SEPTEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Maple Ridge consults on backyard chickens Potential bylaw change spearheaded by 4-H members


by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER


MAPLE RIDGE – Janelle Pomeroy and Blythe Parry are using all the skills they learned through 4-H – public speaking, demonstrations, educational displays, leadership – to convince Maple Ridge city council to allow chickens on residential lots. The two began campaigning two


years ago after a bylaw officer told them to get rid of their 4-H chicken projects. Maple Ridge bylaws state that keeping chickens is an agricultural use only permitted on parcels one acre or larger. Pomeroy and Parry had to


re-home their chickens while still taking care of them for 4-H, and decided the law had to change. They presented as a delegation to city council, spoke to the city’s agricultural advisory committee and now, two years later, are supporting a public consultation currently under way with the help of the Otter 4-H Llama and Poultry Club.


“How are young people supposed


to get involved in agriculture when they are prevented from trying?” asks Pomeroy. “Having something like backyard chickens can encourage young people to be more involved in agriculture.” Both Pomeroy and Parry say it is


hard to properly care for their chickens when they’re kept on another


Otter 4-H Llama and Poultry Club


organized “The Backyard Chicken Farmer Event” at the annual Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest, for example. An exhibit hall was filled with chicken facts and displays. With the help of club poultry leader Pascale Shaw, the members answered visitors’ questions and encouraged them to fill out a survey prepared by the Maple Ridge planning department as part of the public consultation. The completed surveys were delivered to the Maple Ridge planning booth elsewhere on the fairgrounds. To support 4-H efforts towards


4-H members Blythe Parry and Janelle Pomeroy are spearheading a campaign to allow backyard chickens in Maple Ridge. BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER PHOTO


property. They need to be fed and watered, the eggs need to be collected and the birds need to be handled so that they’re primed for exhibition.


They also explain that chickens,


when properly cared for, are beneficial in many ways. “My chickens are pets, they are kept clean, and they provide eggs for me


and my family,” says Parry. The two girls and their fellow 4-H members and leader have been actively promoting their cause at public events and speaking to the public. “We have been sharing how to raise


backyard chickens the right way, so that there will be no problems,” says Pomeroy and Parry.


the bylaw change, Vancouver coop builder Duncan Martin of Daily Eggs showed the public his portable chicken pens, which he builds specifically for backyard chickens. Maple Ridge agricultural advisory committee members, with the help of the planning department, also displayed backyard chicken engagement materials at the fair,


collected surveys and answered public questions.


The consultation process ended


August 31. City staff will next prepare a report summarizing survey responses for both the agricultural advisory committee and city council so a decision can be made whether or not to allow backyard chickens on non-farm lots.


39


An effective health and safety plan involves everyone.


The planning decisions you make today can affect the health and safety of workers tomorrow.


Find resources to prevent injuries at worksafebc.com/agriculture


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