WESTMINSTER —If a local grassroots effort is successful, fresh backyard eggs and honey may soon be available as bees and chickens come to roost in Westminster.
Westminster city staff have spent months working on a zoning ordinance that would,
In doing so, the city would join dozens of other metro area jurisdictions that allow backyard farm animals. Unlike some other cities, however, the proposal as currently written excludes roosters, goats, ducks and turkeys.
On-site slaughtering of chickens could not occur outdoors. A permit and small fee would be required to house the animals, and a list of regulations like food storage, water access and setback distances would also be implemented.
After being fined for having chickens in city limits at her boyfriend’s 2-acre property, resident Rachel Vezina started a social media campaign last year and collected 300 signatures urging City Council to allow backyard birds and bees.
Vezina said city history is steeped in rural and farming traditions, with many families holding deeply held beliefs about sustainability and the right to propagate their own food sources.
“We as a family don’t buy milk from the store — we have a honey and cow share,” Vezina said. “It’s our lifestyle, it’s who we are. It may be more expensive, but we choose to do it because it’s healthier.”
If passed, many residents would still be locked out of being able to keep chickens and bees. Renters would not be allowed to house the animals and most homeowner associations — which cover 65 percent of Westminster homes — prohibit backyard farm animals.
Residents continue to weigh in through public meetings and on the city website on the pros and cons of keeping backyard chickens and bees.
A public outreach meeting on chickens will take place April 23 at City Hall and On May 18, city staff will present the findings at a council workshop and will then fine tune the current proposals. Council would likely vote on the issue sometime later this year.
While the thought of raising backyard farm animals has grown in popularity, it isn’t necessarily loved by all. City polls over the years show a majority of residents opposing backyard chickens; bees fared better, with 66 percent of residents saying “yes” in a 2014 survey.
In a previous interview, Mayor Herb Atchison said the city has to balance the desire some residents have for backyard animal husbandry with neighbors who’d prefer the creatures stay in rural areas.
“I’ve had them around,” Atchison said of his younger days spent on a farm, “but that doesn’t mean my neighbors want them around.”
Beekeeper Eric Smith said he’s counting down the days until he’s allowed to keep backyard hives at his home on the border of unincorporated Adams County and Westminster.
“You can tell these bees are going about their business and aren’t aggressive like wasps and hornets,” Smith said. “So you pretty much have to step on them or threaten their hive to risk a sting.
Steve Smithers, the city deputy manager, said after months of studying sustainable practices and reaching out to other cities on their experiences with allowing backyard farming,
“Our biggest concern is to make sure it’s acceptable to the public and to make sure that if we implement this, we do it in a regulatory way that works,” Smithers said. “We’re not the first to to do this, so there’s lots of lessons from others on how to regulate.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729 or abriggs@denverpost.com
Bee and chicken meeting
When: 5-7 p.m. April 23
Where: City Hall, 4800 W. 92nd Ave., Westminster
