Last night my wife and P~ and I went to the Syracuse Planning Commission Meeting where (amongst other things) modification to Title X (that's "Title Ten" or "Title 10" to all you non-Romans out there), which outlines land usage in the city. What we were interested in was the clarification of whether or not chickens (hens, specifically) are allowed as "household pets." According to our Ordinance Secretary, so long as you don't have a rooster, and you obtain the "fowl" from a "State Licensed Pet Store" you're okay to have up to two hens -- but the wording is very confusing.

So, last night our Planning Commission Chairman introduced a modification to the Title that would allow up to 5 hens and/or rabbits and would do away with the "State Licensed Pet Store" requirement. The number of birds was debated a little amongst the commissioners, but none seemed opposed to the idea.

So, next the modified Title X (which isn't available online anywhere at the time of this writing) will be brought up for public comment on 3/4/2008. I would like "hens" or "chickens" replaced with "Egg Bearing Small Fowl" (which could include chickens and ducks, and exclude roosters), and I'd like the number to stay at 5 birds (which would give you 4 laying hens and one "dominant hen"; always subtract 1 from the number of hens if no rooster is present to give you the number of laying hens). 4 laying hens would provide a little less than two dozen eggs per week (depending on variety and conditions, of course), which should be enough eggs to supply a suburban family.

I'll be leaving the state on business the night of the 4th, so I'll most likely miss this meeting, but I'll prepare a document to be read on my behalf.