Salem Lays an Egg on Keeping Hens

So we were talking about keeping chickens as part of a scheme for implementing the "Food Not Lawns" ideal (Victory Gardening for The New Reality). Someone thought you could keep hens but not roosters, someone else thought you couldn't keep either. It all led to an inquiry to the powers that be, who replied:

From: "Brady Rogers"

My name is Brady Rogers. I am the Compliance Services Administrator for the City of Salem. The brief answer to your question is no chickens are allowed to be kept within Salem City Limits, unless your residence is in an "RA" zone (Residential Agriculture).

From your e-mail it appears you have been reading the Salem Revised Code online. If you consult SRC Chapter 145 and look for the heading "Permitted Uses," you will find a list of land use activities that are legal, and need no special permissions or permits. SRC 145.020(3) allows for the raising of chickens in the RA zone. There are no other zones in Salem that allow for raising chickens at all. If you check the other Residential Zone chapters, you will find that no where else is the raising of foul permitted. [Oh, fowl bawl I say, fowl bawl! We might want to raise a metaphorical stink about this short-sighted policy, but not to raise anything foul.]

It is most probable that your home is not in the RA zone, as not much of this land is left. I could only tell you for certain what zone you are in if I had your exact address. If you would like, you can e-mail me your address and I can give you a 100% answer.

Thanks,
Brady

Brady Rogers
Compliance Services Division
(503) 588-6421 x7408

To which our intrepid correspondent replied:

Hi Brady. My immediate response, or course, is to go looking for the loopholes. I don't want to "raise" chickens. I just want to have a couple of hens as part of my organic, integrated pest management system. They would be bug-eating pets rather than livestock.

I, too, suspect I am not in an RA zone . . . .

Thanks for the SRC citation. I will not be surprised to see future discussions between citizens and City Council on this and other codes that restrict raising food (in my case, a few eggs produced by my pest manager pets) on our little piece of the city. As our gas supply disappears and our nation can no longer afford to import cheap food from around the world, we are all going to be looking for ways to feed our families. [emphasis added]

Thanks again for the quick response.

To which our power-that-be responded:

Based on the address you provided, officially your property is zoned RS and subject to the permitted uses listed in SRC Chapter 146. I'm afraid that does not include raising or keeping chickens for any purpose. This issue of chickens as pets has come up several times in recent years, and each time courts have ruled in the city's favor.

As it turns out, the Salem Zone Code is presently entering a re-write process that will take the next couple of years. It is possible that chickens may be addressed for such a limited use. You have plenty of time to submit your comments and recommendations to city staff. The Planning Division will be working on the re- write.

Thank you for your understanding, and feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.
Thanks,
Brady

Brady Rogers
Compliance Services Division
(503) 588-6421 x7408

Of course, calling chickens kept as part of a permaculture scheme "pets" is inaccurate and misleading. Chickens consume pests, condition soil, and produce rich fertilizer. In addition, their diets, which include lots of table scraps, helps reduce waste streams headed for landfills. In other words, they promote soil fertility, reduce exposure to pests, and--not least of all--produce nutritious eggs in abundance, which will be an important factor for many of us.

It's interesting that Salem won't allow laying hens but already permits a for-profit corporation to operate a helicopter school within the city, a city that is also serenaded nightly by the lonesome wail (or pierced by the sleep-shattering shriek, depending on your proximity to them) of nightly freight trains. Could the city's refusal to permit laying hens even pass the rational basis test? (Or is it true what they say about Salem --- one rule for corporations, another one for mere mortals?)

Update:

The person from planning who is gathering citizen inquiries into the re-write process is Bryce Bishop (503) 588-6173. The process hasn't started yet, but I believe he is gathering the contact information from people who wish to be notified of public meetings and hearings. There will be opportunities to raise issues and speak.
Thanks,
Brady

Some LOVEable events in Salem

Breakfast on Bikes - Friday, September 26
Peach of a Century - Sunday, September 28
Grant Neighborhood Association Meeting - Thursday, October 2
The Willamette Valley Green & Solar Home Tour - Saturday, October 4
Walk + Bike to School Day, Wednesday, October 8
Highland Neighborhood Association Meeting - Thursday, October 9
Breakfast on Bikes - Friday, October 31

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Breakfast on Bikes - Friday, September 26
We'll be at 12th & Chemeketa on the bike/ped promenade just east of the train tracks between 7 and 9am. For the latest visit the Breakfast Blog! -

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Peach of a Century - Sunday, September 28

The final Salem Bicycle Club ride of the season! And the weather report looks terrific! The full and metric century routes offer flat to rolling terrain with some moderate hills. The routes follow low- volume roads past the farm fields of the Willamette Valley, through forested foothills and the communities east of Salem, like Jefferson, Stayton, Sublimity, and Silverton. For more information on the ride and on day-of-ride registration.

