Tour D'Coop Is Coming To Cary

With the legalization of chickens in Cary, the Henside the Beltline Tour D’Coop is accepting applications from chicken owners in Cary that would like to be a stop on the tour for 2013. This year, the tour will be from 10am – 4pm, Saturday May 18th. If you’re interested, you can submit an application before February 14th.

Started in 2005 as a way for a few neighbors to show off their hens and coops, the Henside the Beltline Tour D’Coop has grown to a one-day garden tour that encompasses 20 coops and thousands of visitors. The event raises non-perishable food and money for Urban Ministries, a Raleigh-based non-profit that provides essential services to close to 20,000 Triangle residents each year. Coop owners and the tour organizers volunteer their time to promote back yard poultry and urban farming.

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Backyard Chickens Are Legal In Cary NC

Correction: Town managers and town attorney have confirmed that the LDO language changes were ratified on the council floor. No further council action is needed. Chickens are legal in Cary as of the Aug. 23 vote.

After more than 4 years of trying, the council members voted to approve the ordinance and legalize backyard chickens! I’d like to thank everyone who has helped get this ordinance passed. Countless hours were spent collecting signatures, spreading the word, and educating residents at farmer’s markets and other venues. This was an effort by the community for the benefit of the community.

Thank You Council and Staff

We are all very appreciative of the time and effort put forth by all of you in making this ordinance change a reality.

Details of the ordinance

• Maximum of 5 hens
• No roosters
• Accessory Use Permit required ($50 one time fee)
• No onsite slaughter
• Coop may not be in a front or side yard
• 15’ setback

Please be aware that even though the town now allows backyard chickens, your HOA may not. If you are interested in getting chickens, check your covenants. Although we are unable to lead any efforts toward changing your covenants, feel free to contact us and we’ll gladly share ideas and resources that we found to be helpful in our efforts to get this ordinance.

See Town of Cary’s FAQ

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Chickens Tabled For Two Weeks

The chicken ordinance was tabled at the August 9th council meeting. It will be revisited in two weeks, when the new council member will be sworn in.

We thought we were in the clear, as did Gale, Lori, and Don. We were all blindsided by Jennifer Robinson changing her mind about supporting chickens. Jennifer previously voted in favor of chickens during every previous council meeting for the past four years, including the one that sent this very ordinance that she couldn’t support to planning and zoning.

Jennifer mentioned that she recently heard more support opposed to chickens and almost none in favor. Clearly, we should not have encouraged everyone to not bug council too much because several council members told us this was a done deal. The 9-0 vote by planning & zoning helped re-enforce the idea that this would pass. We were wrong and need to let her know that we are still here and want legal chickens.

I encourage you all to contact Cary council member Jennifer Robinson. Let her know that you want her to vote in favor of chickens, and ask her to explain why she would support this issue for four years and unexpectedly oppose it.

Jennifer Robinson
jennifer.robinson@townofcary.org
919.469.4011

If you email her, CC council@townofcary.org so that it goes to all council members and is not lost to the public record.

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Planning & Zoning Unanimously Approves Chickens

To avoid any confusion, chickens are not legal yet.

After a unanimous vote (9-0) from the Planning & Zoning committee, the ordinance changes to allow backyard chickens will go before council for (hopefully) a final vote to accept the committee’s recommendation to approve the ordinance. Town of Cary now has all of their meeting videos on youtube and you can watch the Planning & Zoning meeting of July 16, 2012, if you want.

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On to Planning and Zoning Committee

At the May 24th council meeting, the staff proposed ordinance has been moved onward to the planning and zoning committee. There were only two changes to staff’s proposal.

1. No slaughtering, instead of ordinance wording that basically stated “you may slaughter as long as no one can see it”.
2. Council did not follow staff suggestion of having a public hearing for Planning & Zoning. P&Z normally does not have public hearings.

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Public Hearing Set For May 24

The Council agenda has been posted and the public hearing for chickens will happen this coming Thursday. If you’d like to read the specific LDO wording changes, click here (PDF link).

We hope to see all of you at the meeting. Bring you kids, it’s good for them to be able to witness how local government functions (or doesn’t, depending on your opinion).

If you have not done so recently, please email council@townofcary.org and let them know why you want chickens legalized and your thoughts on the proposed ordinance.

• Are you happy with the 6 hen limit?
• Do you understand the proposed setback rules? If not, let them know if it is confusing and that you want an easy to follow rule (e.g. 8’ from all property lines, which is the minimum set back for the various zonings, assuming I understand it correctly).
• How do you feel about the $50 one time fee (yearly fee appears to have been dropped)?

If you are on friendly terms with your neighbors, it will be very helpful if you can convince them to email council and let them know that they even though they do not plan on getting chickens, they have no objections if their neighbors do.

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Council Moves Chicken Ordinance Forward

Tonight, the council had many votes related to the potential chicken ordinance. The most important vote was that they agreed to move forward with legalizing chickens. There were also votes regarding the number of hens, fees, and setbacks.

Going in to the meeting, these were the ordinance recommendations from us, council, and town staff.

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Chicken Vote On The Agenda

Staff has completed their report of legalizing chickens in the town and it will be on next Thursday’s council agenda (April 19th). I encourage you all to read the report, pass it along to your friends, and then contact the council members (council@townofcary.org) and let them know what you think of the recommendation.

Council Agenda: http://bit.ly/HGJuNz
Staff Report: http://bit.ly/IlXUA9

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Cary Takes First Positive Step Toward Chickens

Tonight was the third time the issue to legalize chickens went before the town council. The first time was 4-3 against having staff look in to it. The second was a vote against forming an Issue Advisory Group, after being the first to go through the “CIRC” committee. Coincidentally, tonight’s council meeting dissolved CIRC because it had no purpose, which was discovered during the no vote against the IAG. Unlike the past two votes, this time it was 5-2 in favor of having staff write up guidelines.

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