By Pam Hersh
Some would say I am egging Princetonians on by bringing up the following fact: The ultra-thorough Princeton Consolidation Study neglected to deal with one very hairy — or more accurately feathery — conundrum: chickens as backyard pets.
I predict that the next cockeyed Princeton zoning ordinance controversy to take place — rivaling the intensity of the overnight parking discussions — will be about the reconciliation of the former township’s and former borough’s regulations governing the ownership of so-called backyard chickens.
For most of my life, I have thought very little about the trials and tribulations of chicken rearing. As a matter of fact, my parents — Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland — shunned it, even though chicken soup and roast chicken and eggs were staples of our diets. The first time of many times my parents wanted to disown me (I was a ’60s spirited kid) occurred when I brought home a date who worked on his family’s chicken farm in New Jersey. I found the guy sexy, smart and charming. My parents, however, were determined that their daughter should marry a man with a profession (preferably that of a physician or lawyer) that was far removed from jobs (like chicken farming) associated with Depression-era Jewish immigrants.
Therefore, my long deceased parents probably murmured an “oy vey” from the grave, when they heard that my daughter and her husband living in Highland Park, started raising chickens, much to the delight of my grandkids.
The world became aware of my kids’ chicken ownership thanks to a recent posting on Facebook: “Lost Chicken: One of our birds flew the coop. Its home base is the corner of Harper and Felton (between 2nd and 3rd South side), and it was last seen at the corner of Donaldson and South Second. Black and grey chicken. Please contact me (or just grab it if you can) if you see it! Facebook messaging would be fine. Thank you!”
Instantly hundreds of people were searching the streets of Highland Park for a wandering chicken. The Facebook detective force first spotted a chicken carcass — the discovery of which unleashed sorrowful cries from my grandchildren. But the carcass turned out to belong to a different itinerant chicken crossing the road. The next day, the gray-and-black chicken belonging to my daughter was spotted a few blocks away hanging out with a rooster. Roosters I think are illegal in Highland Park (too noisy), so hooking up with a rooster was as daring and rebellious an act for the runaway chicken as my dating a chicken farmer. A chicken-whisperer lured Ms. Black and Grey away from Mr. Rooster and returned her to her home, the backyard coop of my kids.
After the incident of the runaway chicken, the comments on social media opened my eyes to the pervasiveness of the backyard chicken rearing. And a quick Google search indicated dozens of recent articles on the topic. The most Princeton-centric one, titled “Poultry Policy in Princeton,” was authored by Princeton’s renowned naturalist Stephen Hiltner in his Feb. 5, 2013 blog Princeton Nature Notes.
“Start asking around if chickens are allowed in Princeton, and you’re likely to get a different answer each time…” For those living in what used to be the borough, the most relevant ordinance, according to Steve’s blog, says the following: “Keeping domestic animals as pets (is a permitted use): provided, that not more than five animals over six months old shall be kept on any lot and that no animals except dogs or cats shall be housed or penned within 50 feet of any street line or lot line, except within the principal building.” (Boro Code: Land Use XI Zoning, 17A-228). In Steve’s opinion, the municipal staff, contrary to what my grandkids think, failed to put chickens in the domestic animal category, and thus, technically, it would be illegal to coop up chickens in a (former) borough backyard.
In what used to be the township, chickens only can be kept on lots of three or more acres. Princeton Zoning Officer Derek Bridger confirmed this, as well as the fact that the attempt to reconcile the two ordinances should prove “lively.” Derek lives in Hopewell Township, a community that went through three years of angst while developing an ordinance that reflected a rational chicken-rearing policy. Steve Hiltner noted in his blog that Hopewell Township suffered worldwide ridicule over the rule about visitations by roosters (roosters are not needed for egg production).
Furthermore, in Princeton, residents may end up agonizing not only about the chickens but also about the coops: size, location, and overall quality of the housing. Also likely is a discussion about coop energy efficiency and affordability.
Derek added that even though he suspects there are many illegal backyard chickens, he has received only a few calls about nuisance chickens. “I do not spend my time chasing down or looking for chickens,” he said. That could change if he ever decides to live or work near my kids.
