"And They Taste Good, Too."*
I just finished writing about the most recent Zoning and Planning Commission meeting. I usually do not attend these meetings but there was a public hearing and discussion on a controversial issue here – whether or not the city should allow horses to live within city limits. While the drafted ordinance actually addresses ‘livestock’, among many other components, the maintaining of horses in the town was the main point of debate.
What I found very interesting, which I had not observed attending the city council or school board meetings, was the conscious effort to make allowances and to keep the ordinance open enough to include specific circumstances of individual people; meaning the commission was more than willing to change a part of the ordinance if it didn’t agree with, say, how the Smith family did things (I actually do not know any Smiths in Wrangell; I am just using the name as an example).
For example, in defining the term ‘animal establishment’, part (d) of it is “for animals other than fish or fowl, any property used to house more than 5 adult animals of any one type or more than 10 adult animals total.” This means that if you have six adult cats, your house would be considered an ‘animal establishment.’ And for certain households, depending on what zone you lived in, this could mean the household would have to get a Conditional Use Permit, which for a number of reasons is a nuisance.
One woman who was at the hearing said she has 12 adult dogs. Apparently, this woman rescues strays. Because of this woman, the commission changed the part (d) of the ordinance to state, “for animals other than fish or fowl, any property used to house more than 20 adult animals total.”
This is essentially how the rest of the discussion went. If someone in the commission or someone in the audience mentioned a family or person for whom the ordinance might cause trouble or inconvenience, the commission was willing to discuss it at length and try to be accomodating.
I found this to be quite ridiculous and time consuming. But understand that this way of doing things is just another consequence of living in a small town. People here, even those who have some say on city ordinances, look out for you – or that is, they look out for you if they like you.
*This was one of the individual comments attached to a signature on a petition supporting having horses within city limits.
What I found very interesting, which I had not observed attending the city council or school board meetings, was the conscious effort to make allowances and to keep the ordinance open enough to include specific circumstances of individual people; meaning the commission was more than willing to change a part of the ordinance if it didn’t agree with, say, how the Smith family did things (I actually do not know any Smiths in Wrangell; I am just using the name as an example).
For example, in defining the term ‘animal establishment’, part (d) of it is “for animals other than fish or fowl, any property used to house more than 5 adult animals of any one type or more than 10 adult animals total.” This means that if you have six adult cats, your house would be considered an ‘animal establishment.’ And for certain households, depending on what zone you lived in, this could mean the household would have to get a Conditional Use Permit, which for a number of reasons is a nuisance.
One woman who was at the hearing said she has 12 adult dogs. Apparently, this woman rescues strays. Because of this woman, the commission changed the part (d) of the ordinance to state, “for animals other than fish or fowl, any property used to house more than 20 adult animals total.”
This is essentially how the rest of the discussion went. If someone in the commission or someone in the audience mentioned a family or person for whom the ordinance might cause trouble or inconvenience, the commission was willing to discuss it at length and try to be accomodating.
I found this to be quite ridiculous and time consuming. But understand that this way of doing things is just another consequence of living in a small town. People here, even those who have some say on city ordinances, look out for you – or that is, they look out for you if they like you.
*This was one of the individual comments attached to a signature on a petition supporting having horses within city limits.
posted by Siapiau | 4:40 PM
1 Comments:
I wonder what horse meat tastes like...hmmmm.
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