Guest Post: The Animal Ordinance and Sustainable Food Systems

From Edgewater resident Lilly Steirer of Lilly’s Table:

After over eight months of meetings, workshops, lively emotional discussions and plenty of hard work, our City Council has passed an ordinance that will allow the citizens of Edgewater to raise up to two dwarf goats. To paraphrase newly elected council woman Kate Mulcahy, this ordinance clearly makes both sides disappointed therefore it is probably going in the right direction by way of compromise.

Many thanks to all the Council Members past and present, former Mayor Bonnie McNulty, newly elected Mayor Kris Teegardin, the various sustainability experts, and the citizens who came out to the council workshops to express their desires and concerns about the future of our city.

While dwarf goats are now allowed, there are new restrictions in place that will affect most citizens owning animals. The ordinance includes:

• Limit of up to six total regulated animals, including chickens, ducks, rabbits, miniaturized goats and beehives (one beehive will count as a specially regulated animal)
• Six-foot fences will be required to enclose these regulated animals
• Licensing and compliance will be required for all specially regulated animals to control for space and odors
• A limit of up to three dogs and/or cats combined for detached single family homes
• A limit of up to two dogs and/or cats combined for multiple family dwellings
• The slaughter of all animals will be prohibited

Voting for the ordinance were Council Members Conklin, Spangenberg, Swanson, and Mulcahy. Voting against the ordinance were Council Members Keeble and Keegan. Councilman Riddle was not present.

While this debate often revolved around goats as a nuisance or not, in fact City officials were asked to deal not only with a neighbor dispute, but to create a compromise between what Edgewater has been as a city throughout the 20th century to what it is evolving into as more citizens embrace a sustainable lifestyle.

The regulations in this ordinance at times are more restrictive than our neighboring communities, especially for those who would like to reserve the right to make decisions about how we obtain and care for our food including humanely culling small farm animals. The small urban farmers of Edgewater will face new challenges and regulations. Despite this, I hope more citizens will be encouraged to create their own sustainable backyard food systems as we cultivate a stronger community of those who are looking to better take care of our health and City through local food.

Joel Newton

Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.