Free the Kent Street Four!!!

Hens' fate awaits as officials review ordinance
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
By Morgan Jarema
The Grand Rapids Press

LOWELL -- The fate of four hens who have roosted on residential-zoned property has been put on hold while city officials review the ordinance.

Council members, acting as the Zoning Board of Appeals, on Monday tabled for 90 days a request from Brian McLane that he be allowed to continue to house the hens at 420 Kent St. on the city's east side.

The McLane's request for a variance was denied, but ZBA is asking the Planning Commission to review the ordinance.

Current rules allow fowl, rabbits or similar animals to be raised or kept for the owner's use on lots of at least a half-acre, provided the structure that contains the animals is not less than 50 feet from adjoining residential lot lines or uses.

There is no limit on the number of those types of animals.

"I can see we could get into big trouble with" no limit, council member C. Jeanne Shores said.

The McLane's L-shaped, two-lot property is just under a half-acre. To keep the coop as far from any homes as possible, it was placed next to a vacant commercial lot.

Lori McLane said she and her husband looked into the ordinance before they bought the hens. They thought they were close enough to the ordinance that it wouldn't be a problem, she said, and they talked to several of their neighbors first.

One neighbor wrote a letter to the council that read in part: "It's great for kids to have pets, but farm animals belong in the country."

Doug Tackmann, the McLane's next-door neighbor, disagreed.

"If anybody's affected by this, it's me and my kids," he said.

"We're having a ball with" the chickens.

The McLanes' hens will be allowed to remain on their property while the Planning Commission decides whether the ordinance should be amended.