Outdoor and Ecological articles (sporadic Mondays) at http://blog.dxlogan.com/ and my main site is found at http://www.dxlogan.com/
D. Logan wrote:You might see if any food animals are classified pets. Some areas count pigeons as pets, many consider rabbits to be, and almost all count Cui as pets. Each is quality meat in a compact space requirement. Rabbits are especially productive and low effort for high return animals.
Many places have no rules on 'temporary' structures even if they have very strict rules on permanent ones. Some options would be to see if there are some loopholes. Does a temporary structure you take down 3 months out of the year have any special rules listed? Is the limit of 6x4 something where as long as it is smaller than that you're okay? What about a raised bed where you have a clear plastic tenting you put on in the fall and take off in the spring. What about a structure that is able to be moved around? If you can lift it with a fork truck to change it's spot, there's no foundation so it's really just a fancy storage container.
Sometimes it is a matter of how obvious things are. While I won't advocate breaking any laws, I know many places couldn't care less as long as it isn't something obvious. A rain catchment disguised as a storage bench wouldn't catch a single eye, but would serve the same purpose as the more traditional ones that many find so ugly.
Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Sheesh, those rules are a truckload of dinosaur-brain silliness! I suppose they also require people to spray-paint their front lawn green if there's a drought.
I'm usually a follow-the-law guy, but this situation begs for a little civil disobedience. Talk to your neighbours and see what they will tolerate.
Good point! Many City ordinances are all about "looking good" to improve your neighbor's property value. Making sure your infrastructure either looks "stylish" or well disguised may work so long as you know what those inspections are focused on. If the inspector thinks water storage increases mosquito born disease, you'll have a problem with an open barrel. But a properly fitted barrel built inside a "pretty storage cupboard" with flowers (edible of course) planted around it, could be a help. Some rules can be affected simply by adding wheels. A friend of Hubby's bought one of his portable chicken shelters as a green house - the wheels that went in the corners made it "portable" even though they never planned on moving it.A rain catchment disguised as a storage bench wouldn't catch a single eye, but would serve the same purpose as the more traditional ones that many find so ugly.
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Arthur Vivier wrote:I wanted quail but they are 'livestock' by city standards. In a humorous turn of events though, I discovered that puppies are not. Also at the state level, there is no law preventing me from raising them and eating them.
Having said that I don't want to eat puppies because I don't think I have the space to keep them.
I had the idea of running a CSA on my lot and other residential borrowed land. City ordinances prohibit commercial activity on residential land. On a side note, they never responded when I asked if 'consulting' was considered a commercial activity.
I wanted to put up a greenhouse, but I was told that my lot wasn't large enough to allow a "structure" with a footprint of 6x4 feet. My plan was to put it over my raised beds in the autumn to extend my season, leave it through the winter, and see how much I could produce with no heat.
I am pending a response to find out if I can have rain barrels.
And in order to make a request to the city and get a variance, I will probably need to hire an attorney because I don't understand these types of processes very well.
Are there any approaches any of you other city dwellers in America have discovered that have been successful with dealing with local municipalities?
Jay Angler wrote:D. Logan wrote:
Good point! Many City ordinances are all about "looking good" to improve your neighbor's property value. Making sure your infrastructure either looks "stylish" or well disguised may work so long as you know what those inspections are focused on. If the inspector thinks water storage increases mosquito born disease, you'll have a problem with an open barrel. But a properly fitted barrel built inside a "pretty storage cupboard" with flowers (edible of course) planted around it, could be a help. Some rules can be affected simply by adding wheels. A friend of Hubby's bought one of his portable chicken shelters as a green house - the wheels that went in the corners made it "portable" even though they never planned on moving it.A rain catchment disguised as a storage bench wouldn't catch a single eye, but would serve the same purpose as the more traditional ones that many find so ugly.
I'd also do planning in the whole "edible landscaping" and "food forest" areas - it's amazing how many really pretty plants can be eaten! It's a shame there's so much hatred in places of the lowly dandelion - it's a nutritional power house that grows easily and has pretty flowers that pollinators adore. However, I know from experience that bees adore raspberry blossoms also.
Nails are sold by the pound, that makes sense.
Soluna Garden Farm -- Flower CSA -- plants, and cut flowers at our Boston Public Market location, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Outdoor and Ecological articles (sporadic Mondays) at http://blog.dxlogan.com/ and my main site is found at http://www.dxlogan.com/
Arthur Vivier wrote:I wanted quail but they are 'livestock' by city standards.
In the south when the wind gets to 75 mph they give it a name and call it a hurricane. Here we call it a mite windy...
Two can play that game. Consider working really hard to choose the words you use to describe what you're trying to do.Knowing my city they will call it a "trailer" and require it to be connected to a registered vehicle.
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I'm only 64! That's not to old to learn to be a permie, right?
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. (E.E.Hale)
Gardens in my mind never need water
Castles in the air never have a wet basement
Well made buildings are fractal -- equally intelligent design at every level of detail.
Bright sparks remind others that they too can dance
What I am looking for is looking for me too!
craig howard wrote: I fought the chicken battle in my town. For over 10 years.
