BUTTE — Some Butte residents and their backyard chickens are looking forward to the passage of an ordinance that is still moving through the process of approval to allow for backyard chickens to be kept here in The Mining City.
Garrity Heier owns nine chickens from a variety of breeds; she considers them pets, not livestock.
"All of my chickens have old lady names. We have Lucille, Carole, Helen," says Heier. Heier pauses to point out the others: Goldie, Etta, Dorothy, and Willa.
"They’re sustainable. They use all of your food waste. They make food themselves, and all of their waste is compostable. There are no negatives," says Heier.
Several months ago, Heier received a citation for her flock. Since that time, she has been working to change the ordinance.
Meagan Thompson reports - watch the video:
Since Spring, she has been on a mission to change the law.
"Animal Services has put together a rough draft of what they think would be sensible for a fowl ordinance," says Heier.
The draft ordinance includes changes that would allow for more residents to keep chickens on their property, reducing the size from 20,000 square feet down to 6,000 square feet. It also includes property setbacks for coups and guidance on how to store chicken food to protect it from rodents, but Heir says the ordinance is still a work in progress.
"I am very happy the square footage has dropped 70 percent. I consider that a win. Unfortunately, it’s not enough for a lot of our Uptown houses," says Heier.
Most of the lots in Uptown Butte are around 3,000 square feet.
"There’s still been some... I don’t know. Some upset residents looking to fight for change for that so we’re asking Animal Services to please reconsider," says Heier.
She is encouraging residents to reach out to Animal Services to push for changes while they can.
"If Animal Services feels like they’re not getting more community involvement, I do believe they’ll go forward with what they have to the county commissioners," says Heier.
