CALLAWAY — Mayor Thomas Abbott delivered an impassioned speech about freedom and maintaining a way of life.
It also happened to be about chickens.
Callaway City Commission discussed an ordinance Tuesday night that would have restricted residents to keeping six chickens per parcel and required those residents to register each chicken for a $5 per-chicken fee.
“You can buy cooked ones for that price,” Commissioner Ralph Hollister said of the $5 fee.
Abbott’s remarks helped settle the issue and received a round of applause from half of the audience.
“I’m just going to say what I think. I don’t like this ordinance for a number of reasons,” he said. “I don’t believe in government putting a stop on the way people live their lives. We can find a way to eliminate the problem without eliminating the way of people’s lives. As much as I understand Mr. Gandy, I think this is a death knell. I think it’s overkill.”
The commission voted against the ordinance unanimously.
The ordinance was inspired by a disagreement between two Callaway residents dating back to June. Michael Gandy, who lives at 1039 Comet Ave., complained his neighbors had too many chickens that made too much noise. On the recommendation of Code Enforcment officer Bill Frye, the commission granted the first ever chicken permit to Sandra Adams, who houses more than 60 chickens in a large coop in the back portion of her property.
After the previous Gandy complaint, Adams had removed roosters from the property.
“I did everything I was supposed to do,” Adams said.
Gandy appeared with his lawyer, Don Dennis, arguing the ordinance needed to be tougher, including keeping the condition that chicken owners need to obtain neighbor permission.
Abbott did state the commission will consider a future ordinance.
“Clearly this is an issue,” Abbott said. “It’s our responsibility to try to solve it. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”