Went door to door, did a survey of 125 people.
Only 10 against.
Showed it to the council. They supported it until after the election then they treated everyone's signatures like garbage.
The 3 amigos ran in the next election and I got 40 percent.
But we got one chicken hater off the council because a friend got elected.
Year later... had support from new guy in town,
who called for a council meeting on it and dressed up like a chicken with a sign encouraging community members to come to the meeting.
We packed the place and they hate to stab us in the front, while we are looking at them.
Forced them to do their own survey. and they lost bad.
I think they had support from 30 houses in a 200 house town.
We got over double that.
So they wrote the most insanely strict chicken policy in the state.
Copied from some big city with more bad stuff added.
But couldn't pass it. All they had to pass was an ordinance that said, "The ordinance follows the policy".
Could have passed it in the first reading by waiving the second 2 readings but they dragged it out.
John, the chicken man, got some chicks anticipating passing.
They got big and the chicken haters complained that he had chickens before it passed.
Any excuse to tank the policy.
Got confused and thought they were voting on the policy.
Soo it went back to the original ordinance which basically said if the council says you can,.. you can.
The next month they let John have chickens.
But wouldn't let me.
They declared more than 50% didn't participate in the survey so it didn't count.
That doesn't work in elections.
Next election John won the Mayor's race.
I got chickens.
Next election John lost,.. to Cecil, the tyrants got back into power,.. but I won that election for a seat on the council.
Someone quit and they wanted to appoint their chicken hater buddy.
I demanded a special election.
Just before the election they, with the help of their appointed chicken hater, voted to ban all chickens.
It's on utube.
But they didn't put it on the agenda so it didn't count.
John won the election so now the 2 people who had chickens were on the council.
Along with that chicken loving friend I helped get elected earlier who proved himself too weak to stand up to their peer pressure.
But Cecil was our mayor and started declaring the policy was in force.
Though it was never voted on.
John left town because of the tyrants but was replaced on the council with someone who was tired of Cecil's chicken battle.
Another election saw another chicken hater removed.
Only one chicken hater left on the council,.. and Cecil is still mayor but can't vote.
It took 10 years but we can have chickens now.
Another election this fall. 3 council seats out of 5 are up, plus the mayors race.
This will be an important election, because all of us getting elected doesn't show them the community doesn't support them on this issue.
If the tyrants get back into power they will continue their efforts to mold everyone into their image.
I record the meetings and the one which forced them to do their own survey is on utube.
"The great plymouth Iowa chicken battle".
There is another one out there from after my survey and the first election.
I wanted to know why they turned on us and treated the sigs like garbage but the mayor wouldn't let me talk.
Not real proud of how I kinda went off on that one. He wouldn't let me talk so I wouldn't let him talk.
The cops got called I got removed but I did get them to parrot the prepared lame excuse, "I saw 2 chickens".
Circling back to how I started this revolution. I got chickens without permission.
The fight wasn't really about chickens. I was trying to show they didn't represent the community.
They only represented their little group of buddys.
Our town had been taken over by a small group of obsesive neat freaks.
They did a survey. translated it to mean everyone should be molded into their image.
Started harassing everyone in town about the asperagus in their yard,
any little project they had going out back.
The whole next council was full of people telling them how arrogant, insulting and petty they were being.
So they targeted individuals instead of the whole town.
Chased one guy out and I was next.
They didn't expect a fight. they didn't expect to lose.
They thought if everyone was molded into their image, property values would increase.
But their pettyness has ruined the reputation of our nice little town and driven down prices.
Good lesson to learn:
Most people moving into a small town care more about how you act than how you look.
A joke?
What do religous zealots, type A overachievers and obsesive neat freaks have in common?
They all think everyone should be like them, ha.
Oh, and vegans, and... bigots..and..and,.. chicken haters especially ha.
Joylynn Hardesty wrote:As another option, if you can't do a greenhouse, maybe you can do a low tunnel. Just alter the below to fit your raised beds. The video is in Spanish, but the idea is made clear.
I plan on using this concept to extend some frost-tender stuff this fall.
Pearl Sutton wrote:Arthur: With everything you said here, I think my solution would be to find a person outside the city limits who would be thrilled to have you garden up their yard. Lots of folks want a garden, but don't have time, energy or whatever to do it, and would LOVE to have someone else do it and give them some produce. Around here there are a lot of older, widowed women who would fit that category. Even better is a lady whose husband did the garden, but can't do it herself, there may be garden beds already made that can be worked with.
I feel for you, I despise bureaucracy, and am dealing with it too. I'm not a good hoop jumper, that's absolutely not in my skillset.
Creighton Samuels wrote:I got tired of dealing with the Department of Making you Sad and just moved out of the city.
But a cold frame that is light enough to pick up is not a structure, nor a trailer. Another work around is a geodesic dome covered in 5 mil plastic, as the geodesic dome could be considered a child's play structure.
And in order to make a request to the city and get a variance, I will probably need to hire an attorney because I don't understand these types of processes very well.
John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
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