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Grant Neighborhood Association Meeting - Thursday, October 2
The Grant Neighborhood Association will meet at 6:15pm, Grant Community School, 625 Market St NE. The City will be presenting information on the proposed Winter/Myrtle/Cherry Bike Boulevard, which will help make a safer route for kids to the Kroc Center. If you live & bicycle in the Grant Neighborhood, please attend to show your support! For more information

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The Willamette Valley Green & Solar Home Tour - Saturday, October 4
This is a self-guided tour of several green and solar homes in the Salem & Silverton areas, and a chance to meet homeowners, builders, contractors and architects who were involved in these projects. It's $10 per car - but the secret sauce is that bicyclists are FREE!
Registration is required. If you go by bike, hit me with a note, and we'll organize a bike caravan! For more information

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Walk + Bike to School Day, Wednesday, October 8
Parents and kids statewide are encouraged to join millions around the world who are improving their health, their community and having a ton of fun by walking or biking to School. For more information

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Highland Neighborhood Association Meeting - Thursday, October 9

At 7:00pm at North Neighbors Resource Center, 945 Columbia Street N.E., the Highland Neighborhood Association will meet.

The City will be presenting information on the proposed Winter/Myrtle/Cherry Bike Boulevard, which will help make a safer route for kids to the Kroc Center. If you live & bicycle in the Highland Neighborhood, please attend to show your support! For more information.

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Breakfast on Bikes - Friday, October 31

Costume yourself, your bike, or both! We'll be at the North Mall Office Building on Winter Street. We'll post some of the best looks on the breakfast blog - with luck maybe even have a prize! For the latest visit the Breakfast Blog

A Gem Near Enough Salem to Love too

The Oregon Garden --- a terrific use of land and a nice symbiosis, with the Garden using the excess wastewater from Silverton and Silverton avoiding big fines for dumping excessively warm water to the river. The Garden cools the water and further purifies it, and demonstrates just some of the amazing fertility of the Willamette Valley.

Photos by Danielle Peterson | Special to the State

The Oregon Garden Resort's lounge area will feature a stage and live entertainment. The resort's restaurant opens this week, and hotel rooms are expected to open Oct. 1.

If you go

WHAT: Oregon Garden Resort opening

WHEN: Oct. 1

WHERE: 895 W Main St., Silverton

INFORMATION: Call (800) 966-6490.

Green Building events in Salem

The second is probably the more important of the two --- the urgency for Salem is less about building new things green; rather, it's about dealing with our huge stock of decidely un-green housing ... built with inadequate insulation, poor solar orientation, inefficient heating and cooling systems, etc. But both are probably worth attending.

The Jerry Yudelson Lecture
"Green Building: The New Revolution is Here"

Thursday, October 2nd from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
The Paulus Lecture Hall of the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center
Willamette University, Salem
Free
For more information call Andrea Foust at (503) 370-6654

Nationally recognized green-building expert Jerry Yudelson will speak about the rapidly emerging green building revolution in a free lecture Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. in the Paulus Lecture Hall at the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center at Willamette University.

Jerry Yudelson will present a compelling business case for green buildings, both residential and commercial, and share dozens of building projects that demonstrate environmental excellence, many within conventional budgets. A dynamic speaker with an urgent sense of purpose, Yudleson will explain why thousands of individuals and corporations across the U.S. are choosing green over conventional design for their homes and businesses, and how the market for green buildings is likely to emerge over the next several years. Attendees will learn how to take advantage of opportunities in green building.

Green building has emerged as a proven strategy to improve the health of a building’s occupants, combat global warming, enhance public relations, and save money for businesses and home-owners, Yudelson says.

The event is sponsored by the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center, the Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University, the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Pringle Creek Community, and the American Institute of Architects - Salem Chapter.

Salem Tour of Green + Solar Homes

Saturday, October 4th from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Guest Speaker at 9:00 am: Portland Builder, Dave Heslam, on Green Remodeling
Registration begins at 8:30 am at the Pringle Creek Community
(2110 Strong Road SE in Salem)

$15 per car, Bicyclists are free
For more information call James Santana at (503) 763-1770

Salem's second annual Tour of Green + Solar Homes will be held on Saturday October 4th from 8:30 am until 4:00 pm, with a reception following the tour from 4:00 until 6:00 pm. The event will include tours of ten homes that demonstrate energy efficient and environmentally-responsible techniques. Following registration at the Pringle Creek Community, individuals will visit the homes of their choice as a self-guided tour, that includes the Frank Lloyd Wright - designed Gordon House at the Oregon Garden.

