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Regular meeting June 27, 2005 Ms. Brot stated that she would really like to pass this pilot program. She said that they have worked on this for months. She has attempted to make the reforms that her colleagues have suggested and they were rejected by city staff. She believes that this is where we should start, because once this is opened up, as her colleague, Ms. Colquitt points out, we will have all kinds of people here protesting and it may never be passed. Since it is a pilot, depending on how the chicken owners comply with the ordinance and don’t sell the eggs, then we can come back and make changes to it. It is her feeling that if the Council doesn’t pass this tonight, she isn’t sure that it can be done in the future. Since her very easy amendment was not supported, then she would request that the bill be adopted tonight. Ms. Welsch, seeing the point that Mr. Wagner and Ms. Brot are making, asked Mr. Wagner that if the bill is adopted tonight, could Ms. Spencer ask for a variance in the placement of the coop in the much smaller yards in the north part of the city. Mr. Wagner said sure, but the whole thing is open to improvement and he is not opposing any improvement. He thinks we need to get the bill in place, otherwise we may, as Ms. Brot pointed out, lose the whole thing. Ms. Welsch said that in that case, she would like to support Mr. Wagner and Ms. Brot. Ms. Welsch wants to make sure that it is made clear to the City Manager that there are concerns with the bill, as it relates to the fee, the placement of the coops – the site plan and the size of the coops. She hopes the staff will remember that the Council is interested in being open to changes in the ordinance as written this evening. Mr. Sharpe said that he was not privy to the crafting of this bill at all. He has some concern about passing something like this without a public hearing. He doesn’t know if he is in favor of it or not, but to pass this without hearing individuals who may live close to the chicken owners, doesn’t seem quite right. He understands his colleague’s concerns about passing this bill tonight because of the fact that many individuals may become very upset about the Council attempting to pass a chicken ordinance. His colleagues have worked hard on crafting this bill, but he disagrees with passing it without citizen input. Ms. Brot explained to Mr. Sharpe that she had asked about the need to have a public hearing, and she was told that a public hearing was not needed because it is not a new ordinance; it’s a modification of an ordinance that already exists. She and Mr. Wagner could have attempted to lobby for this bill’s passage on their own, but they felt that getting other individuals involved that were intimate with the details of keeping and raising chickens, as well as, the statement from Dr. Heineman speaking on the minimal risks to the community - it was thought that all the bases were covered. There is some public here tonight, but a public hearing was not required, so again, she would like to urge adoption of this ordinance. Ms. Welsch pointed out that this bill has been publicized since early June on two meeting’s dockets. She agrees with Ms. Brot that there does not need to be a public Page 17