“It’s a great way to eat healthier and save money in the long run. I also think that there’s educational value for children by learning to be more self sufficient,” said McBride.
McBride’s backyard chicken crusade began just over four months ago when she found out that the chickens her family had been keeping were actually against a Huber Heights city ordinance, which requires a minimum of one acre of land to be able to keep small livestock.
“My husband built a small coop for us and we learned how to take care of chickens. Our kids love it,” said McBride. “Then we found out that it wasn’t allowed due to the ordinance.”
After that, McBride set her mind on making some changes to the rule that she felt was infringing on her family’s attempt at an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Through websites and social media, CLUCK’s following within the community has grown – and that growth has begun to convert to signatures on McBride’s online petition. CLUCK reached its first political milestone in July when the organization was officially registered as a Political Action Committee with the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
After that, her next step was to get CLUCK’s referendum on the ballot, which according to McBride proved to be a task in itself.
“City council had been putting me off for a while,” she said. “They kept telling me they were going to put it on the agenda, but then the meeting came and they didn’t talk about it.”
Judy Blankenship, a Huber Heights City Council member, said open meetings were held to discuss the issue.
“These meetings were well attended by both members of the city council and the public and a great deal of time and discussion was involved in evaluating the merits of Mrs. McBride’s proposed zoning revisions regarding chickens,” Blankenship said. “After lengthy deliberation and discussion, the city council ultimately decided not to recommend any revisions to the city’s zoning code related to maintaining chickens in residential areas.”
While McBride said that the community’s response to her efforts has largely been positive and supportive, Blankenship said there are plenty of residents that would prefer not to live next to chicken coops.
“Outside of the representatives of CLUCK, the citizen feedback I have received has been strongly opposed to the proposed changes to the city’s zoning code regarding chickens,” Blankenship said. “The city council heard from and continues to hear from citizens who are passionate on both sides of this issue.”
McBride’s next step could be to take the proposal directly to the voting public.
“The city’s initiative process permits citizens to submit a proposed ordinance to the voters for approval or rejection,” Blankenship said.
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