One Small Step For Chickens

Looks like the city council has not given up on the idea of allowing chickens in the backyards of Salem residents. The hangup seems to be the exact wording of the ordinance. This slow moving process has been a disappointment to the group that's pushing for the law change. Here's a reaction from Barbara Palermo of Salemchickens.com.

I am extremely disappointed and curious as to why the Mayor suddenly changed her mind because she voted FOR chickens a couple of months ago.  Her statement that there isn't enough support and Salem is "just not ready for chickens" is absurd.  We submitted 1500 signatures on a petition, earned the endorsement of 12 out of the 19 neighborhood associations, not to mention the support of numerous agencies, and we had dozens of speakers in favor of chickens speak at 8 city council meetings, compared to just 3 or 4 against. 

 

In response to the Mayor's comment "I feel like we have been hearing about chickens for a year now"  I would have liked to have said "How do you think WE feel, this is our 8th presentation!"

 

Also, I am concerned that their request for city staff to come back with two conflicting proposals, might divide the council further and will mostly likely take weeks to accomplish, if not months.

 It's also been a hot topic on the comment section of the SJ article about the meeting.