No Chickens For You, Bangor!
You may remember that several weeks back, I posted an article about how the Bangor City Council was considering revisiting the issue of raising chickens in residential areas of the city. Lots of folks these days love having laying hens around so they can collect the eggs. Be it for food, money, or even just a fun project with the kids. And I suppose there's the random brave soul that is willing to "process" chicken for food, too.
However, the city council on Monday decided it was not going to revisit this issue at this time. Originally, in February, the vote had been postponed due to absence by some of the councilors. But at this week's meeting, the decision was made. So if you were hoping to have little chicky-wickies in your yard on West Broadway... it ain't gonna happen.
There's plenty of legitimate arguments in both directions. Chickens can be loud, they can smell, and can be all-around unsanitary. However, according to the BDN, some folks feel the benefits outweigh the inconveniences. They also pointed out ordinances could be put in place to take care of issues like noise, etc. But to me, that seems like a slippery slope. All or nothing seems the best course of action. But that's just my opinion.
But the real take-away here, is that nothing has changed. If you're already allowed to have chickens in your neighborhood, you're all set. Chicken away, my friend. But there's probably a good amount of folks out there, who are truly bummed that they can't have chickens.
Maybe it's just time to make friends with someone who can?