Speakers Challenge BOC on Finances, Chickens

Two Cobb citizens came before the Board of Commissioners to plead for their causes.

An otherwise routine Tuesday evening meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Cobb County was colored by the appearance of two public speakers coming before the board pleading for the right to own chickens and to rail against money in politics. Joseph Pond, founder of the Backyard Chickens Alliance of Cobb County, once again stressed his recommendation that the board alter the 40 year old zoning code and allow chickens and ducks to be counted as pets and not livestock. With the current code, chickens and ducks can only be kept on properties exceeding two acres in size. Pond said that if the code was amended, neighborhoods with HOAs would be able to restrict chicken keeping. Pond lost his job two weeks ago and his chickens in the fall of …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Chicken Battle Continues After One Year

The Right to Grow Act would have prohibited cities and counties from banning gardens, chickens and honeybees for personal consumption.

by Joseph Pond One year ago this week I was given a Notice of Violation by the Cobb County Code Enforcement for having a dozen hens in my backyard. In Cobb County, you must have at least two acres of land to own poultry; I have only a half-acre. The neighbor that lives behind me in a different neighborhood was looking over my six foot privacy fence and saw my enclosed chicken coop and hens. She had unsubstantiated fears that the poultry would ruin her property value and notified her County Commissioner. In the year since, I have worked hard to change the 40-year-old law that essentially bans poultry in Cobb County. I researched the topic, compiled statistics and presented this to the Board of Commissioners. The Board unanimously rejected …

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