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<br /> Watchdog: Sackyard chickens j%velcorne in some metro- �
<br /> area cities, as long as residents follow the rules
<br /> By Debra 0'Connor watchdog@pioneerpress.com TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
<br /> Posted: TwinCities.com
<br /> A reader recently squawked to the Pioneer Press after noticing chickens in the back yard of a
<br /> St. Paul home.
<br /> "Very cute,"the writer said. "But is this legal?"The Watchdog saw the post on SeeClicicFix,
<br /> an online feature on TwinCities.com that lets users alert their communities about quality-of-
<br /> life issues. The Watchdog investigated to See whether a Chicks Fix was needed in the
<br /> Macalester-Groveland neighborhood.
<br /> As it turns out,the chickens are owned by the DuBois family, and the city of St. Paul
<br /> confirmed the birds are legal. Homeowners Jacques and Katie DuBois followed the city
<br /> ordinance when they first got chickens two years ago: They filed the paperwork, paid the fee,
<br /> housed the chickens in an acceptable coop and secured the agreement of at least 75 percent
<br /> of the neighbors living within 15o feet of their home. � .
<br /> Jacques DuBois told the Watchdog that two of io neighbors did decline,with one claiming,
<br /> "People in (ZIP code) 55105 don't want to have chickens there,"while,another said she didn't
<br /> like the idea of having "livestock" around, DuBois said. But,he noted, that neighbor now
<br /> brings her grandchildren over to observe Mario, Luigi and Oreo scratch and cluck.
<br /> Across the nation, backyard chickens--part of what's called"urban farming" -- are all the
<br /> rage. In St. Paul,the population is exploding, said animal-control supervisor Bill
<br /> Stephenson.
<br /> "A lot of people like them as pets, and the eggs are a benefit,"he said. .
<br /> In St. Paul,there's been a permit process in place for more than 2o years,but the city used to
<br /> see only three or four requests per year from people wanting to set up backyard coops. Now,
<br /> it can be that many per week. One animal-control employee works two days a week checking
<br /> the living conditions and sanitation of chickens, beehives and other less-common animals
<br /> ' kept in the city, Stephenson said.
<br /> Some other metro-area cities allowing chickens in a regular-sized back yard are Minneapolis,
<br /> Anoka, Burnsville, Farmington, Hastings, Rosemount, Roseville,West St. Paul and
<br /> Maplewood. Some communities that don't allow them include Apple Valley, Eagan,
<br /> Stillwater, Woodbury, Inver Grove Heights and, thus far, Cottage Grove.That's according to
<br /> a survey done by the city earlier this year,when resident Rylcna Olson,who grew up on a
<br /> farm, asked that Cottage Grove consider allowing chickens.As she said in an email to the
<br /> city, "I miss some of the amenities that a farm provides, especially fresh eggs." .
<br /> The Watchdog did some research herself and found some ordinances to be fussier than .
<br /> others: Ham Lalce, for example, requires the color of the coop to blend with that of the house.
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