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����vlog EIGHT NEWS AT SIX. MORE CENTRAL IOWA CITIES HAVE STARTED TO ALLOW BACKYARD CHICKENS. ����vlog INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER SUZANNE BEHNKE TALKED TO ONE WOMAN WHO IS FIGHTING TO HAVE HER TOWN ADDED TO THAT LIST. WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF CITIES CONSIDER ORDINANCES FOR BACKYARD CHICKENS IN RECENT YEARS. IN 2024 ALONE, INDIANOLA ADOPTED ONE. BUT BONDURANT DECIDED NOT TO. NO MATTER THE CITY, THERE’S A LOT OF PASSION SURROUNDING THIS ISSUE. I’D LIKE TO HAVE BACKYARD HENS IN PARTICULAR. BONNIE LOYD LIVES IN COLFAX. SHE’S ON A CRUSADE FOR HER FUTURE FLOCK. CURRENTLY, THEY DO NOT ALLOW US ANY HENS OR CHICKENS OF ANY SORT. COLFAX LEADERS DECIDED IN RECENT YEARS TO NOT ALLOW BACKYARD FLOCKS ON LOTS SMALLER THAN FOUR ACRES. THEY WENT THROUGH A LONG PROCESS OF DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH HORSES AND CHICKENS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT ANIMALS, AND SOME THINGS ARE ALLOWED ON A THREE AND A HALF ACRE OR MORE PLOT, WHICH BASICALLY SAYS THE TYPICAL HOUSE IN TOWN IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANIMALS. LOYD WANTS THAT TO CHANGE. SHE PLANS TO BRING A PETITION TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY. SO FAR, SHE’S COLLECTED NEARLY 150 SIGNATURES. HENS HAVE A LOT OF BENEFITS TO THEM, LIKE YOU CAN HAVE WASTE REDUCTION, SO ANY FOOD SCRAPS YOU HAVE, INSTEAD OF THROWING THEM OUT, IT COULD GO TO GOOD USE. AND THEN ALSO THEIR NATURAL PEST CONTROL. THEY’LL EAT ALL SORTS OF BUGS FOR YOU, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE ALL THOSE CHEMICALS. AND THE OBVIOUS REASON THE MAIN ONE IS THE EGGS. THE IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES NOTES ON ITS WEBSITE THAT BACKYARD CHICKENS HAVE BECOME A GROWING TREND IN IOWA. IT CITES THE BENEFITS, BUT ALSO SOME CHALLENGES LIKE SMELL AND NOISE. ����vlog INVESTIGATES CHECKED IN WITH 30 CITIES IN DALLAS AND POLK COUNTIES. MORE THAN HALF ALLOW CHICKENS. LOYD SAYS SHE RESEARCHED OTHER ORDINANCES BEFORE STARTING HER PETITION ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. THE COUNCIL LAST CONSIDERED THE LIVESTOCK ORDINANCE THAT INCLUDES CHICKENS IN LATE 2024. THE MAYOR OF COLFAX ISN’T EXPECTING A CHANGE, BUT TWO THINGS I WAS NOT GIVEN WHEN I BECAME MAYOR. I DIDN’T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL. I DIDN’T HAVE A MONEY TREE. I CAN’T PREDICT ALL THE THINGS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN. COLFAX LEADERS SAY THEY CONDUCTED A STUDY BEFORE THE DECEMBER 2024 VOTE. THE COUNCIL DECIDED 4 TO 1 ON ALLOWING LIVESTOCK ON 3.5 ACRE LOTS. MONDAY’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING STARTS AT 7 P.M. YOU CAN SEE A FULL LIST OF POLK AND DALLAS COUNTY CITIES ON ����vlog.COM. AND THE MAYOR JUST TELLS IT LIKE IT IS. THANK YOU SUZANNE. MOST CITIES THAT ALLOW CHICKENS HAVE SPECIFIC RULES ABOUT NUMBERS, AND CLOSURES AND GETTING PERMITS. ONLY ONE CITY, DES MOINES, ALLOWS ROOSTERS. ����vlog HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS AS MORE COMMUNITIES DISCUSS AND IMPLEMENT RULES. YO