Each site will be hosted by a knowledgeable individual (owner, architect and/or builder) to inform visitors of green features and their associated benefits, costs, and lessons learned. Attendees have the opportunity to learn about energy efficiency, passive and active solar systems, daylighting, on-site energy generation, rainwater harvesting, innovative construction systems and building materials. The event begins with an hour-long presentation on green remodeling conducted by the Earth Advantage program.

Event sponsors include the American Institute of Architects - Salem Chapter, Neil Kelly Company, DeSantis Landscapes, Taylor Metal, NW Natural, Marion County Public Works Environmental Services, Bilyeu Homes, Pringle Creek, Nathan Good Architect, Wild Pear, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Earth Advantage, and the BAM Agency.

Here's a link to the Statesman Journal's recent story on the Tour of Homes.

Getting Rid of Parking Minimums

Cities are slowly starting to wake up from the idea that everyone wants, needs, and must have a car --- and, even worse, must make provisions for the care, feeding, and storage of cars even if they don't want one.

Given the economic meltdown unfolding around our ears, we're going to need as much land as we can get to be used for growing food, not serving as a mandatory source of water pollution (hard pavement disrupts natural water recharge and causes water runoff to be filled with oil and other pollutants from autos).

Annapolis joins in, making energy efficiency affordable

http://postcarboncities.net/node/3506

Speaking of outstanding ideas, if Berkeley can do it, why can't we?

Onward Oregon asks the same question here. Berkeley, California is way ahead in this.

Height limits, yes or no?

Definitely an important question as we think about a carbon-constrained future with much more expensive energy:

Height limits needed for downtown buildings

September 18, 2008

I believe it is important to maintain a strong visual connection between downtown Salem and the riverfront.

Several structures currently under construction along Front and Commercial streets form a wall of separation, especially the eight-story condo across from Riverfront Park.

I would like the council to enact height restrictions on new construction along Front and Commercial streets, including the area recently vacated by Boise Cascade, so that new buildings conform to the height of older, existing structures.

— Pat Simila, Salem

James Howard Kunstler (author of The Long Emergency and The Geography of Nowhere) argues that buildings over six stories don't have much of a future, extrapolating from the days before elevators and high-energy heating and cooling systems.

"Build up, not out" sounds good when you are thinking only about reducing sprawl, and there's definitely an important benefit there, particularly in terms of reducing the paved surface area (important if we plan on continuing to eat, something that figures prominently in many peoples' plans for the future).

But unless you design the "up" so that it reduces the building energy demand (just occupying our buildings consume about 40% of our primary energy use), you've merely traded one unsustainable form of living for another. It's clear that we can't emulate Portland or Seattle or other places where skyscrapers make it impossible for people to live without consuming prodigious amounts of energy just to maintain their habitation.

The emblem of "planning" in our time seems to be a complete lack of recognition of fundamental physical limits --- such as water adamantly refusing to flow uphill, to take just one example. The height of a building cannot exceed the height you are willing to pump water, and pumping water is one helluva an energy-consumptive practice. Put a typical bunch of profligate water-using folks up high and figure out how much energy is required to supply them with potable water -- there's not enough solar panels in the whole wide world to do it. Water's not optional -- unless you have the energy to pump that water to them, your skyscrapers are going to be pretty empty.

When people in Cuba and Baghdad and places like that have had their power problems, they've had to learn to hoist water up high on ropes and pulleys -- and they had buildings with windows that open! It's truly backbreaking, brutal labor, and it consumes enough calories that you can quickly find yourself losing more energy than you can supply without draft animals.

And that's just water. Now add heating and cooling, just to make the space livable, and you quickly see why there's a practical limit to height. I'm not sure it's six stories, maybe it's five, maybe it's seven, but I'm willing to bet it's less than eight for sure.

It's nice that someone opened the discussion about height limits in the Statesman-Journal; what we need now is some awareness that the same forces that are driving us to reduce energy consumption in cars are also going to exert pressure to reduce energy consumption in our shelter. A country with a broken economy (resulting in large part from unwise energy choices) doesn't get to simply decree tall buildings vs. sprawl. Tall buildings are a sign of wealth precisely because they require so much wealth to build and maintain. As our descent into a low-energy future continues, we won't have to worry too much about new buildings exceeding height limits -- we'll only have to worry about how to make the best use of uninhabitable space in existing ones.

A great idea to borrow and build on

Here's an important idea: using the intertubes for improving community connections and helping neighbors help neighbors .

Another great example for Salem

Nice story on the BTA blog about Paris's "Velib" system of low-cost, widely available bikes for loan to anyone who wants to use one. A nice fit for Salem.