There is a battle brewing in Stuart known as the “Battle of the Chickens.”  I never thought the city commission, and especially the staff, would be spending such an inordinate amount of time over this issue. What is at stake is whether residents in single family homes can legally have chickens in their backyards. There are passionate supporters on both sides of the chicken controversy.

It all began last year when a group of residents approached the city and asked about keeping chickens. Ground Floor Farms, our urban farm, spearheaded the effort. After two or three meetings it was decided to allow Ground Floor Farms to keep up to 30 chickens in a coop that is fenced. The farm was to be ground zero for our experiment. The commission agreed to address back yard chickens at a later date.

I was not in favor of back yard chickens last year. In fact, I thought it was a dumb idea. But over that year, I have visited Ground Floor Farm and spoke to others who sincerely wanted the ability to have a few chickens. I now believe that it is something that should not be banned.

Why should chickens be outlawed? My neighbor has an outdoor aviary. Why is it permissible to have a parrot or other type bird but not a chicken. Dogs or cats are no problem but a chicken is? Why should gallus domesticus be treated differently within Stuart? I just couldn’t come up with a good reason.

The proposed ordinance was adapted from St. Petersburg’s ordinance. St. Petersburg allows 10 fowl of any kind on a lot while Stuart caps the number at 4 chickens. There are no roosters and the coops and runs must be in the back yard hidden by a 6 foot wall or opaque fence. St. Petersburg has a population 16 times our size. There are at least 35 other municipalities in Florida that allow chickens including Sarasota, Pensacola and Tallahassee.

So why is there such a controversy over chickens? It seems that it could be generational. Some baby boomers believe chickens don’t belong within an urban environment. However, as our urban farm has proved the definition of what does and doesn’t belong within a city is broadening and expanding. The proponents are in their 30’s who have young children. They want to give their offspring hands-on learning experiences. Should they have to move to unincorporated Martin County to do so? I don’t think it is good policy to chase the future from the city.

At our commission meeting on Monday, the Realtors Association of Martin County asked that they be given time to study the effects on home prices and investor interest in this “radical idea”. It is hardly a radical notion since it is even legal in New York City and San Francisco. The median price of a home in Stuart since April 2014 (the month of the ordinance taking effect in St. Pete) has risen 43%. The median home price in St Petersburg is 40%. The average price in St. Petersburg has gone from $168,000 to $334,000 in the same time period. Chickens do not seem to be a determinate factor in price increase.

I believe the City of Stuart has more important matters to deal with than chickens. I believe that this is not an earth shattering issue that will cause calamity throughout the town. Presently there are residents who have chickens surreptitiously. This tells me that their neighbors either don’t know they have them or they aren’t a nuisance. This is much ado about nothing. Like golf carts there will be a limited demand for chickens. Besides if it becomes a problem it would be easy enough to change the ordinance.

We do not live in a gated community. There is a certain amount of give and take when living in a city. Stuart is not Celebration or The Villages or even Sewall’s Point. It is a place where people of different races, incomes, back rounds and ages live side by side. The “Battle of the Chickens” may seem funny and in one respect it is. The battle also represents our ability to attract young residents and accommodate the needs of all our citizens instead of just the few.