What is it with politicians and chickens?

During the 1928 campaign for the White House, a Republican circular promised if candidate Herbert Hoover won, there would be “a chicken in every pot.”

Nearly a century later, Oxford Village President Joe Frost wants to put chickens in residents’ backyards. Last week, he proposed the municipality enact an ordinance to allow for the keeping of the feathered egg factories.

“I think it’s in everyone’s best interest and the village’s best interest to enable our citizens, if they choose, to be able to grow their own food,” Frost said.

According to Frost, the village’s code of ordinances “does not prohibit” having chickens, but the zoning ordinance does.

The zoning ordinance states, “The keeping, raising and breeding of animals, poultry or livestock, including farm animals and non-domestic animals and reptiles . . . shall be prohibited, except as may be permitted by and under conditions of public safety, comfort, convenience and quiet use of property imposed by the Zoning Board of Appeals.”

Frost said he finds it “a little ironic” that state law now permits every household in the village to grow up to 12 marijuana plants, but the local ordinance says “no chickens.”

In a May 6 memo, Frost outlined the benefits, as he sees them, of allowing village residents to raise chickens. Those benefits include raising your own food and maintaining its quality, providing “teachable moments for village families” and opening up opportunities for village children to participate in 4-H and similar programs.

Under the draft ordinance Frost submitted, residents would be allowed to keep “no more than four hen chickens at any time” and male chickens (roosters) would be prohibited. Slaughtering of chickens on the property would be prohibited.

Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth pointed out that unlike chickens, “marijuana plants don’t attract rats.”

“I had several neighbors with chickens. We had a huge rat problem. Chickens gone, rats gone,” she said. “So, I think we want to be really careful.”

“I will take the marijuana plants over the rats any day,” Helmuth added.

It’s not the chickens themselves that attract rats. It’s the associated things such as unsecured food and coops that can bring rodents searching for a meal and shelter.

Councilwoman Kate Logan suggested the village could implement a pilot program for one or two years during which it issues a limited number of permits to keep chickens in order to “see how it goes.”

She also suggested that those who apply for permits be required to attend some type of educational program regarding the practice.

Logan noted her intent isn’t to make it “unrealistic” for people to do this. She just wants to “narrow” things down to help ensure only people who are “very serious” about raising chickens receive permits.

Logan also suggested that people who receive permits be required to sign a waiver that would allow the village to conduct an inspection “at any time without warning” in order to catch violations.

Village attorney Bob Davis warned council that getting involved in this area means balancing Michigan’s Right to Farm Act with the local zoning ordinance. He said when those two come into conflict, “the Right to Farm Act always wins.”

Davis said this act is “a strong Michigan statute,” so the village would have to look carefully at what it could “reasonably require people to do” without violating it.

“Once you give them permission to do something (that’s covered under the Right to Farm Act), they get a lot of latitude,” he said.

Council voted to set the issue aside until its July 9 regular meeting to allow more time for research. Meetings start at 6:30 p.m.