Ottawa will now allow small-scale urban agriculture — a move designed to accommodate residents who want to raise chickens and to resolve a homeowner’s lawsuit over the right to sell fruit and honey.
City lawyer Blaine Finch said the goal is to let residents produce food in their yards without impinging on the welfare of their neighbors.
“Frankly, agriculture is one of the original activities in this area,” Finch told city commissioners at a recent meeting. “The city hall is built on the site of Tauy Jones’ wild berry patch … It’s as old as the community, if not older.”
The rules allow small-scale farming in neighborhoods, as long as it doesn’t create nuisances like bad odors or lots of customers visiting residential streets.
The change is a victory for Ellen Finnerty, a fruit gardener and aspiring beekeeper who sued the city earlier this year.
She had been working on a backyard orchard for a few years and taking community college classes on beekeeping. Her goal is to sell fruit and honey at a local farmer’s market.
But Ottawa’s codes didn’t allow that. The rules banned people from running home businesses that involve animals. They also appeared to prohibit so much as selling a tomato grown in your backyard.
Not anymore.
The commission voted last week in favor of a suite of codes that acknowledge urban agriculture and set rules for it.
The new rules allow people to keep hens for egg-laying. They also set guidelines for beekeeping.
And the rules distinguish urban farming from other kinds of animal-related work. That means it will now be legal to take homegrown honey and eggs to the farmer’s market.
Some other kinds of animal businesses, such as at-home dog kennels, remain banned.
Finnerty was scared that the city’s previous rules put her at risk of fines or jail. She challenged the rules with representation from the Kansas Justice Institute — the legal arm of the Kansas Policy Institute, a small-government think tank.
Her lawyer argued the city’s rules violated the Kansas Constitution, which guarantees the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Ottawa’s lawyer asked the judge in a filing to throw out Finnerty’s case. But the filing also signaled city officials were open to changing the codes. It said officials were already working to address public requests to allow chicken coops.
