(This is a series talking about my journey into chicken keeping. Please see the first two posts on this topic)
Now that you've got some friends who are also wanting chickens, what's next? You need to know where your council and mayor stand on the issue of urban chickens. This will really guide your next steps. Meaning, if no one on the council is pro-chickens, you will need to work on swaying those opinions first. If you have several who are pro-chicken, you are on a good path. Most likely, you will have one or two that are either pro chicken are at least chicken curious. Now, from my experience, the mayor is very important to ensure he is either pro or curious. The reason for this is, he has veto power. He can decide to veto the ordinance. Just because he or she is not on board, its not all loss. Just need to know this going into the process.
When we started this process, I had never contacted a city councilmember before. Like most people, I had been removed from city government. What I was surprised by was how easy it was to reach out. Now that didn't mean they will respond. It just means it was easy to get contact information. We found email list on the city page. With my group, the founding member, had already reached out to one of the councilmembers and mayor who were pro-chicken.
If you're not that lucky, I recommend starting with sending an email individually to each council member asking to meet and and chat. If you have a council member representing your neighborhood, this would be a great contact However, don't exclude the other council members. I recommend sending individual emails vs a mass email as its more personal. I also recommend asking to meet with the councilmen, again, to be more personal. Some may decline or ask for more information via email.
The important piece of this, is it should be viewed as information gathering. You are not there to provide them with educational materials. be prepared if they have questions. But, you really are checking the temperature. Ask questions. Listen to them. Start to find out their pain points.
Ask these questions:
- How do you feel about chickens in a city?
- What experiences have you had with chickens?
- What concerns do you have with chickens in an urban setting?
- What benefits do you see with chickens in the city?
- Would you support a city ordinance for urban chickens?
Ask clarifying questions to each of their answers. You don't want this meeting to be more than 45-60 minutes. As you really want this first meeting to be a pleasant and not be an inconvenience. Its so very important to remember, this impression will shape how the council sees your group. You want them to want to work with you. Take notes so you know where everyone stands and have some good data to move forward.
Your next step is to take this information to your working group. The working group will begin to work on gathering data and information to address the council's concerns.
See previous posts: Here and Here
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