Macomb city council members voted 4-to-3 against giving a proposed urban chicken pilot project a try.
Those opposed were John Vigezzi, Dave Dorsett, Don Wynn, and Dennis Moon.
Dorsett said the council received more input than usual on an issue. Yet, he felt a petition drive to allow chickens did not get enough support.
“276 appears to be the number that signed the petition in city limits, or 1.83% of the 15,051 people who live in the city of Macomb,” Dorsett said during Monday night’s council meeting.
He said this was less than the margin of error used in polling.
That was one of Dorsett’s eight points for voting against the plan. The full list can be found on his Facebook page.
Vigezzi also felt he did not hear support from enough residents.
“In Ward 2, there are 61 who’ve signed the petition for yes. That’s less than 5% of the population. 1% voted no, which you had five people vote for that,” Vigezzi said.
“I think you guys have done an outstanding job trying to rally your troops together to move this forward. But the numbers speak for themselves. There’s not enough people that are wanting to push this forward.”
Those voting in favor of the plan were Justin Schuch, Byron Shabazz, and Ashley Katz.
Schuch praised the efforts of residents who supported the ordinance. He said they came up with detailed points on why the city should give the proposal a try.
In addition, he had a suggestion for fellow city council members.
“I also hope as a council we use the same logic in future decisions we make about not hearing from people because I’ve heard from more people on this topic than anything else in the past,” Schuch said.
Monmouth still reviewing urban chicken proposal
Macomb was not the only city in the region where the issue of urban chickens has come up.
Monmouth is considering a similar ordinance at the request of some residents.
Roosters would not be allowed, a license and $25 annual fee would be required, and the birds would only be allowed at single family detached dwellings.
The city council considered the ordinance this week. But without enough support to pass on first reading, it will come back for further discussion and consideration at the next meeting.
TSPR’s Jane Carlson contributed to this story.
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