Animals breathe a sigh of relief

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

Barnyard animals won’t be trailering out of Berwick.

Council killed a proposed bylaw covering non-domestic animals at its Nov. 13 session, following a public hearing.

The topic has been kicking around the Planning Advisory Committee for more than a year, with council making a failed run through first and second reading earlier this year.

The revised bylaw came back in October: the only change a reduction in lot limitations from five acres to four.

Berwick Mayor John Prall was the only member of council to vote in favour.

“It’s time in my mind a decision was made - we’ve been hedging for a long time,” Prall said.

He said the town looked at reducing the five-acre limit to four, three and even two acres, but “even three acres causes a bit of a problem when you look at the number of residential lots affected.”

At the public hearing, Main Street resident Mike Larsen said, the way he reads the bylaw, lot size won’t matter when property owners try and comply with the limits on manure storage - none is allowed.

“I just can’t believe we’re back here five months later - and it causes me great concern I bothered to come out last time - and see now the disconnect between what PAC was talking about then and now.”

Larsen said his five-acre property qualified before and still does size-wise, but he abuts 24 other residential properties.

“Trying to legislate common sense is very difficult, and the town should be concentrating efforts on someone who can go and mediate between neighbours.”

Main Street resident Brad Morse keeps goats and chickens in his residential yard: “There is a lot down by me zoned residential with 40 cows and, if I wanted to lodge a complaint, I could.”

PAC chairwoman and Deputy Mayor Beth Easson clarified the bylaw would not restrict existing animal husbandry in town, and properties would continue to be grandfathered even if sold while animals remain. Residential properties - not agricultural plots - without animals would not be allowed them in the future. She also said the bylaw’s specifications on manure were deliberate, as “we’re all on our own wells.”

On the other hand, Easson said later in council, “we’ve had two public hearings and no one was here to tell us, ‘We want this bylaw.’ Are we doing this for a reason?”

Prall said there have been on-going complaints - there are even cows in a barn directly behind the town hall in a subdivision, he said.

“This has to be talked about.”

Councillors Don Clarke and Anna Ashford Morton both spoke against the bylaw as restrictive and unnecessary.

“I think we were right on the restrictions on barbed wire and electric fencing, the sideyard (25 feet between a property line and an animal’s yard or barn) and manure, but we’re not right on the size of the lot,” Clarke said.

“We set out to prevent anyone from putting animals on a normal, 10,000-square-foot lot or in a garage - that shouldn’t happen.”

Easson asked if council defeated the bylaw, could PAC and council go back and pick out specific parts to pass on their own, say around fencing or setbacks?

Chief administrative officer Bob Ashley said yes, and also listed a number of other options: postponement, referral back to PAC for changes, adoption or defeat.

Ashford Morton called for the question, and the vote was 6-1 against the bylaw.

“Let’s move on,” Prall said.