By Patrick Donges
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-982739.mp3
Pittsfield, MA – August 17, Pittsfield-based organization the Alchemy Initiative received unanimous support from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals to keep chickens and bees at their Melville Street headquarters.
The organization, which advocates for sustainable living practices through workshops and community dialogue, had been keeping a chicken coop for the past three years. They didn't know they needed a city permit until they were approached by officials earlier this year; Jessica Conzo is the director of the Alchemy Initiative.
"It's a special permit; article nine, section 204 of the zoning ordinance. And basically it's for non-household animals, horses, rabbits, chickens, bees and a number of other animals."
"It's (a) pretty standard city application, but we had heard from people who had applied for a bee permit before that they had gotten denied. We were nervous that because we're so close to downtown they may not approve us."
Those fears were almost realized; the approval vote was the second time the initiative had been before the board. The vote was postponed for a week after an August 10 board meeting where someone from the neighboring Catholic Youth Center, or CYC, took some issue on how the animals might affect their programs; here's Conzo.
"They had no idea that we had been keeping chickens and bees, and so their insurance company, when informed of this, did have questions. They're in support of our programs and what we're doing, but they did want to make sure that they wouldn't have any sort of liability."
In the week between meetings, Conzo met with the CYC, who submitted an approving letter to the board which was received before the vote. The board also stipulated some conditions for the project; again, here's Conzo.
"Some of the conditions for example were that we (are) limited to 12 chickens and three beehives at a time. That the cleanings, the wood shavings and the chicken feces, wouldn't be kept on our property; that we would dispose of them in a proper way or we would compost them."
"A lot of the things we were already doing, we were already composting the cleanings."
As Pittsfield approves their first established urban chicken project, residents just 60 miles away in Albany are still embroiled in a battle with city hall to establish a law allowing chickens.
Albany mayor Jerry Jennings vetoed legislation this May that would've allowed for five chickens to be kept in backyards; Albany resident Michael Guidice publically supported that legislation as an urban farming advocate.
"There are cities across the country that are making paths to urban farming not legally complicated. It looked like Albany was ready was for that; the Common Council said, we have some questions, but we ironed them out, and we're going to pass this thing.'"
"And then because of a lack of vision of one person it held our city back. And we're going to see all of these municipalities around us adopting similar legislation and we're missing out here in Albany."
Guidice had been keeping chickens in the backyard of his Grand Street home before city officials issued a cease-and-desist order requiring him to close the coop. He said he will keep advocating for a chicken ordinance in Albany, citing what he said are the benefits of urban agriculture.
"By producing things like chickens and gardens right here, right in the city where we live, you don't have to transport them, so you're saving all those fossil fuel costs."
"But more importantly, people are connecting with their food, and they're taking that connection to their relationships with their neighbors, people are sharing chicken coops. It's good; it's good for a city."
In Pittsfield, Conzo said the Alchemy Initiative will be advocating to make the animal zoning variance process easier and less costly for those individuals looking to raise their own coop or hive.
The variance application currently requires a $200 application fee and fees for printing meeting notices in the local newspaper, for a total cost of just over $300 per application.