Chris Lewis and his wife, Erin Lewis, have chickens at their residence on Hycliff Road in Fair Oaks subdivision.
The 5-4 decision came on the same night that the commission passed guidelines concerning the keeping of backyard chickens by residents.
The requirements can be applied to special-use permits on a case-by-case basis and are set to go into effect May 1.
Possible minimum lot size requirements went through several permutations until a decision was reached.
Chris Lewis spoke during the public hearing portion of the evening and said the city was running the risk of discriminating against a majority of the citizens of Rome.
“With a possible requirement of around three-quarters of an acre and a 30-foot setback from property lines, you’re talking about restricting the ability to have chickens to only about 10 percent of the residents in this town,” Chris Lewis said.
“Showing this level of restrictions on chickens is disproportionate. … A burden is being placed on a person who wants to keep a few chickens,” he said.
A proposal to set the minimum lot size at 12,000 square feet was denied by a 5-4 vote with Commissioners Sue Lee, Detrick Redding, Kim Canada and Bill Collins voting to approve the revisions while Commissioners Jamie Doss, Bill Irmscher, Milton Slack III, Buzz Wachsteter and Mayor Evie McNiece voted to deny it. An acre consists of 43,560 square feet.
Irmscher then motioned to raise the proposed limit to about three quarters of an acre, citing that it would allow for a larger buffer from neighbors.
He also noted that nearby cities similar in size to Rome require two acres or more to keep chickens or do not allow them at all.
The commission voted against the motion 5-3 with Irmscher, Slack and Wachsteter voting yes and Doss, Lee, Redding, Canada and Collins voting no.
Doss’ motion to set the minimum lot size to 30,000 square feet was passed by the board with Doss, Irmscher, Slack, and Wachsteter voting yes and Lee, Redding, Canada, and Collins voting no. McNiece cast her tie-breaking vote for yes, passing the stated revisions.
“I do believe that you need to have a good-sized lot,” Doss said. “The distance from the property lines is irrelevant versus the size of the lot.”
Collins voiced his concern that they were possibly excluding 90 to 70 percent of the city’s residents with that lot size.
Doss reminded those in attendance that, because of a grandfather clause, people who have had chickens for at least 10 years are not required to follow the guidelines.
“At this point, chickens are illegal inside the city limits,” Doss said. “This is a step in the right direction. We can see how it works and are always open to change.”
City Manager John Bennett reminded the commissioners that any special-use permit can be considered on a case-by-case basis despite lot size.
Lewis’ request for a special-use permit, which was tabled at the board’s Dec. 17 meeting to allow a better look at the guidelines, came up later in the meeting where it was denied.
Lee, Redding, Canada, and Collins voted to approve the request and Doss, Irmscher, Slack and Wachsteter voted to deny it. McNiece’s vote was no, which officially denied the request.
A set date for the Lewises to have the chickens off of their property was not given but Doss said that he would like to give them a “generous amount of time” for them to find a solution.
In other actions Monday, the City Commission:
<li> Voted to approve a resolution authorizing the city to begin the process of condemning 15 parcels located where the new Anna K. Davie Elementary School will be built.
According to the resolution, the properties are located on South Broad Street and East Main Street as well as Wimpee Street, and Pennington Avenue.
Kerry Brown, who owns seven of the parcels, including the old Howell Triangle Grocery building located in the fork of South Broad and East Main streets, spoke to the commission before the vote.
He showed photos of the building and said that it dates back to the 1920s.
“I would hate to see it torn down during our term here,” said Brown.
Collins said his presentation was informative and that the city and Rome City Schools have already purchased a number of parcels in the area.
“I want to make it aware that even though the process to condemn these buildings has started, it is not the end of the dialogue between the city and the property owners,” Collins said.
<li> Had a first reading of an alcohol ordinance amendment that was passed by the Alcohol Control Commission that authorizes the city to levy of monetary fine for violations that occur at establishments with alcohol licenses.
If the City Commission passes the ordinance, fines up to the City Charter and Code’s maximum limit of $2,000 could be levied instead of, or in addition to, current penalties.
<li> Voted to accept an assignment concerning the West Third Street development where a new hotel is going to be built on property currently owned by the city.
Among the items on the assignment was a change in the Memorandum of Understanding the city has with the developers, Samson Developers group, to accept a plan of no less than 102 rooms and that the hotel will be a four-story structure on top of a parking deck.
The Memorandum originally had the hotel, which is expected to be a Courtyard by Marriott, listed as having between 105 and 120 rooms and consisting of five stories.
Bennett said that design changes in the plans for the hotel led to it containing 104 rooms and being one story less.
The group is set to present the project to Marriott’s board of directors for formal approval sometime next week. An answer is expected by Feb. 8.
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The dog problem should be pushed hard, whats fair is fair; there are leash laws and the dogs are a much larger nuisance and threat to children. Just think of all the fleas and ticks they carry too, why its a health hazard... just sayin, ya know.
