City of Madison Council Members & Zoning Board:
Please make an amendment to the current zoning rules in or around the City of Madison with the zip code of 35758, to allow possession of hens for personal use. Currently tax paying citizens are not allowed to possess hens inside the city limits of Madison. There are, however, no restrictions to roaming animals such as cats or dogs for citizens.

Allowance of hens within the City of Madison will encourage a healthier culture along with educating kids on self sustainability. The City of Madison encourages its community to visit green ways and parks to promote a better health and producing your own eggs will help that movement tremendously. The City of Madison prides itself on phrases such as "eat local", this will be a great testament to that.

With a "Rooster-less" coop, neighbors will more than likely not even know their neighbor has a chicken coop. Hens produce up to 1 egg a day and require very little space to live happily. Hens also help with bugs that are in the yard and also produce great compost after coop cleaning. Hens produce much less waste than the average dog a day and even less audible noise than other allowed pets. We should work together in promoting a one of a kind city that leads with innovation and sustainability. Cities like Atlanta, Austin, Portland, Richmond, Dallas, Boise, Denver, Seattle, San Diego, and Nashville (just to name a few) have all relaxed their zoning laws to allow for a few backyard hens. In fact, according to Newsweek Magazine, more than 65% of major U.S. cities now allow backyard hens.

I encourage you to read more information about having backyard chickens and all of the great benefits they could bring.

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