Change wanted in Cloquet chicken rule

Emily Tracy and her family are trying to change the rules around chickens in Cloquet city limits.

She has written a petition and it is circulating the internet and gaining traction in the community. The petition explains the many blessings chickens can bring to a home, while still expressing an urge to change the current ordinance allowing farm animals on large lots only in certain parts of the city.

"When it comes to the benefits, well, they are endless," Tracy said. She has had her chickens about seven years now. She said they are therapeutic, calm and easygoing. Just watching the animals strut around can relax a person, she said.

But she is now fretting because her chickens violate city code.

The lot they live on is not big enough.

The family got the chickens "on a whim," Tracy writes on her petition page at Change.org. "Who can resist a fluffy little chick? ... (We) fell in love with them quickly."

Four years later, the family moved into Cloquet and significantly downsized the flock. "We brought a few of our favorites with us and settled into our new home," Tracy said. After two years of neighbor curiosity and general bliss, the city received a complaint earlier this year.

"We were given a short amount of time to have the birds removed because of one disgruntled person," Tracy said. "They are a part of our family and we will do everything in our power to keep them, starting with this petition."

Cloquet's ordinance defines chickens and other farm animals as livestock. As in other cities such as Duluth or Minneapolis, Cloquet residents are allowed up to five egg-laying hens and no roosters. Currently, the only areas in the city where people can keep chickens is in a farm-residential district, roughly the lots west of Reservation Road and north of North Road that are at least 10 acres.

The city discussed changing the rules in 2019, to allow for "backyard" chickens on smaller residential lots, boosting those eligible for animals by 300 lots. A new ordinance would allow animals on half-acre lots in the suburban-residential category.

Tracy's neighbors often comment that the chickens remind them of a simpler past in Cloquet.

The Tracy children and their friends love playing with the birds, which eat pesky ticks and mosquitos and, of course, provide eggs.

After some discussion, the Cloquet City Council never moved to a vote, keeping the current ordinance in place.

City planner/zoning commissioner Al Cottingham said, "I don't see any downsides in changing the rules for areas where the property has at least a half-acre of land and the chickens are kept in an enclosed area, not allowed to free-range, limited numbers, and no roosters."

Tracy's petition was nearing 1,000 signatures this week. The growing support is once again bringing up some fears about an ordinance change, such as an increase in predators, chickens on the loose, owners not obeying the rules, and even fear of disease. Chicken coops and fenced-in areas raise aesthetic concerns as well.

Keeping chickens is not complicated. A chicken coop, which is not a very large building, and a fenced-in area for the birds to roam is all that is needed. Cleaning up after them is very simple. Chicken droppings are different from, say, those of a dog or a cat. The waste can be composted and used as fertilizer, which the Tracys use in their garden.

And chickens don't bark at passersby, Tracy said. "Actually, at nighttime, they are very quiet because they're aware they are at the bottom of the food chain."

Tracy plans to bring her passion to the city council to persuade them to change the rules. Cottingham said a petition is an "effective way to bring something to the attention of the elected officials but does not mean that the rules/laws will be changed."

Tracy hopes she has at least garnered some attention for the rule-makers.

"Chickens are not offensive, violent, or loud," she wrote on her petition page. "They bring with them a gentle calm that we all need in this day and age."