Farmington mayor feels heat over chickens

Chickens are causing quite a flap in Farmington.

Flocks of residents and students have called and texted Mayor Todd Larson, an undecided swing vote on a proposed ordinance to let residents keep up to five hens in their yards.

"If we spent half as much time on our budget as we do on chickens, we'd be in good shape," Larson said.

He initially supported a yearlong trial for backyard chickens, but now says he's uncertain about the birds. He's worried they might attract rodents, such as skunks or possums, to town. The clucking fowl also could create an image problem for Farmington, said the mayor, who grew up in the once-rural community.

Larson was a reluctant part of the three-vote majority favoring backyard chickens until the last council meeting in May. While the council was discussing chicken permit fees, Larson had a change of heart. He recalled the exchange:

"Julie May said, 'I don't want chickens.' Christy Jo Fogarty said, 'Neither do I.' I said, 'Neither do I,'" Larson said. "I changed my mind because I really don't want chickens."

"It is such a weird subject," the mayor said. "I never thought when I was sworn in that we would be dealing with having chickens in the backyard. Chickens are for a farm, is what I always thought. Now I am not sure. I might try it for a year."

He eventually discovered most of the anonymous texts were from students in a science and earth class at Lakeville North High School. It turned out that their teacher is Mary Yakibchuk, a Farmington resident who has pushed for the chicken ordinance and had kept her class abreast of its progress.

After the mayor's switch appeared to scratch the backyard-chicken movement, Yakibchuk wrote Larson's cell number on her class white board. She suggested students make their views known.

"After about 20 of them [texted], I'm thinking something's up," Larson said. He messaged asking for names and addresses. Three responded and all lived in Lakeville. Finally, one caller said "Mary Yakibchuk said she needs chickens," said Larson, who recognized the name.

The next morning Yakibchuk called Larson and apologized. "She was trying to teach her students about how to get things done in government and it got out of control," Larson said.

"She is passionate about what she does, but this went a little too far," agreed Lakeville North High Principal Marne Berkvam. She has admonished Yakibchuk about the texting campaign. Berkvam said Yakibchuk is a creative young teacher who also started a school gardening club.

The fowl ordinance originated with Yakibchuk, City Planner Lee Smick said. "She was interested in having chickens in her yard to educate her kids and for sustainability," Smick said. Yakibchuk suggested the idea, and it was reviewed by the Planning Commission and sent on to the City Council. A resident petition collected about 25 pro-chicken signatures.

Permitting urban chickens, which provide home-grown eggs and nonchemical fertilizer, is an optional step under the state GreenSteps sustainability program that Farmington recently joined, Smick noted.

Two Dakota County cities have ordinances on the books that allow chickens: Rosemount and Burnsville. Some big cities, such as Atlanta, New York and Seattle, allow urban chickens. So do Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington and Anoka.

But since the mayor's anti-chicken edict, Farmington's ordinance is on the chopping block because it lacks majority council support.

Council Member Julie May hopes the ax falls. Noting she has "nothing against chickens personally," May said people buying a home in Farmington have "a pretty good expectation ... that it does not include cohabitating with farm animals."

"Chickens in a coop: They are not an eyesore and don't get loose. They have not created an issue any more than other common pets," said Rosemount Police Chief Gary Kalstabakken. He said only four residentially zoned residents have permits allowing up to three chickens.

Like the proverbial chicken running around with its head cut off, the ailing ordinance is still kicking. Larson plans to revive the chicken issue at a June council meeting.