seeds' garden can go forward as planned regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's vote. The new laws would allow the group to also have beehives and chickens, Hembree explained. The proposal applies not just to homes, but to educational facilities, too.

It's unclear exactly how many people would take advantage of the new laws.

Amber Alexander, who owns about 3 1/2 acres on Cross Avenue in west Fayetteville, said she has chickens but wants more. She said she wants goats, too, to act as "little lawnmowers" for her property. Alexander said her family is looking into how much it would cost to build a fence and add an enclosure for the goats.

Goats and chickens would be required to be kept in a "secure, fenced yard." Chicken coops and goat shelters would have to be set back a specific distance from adjacent properties.

Ralph Ellis, who lives on Mount Sequoyah, said he wants to start beekeeping to help protect declining bee populations.

According to a 2010 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bee colonies shrank by an estimated 34 percent compared to 2009. "Losses are a major problem for the beekeeping industry and potentially to commodities that depend on bees for pollination services," the study stated.

Ellis said bees have less potential to tax city services than other domesticated animals.

"You can go out and get a dog on an impulse because it's Christmas, even when you have no plan and no commitment," Ellis said. "The dog's going to live 20 years, but you might be sick of the dog in a week. And so there are a flood of dogs who are homeless, because people have decided to get rid of them.

"Beekeepers have to be committed to learning a lot at a considerable expense and to making it work. And so you're unlikely to have people jumping into this impulsively and taking this on."

City Council members previously questioned how the new rules would be enforced. Alderman Mark Kinion called goats "crafty" critters. What happens if a goat gets loose or there are conflicts between neighbors, Alderwoman Rhonda Adams asked.

Jeremy Pate, Development Services director, said Animal Services staff would respond to residents' complaints -- just like how the system works for dogs and cats.

Yolanda Fields, Community Services director, said, without knowing what -- or how many -- problems would arise, she thought the city could handle any added workload. She said a new trailer might be needed, however, to pick up stray goats.

A proposal by Alderman Alan Long would give the Animal Services Division the authority to humanely capture goats and fowl found running at large. Pate said, in most cases, a goat or chicken would be returned directly to its owner. Fields said, if there's an influx of livestock calls, pens might have to be added at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter.

Tennant said he's worried about property values.

"What's going to happen now when a guy has a $200,000 investment in his property and somebody has a mini-farm next door," Tennant said. "What if he puts it up for sale and nobody wants to live next door to that?"

Nierengarten said many Ward 3 homeowners Tennant represents wouldn't be affected by the ordinance changes. The laws won't supersede subdivision covenants, he explained. Nierengarten said farm animals were prohibited in all of the six or seven subdivision covenants he reviewed.

Suzanne Clark, who lives on Fairway Lane near the Fayetteville Country Club, said there aren't covenants in her neighborhood. Clark said she loves her neighbors, but doesn't love their chickens. With the new laws in place, Clark's neighbors could raise as many as 20 chickens and three goats.

"We did not purchase our home in a rural agricultural area and do not believe the city of Fayetteville should be taking steps to facilitate a reduction in the property value of our home," Clark wrote in a letter to the City Council.

"At a minimum, there should be notice and an opportunity for objection by neighbors whose property values may be negatively impacted," she added.

City Council members are set to consider the urban agriculture proposal for the third and final time at their meeting Tuesday. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain St.

NW News on 03/17/2014