Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/86226
Sarasota News Leader October 5, 2012 Neighbors complaining to Code Enforcement also had resulted in Jenny Brannon and her family giving up their chickens, Brannon said. "I just don't know how to explain to my 3-year- old that we have to get rid of our Dr. Boost and Cinnamon and all our little chickies," Bran- non said. "She doesn't really understand, and I don't understand, either, why we shouldn't be allowed to have them. Sometimes kids have the most sense." COMMISSIONERS' RESPONSE During their Commission Reports discussions, Commissioner Jon Thaxton said, "I know it's going to take a great deal of community out- reach in terms of the neighborhood associa- tions, but [legal chicken-keeping has] been a long time coming. … It's something that ini- tially I would support, at least to the point of getting some public feedback." "I would do the same," Commissioner Carolyn Mason said. "The sooner we can get the dia- logue started, the better." However, Patterson said she did not support the initiative, though she might at some point if the majority of the commissioners did. "While I really do feel for the kids … they cer- tainly pull at your heartstrings — if the neigh- bors hadn't complained, they would still have the ability to have the chickens," Patterson said. "The truth is [chicken-keeping] does bother some folks." Commissioner Joe Barbetta agreed. "It was a great display this morning [but] the people [who wouldn't support it] … would probably fill this room." Page 11 When Barbetta added that he felt CLUCK needed to demonstrate sufficient community support for the county initiative, Mason re- plied, "I think that's fair." "That would help," Patterson said. "If we hear from folks and it just proves to be too controversial," Thaxton said, "so be it." Still, Thaxton said, "It does seem kind of odd that we have had something similar in a mu- nicipality and not in the county, when the defi- nition of a county would be more permissive than that of a municipality." The City of Sarasota approved the keeping of chickens about two years ago. "I'd really like to watch that for a couple of years and make sure it isn't a problem," Pat- terson said of the city's situation, adding that she was familiar with Key West, which has been so overrun with chickens, the city even hired a "bounty hunter" to try to contain the problem. "I like the idea of sending it back to CLUCK [to gather] the support, rather than put the onus on us," Robinson said. Mason pointed out that she had seen city res- idents with chickens that were "nice and or- derly and didn't seem to be causing a prob- lem. But I would like to see it vetted" for the county. CLUCK'S PERSPECTIVE CLUCK has about 600 Facebook fans from all over the country, Miller said, and it has had more than 60,000 hits on its blog, "which is supposed to be about chickens in Sarasota."