Neighbors need to BE neighbors and meet each other, talk to each other, be civil and polite and not expect more than is reasonable. Most of us are law abiding, decent people that are worth while getting to know. Someday we may need each other and it will be time well spent to build our relationships with each other.
Police have been to our home twice for noise because our children were playing drums and guitars. No neighbor came to talk to us. Our children were not out peddling drugs or hurting anyone so it seemed very harsh and unnecessary.
It's interesting to me that the South has a reputation for being hospitable, but we never had things like this happen up North. I'm not going back...I'm just saying...
Also, most of the opposed neighbors chose to move into this neighborhood many, many years ago when chickens were totally unregulated in the city. Therefore, they did not buy their homes under some kind of impression that chickens were not allowed. Just because a code is in place doesn't mean it is right. If we never questioned unjust rules, then we'd still have segregation and a whole host of other terrible things. Not that being deprived of your chickens is as bad as segregation was, but it is another example of a law which was not fair and needed to be challenged. As an American, I know I have the right to question unjust laws. That is how we get things done.
I certainly don't see any "burden" placed on anyone here. You are correct in your statement that these people made the choice to home school their children. And in making that choice there are sacrifices they make to do so. But, it is not up to the rest of the world to change the rules and make allowances for those who choose to take a different road. I am all about making your own choices in life, but they are just that...your choices, not mine. That's why I said visit a petting zoo or rent a video to learn about chickens. That's what school children do. We are not obligated to allow them to have livestock in their yard because they choose to home school their children. If you do want to walk that different road, maybe you should see how much it will cost you first. But, don't expect your individual choices to cause me to change.
Look at it this way, dogs are bigger than chickens, make more crap than chickens, and make more noise than chickens, and in many cases are more annoying than chickens, but they are allowed.
Besides, high home values are only a benefit if you plan to sale. Lower home values, lower taxes. Please lower my home value. Please.
As it is, my children get to learn all about the loudness of dogs. We get to listen to them bark all day long despite the higher taxes we pay. But you know what? Part of living in the city is having to deal with having neighbors, and we should make do the best we can, which means we shouldn't be complaining to authorities about every thing they do that we don't like. Particularly if they can't even hear, see, or smell that which they dislike because it isn't affecting them.
I don't know why I am bothering trying to engage somebody who would begin their comment with "hello" in a rational discussion, though.
I hope you will sleep well at night knowing you have defended the neighborhood against the scourge of marauding chickens - and that you successfully manipulated government into taking away 3 little girls' pets. Pat yourself on the back, you have continually showed the level of maturity with which you conduct yourself.
I still would like to know how you "protected your property." Were my chickens on your property? Did my chickens harm you in some way? Are you still so sure that they devalued your home in some way when my own home increased in value at its last appraisal, with the chickens right there as the appraiser walked through the backyard? Or are you just mad that we tried to change an ordinance? You hide smugly behind your screen name, riling up your neighbors against people who did nothing to harm you. Tell me what my chickens have done to you over 3.5 years. Tell me why the commissioners clearly don't see them as an immediate threat to you or else they would have ordered we remove them promptly months ago.
Since you seem to live nearby, why don't you also use the power of gov't to "protect your property" from those dogs that bark nonstop all the time? They might be lowering your property values, particularly when they are allowed to poop up and down the undeveloped yet paved street in the Arbors at Fair Oaks. Perhaps you should call codes enforcement on those people with the dumpster in their yard for the past month, because I bet that is hurting your property.
I hope you sleep well at night knowing you "protected" your property by forcing somebody else to not be able to use their own property as they wish. Now you can drive past my house with the assurance that behind that fence where you can't see anything, there will be no chickens. I am beyond disappointed at people like you who cannot just do as neighbors should, come face to face with somebody when you have a problem with them and try to work it out. Not one of my neighbors came to see my chickens to see what problems they might actually be causing, and not one of my neighbors came to us to voice their specific concerns. In fact, the one neighbor who did tell me she had a problem with them - after she reported them - told me yesterday that she no longer even has a problem with them being there!! How's that for logic and reason? The rest of you never even would have known about them had she not reported them in the first place.
All I can say is that I would never oppose a neighbor who had something in his fenced back yard that I couldn't even see, that was affecting me in no way and that posed no threat of danger. What's the point? And the extremely close vote by the commissioners shows that clearly this is not over, and this was not a clear-cut decision.
How do you feel about those whose neighbors have 30,000 square feet? Their property is not "protected" from neighbors' chickens any more. Are you going to take up the cause for those people, since you clearly believe their property is at risk in some unexplained way? Will you take up the cause against all the illegal chickens that wander the streets, the ones who might actually do damage to people's property? Or do you only have it in for those of us who want to try to do this responsibly while ignoring the real problem chickens of this town?