The chickens & bees in your back yard

The city of Cleveland's  City Planning Commission is considering livestock ordinance to allow the keeping of/ tending chickens, goats, bees and livestock within the city proper.

Chickens are banned in Toronto because they are considered farm animals. Violators face a $240 fine. Of course many lots would not be suitable for this type of effort in Toronto, but many would. It would require well managed inspections by the city, and excellent behavior towards the neighbors concerns from those keeping the animals.

credit: Gabe Currie

The so-called "chickens and bees" ordinance would update existing zoning to allow up to six chickens (or ducks) on the typical residential lot, provided they're located in a backyard and housed in predator-proof coops that are no closer than 10 feet

"In researching how other cities handle livestock, I found the more densely populated the city, the less restrictive they are toward chickens," Klein says, citing New York and Chicago's policy that chickens can be raised as 'pets' as long as they're only providing eggs (not for slaughter). "Creating a law that's restrictive when many (Clevelanders) are keeping chickens as pets will be a hardship, hard to enforce, and it won't make our food system more secure. If chickens are innocuous, why not make it easier for Cleveland residents?"

draft of Cleveland's livestock ordinance farm_animals_bees10-31 [link opens in new window]

from Marc Lefkowitz  submission at GreenCityBlueLake blog

The Toronto Star had a well researched article in May of this year. {link - opens in new window}

Also here is a link to the Toronto chickens site, just about everything you need to know about the issue in Toronto. {link - opens in new window}

What is a Business Improvement Area?

photo credit: srossi

Helping things to bloom in Bloor West Village

The BIA concept began in Toronto. The first BIA - and still one of the most successful - was Bloor West Village, established in 1970. Toronto now has Toronto has 64 BIAs.  Most BIA's are composed of strip high street retailers providing a great basket of services, retailers who have little in common with chain stores.  Looking at the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas web site, ...the association of Toronto BIA's. maybe their union? …you can see the vast array of events and efforts they put forth. All this effort is in aid of business success -  in sales, but most often their efforts contribute towards a community. Yet many residents in a lot of Toronto communities neither know little, nor care about their local BIA. While researching this post, it interestingly became apparent that the Bloor West Village BIA (the 1st one and one of the most successful) seemed to have a high connection to the residence community.

More info about BIA's in Toronto and what everyone wants to know, where does their money come from...

City text...

Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are geographic zones that are established to
promote designated areas as business or shopping locales. BIAs may undertake projects
to improve, beautify and maintain City-owned land or structures within the boundaries of
the BIA, and thus provide benefits to the member property owners and businesses, as
well as adjacent residential neighbourhoods. BIAs are governed by a Board of
Management and established by by-law. The operations of a BIA are funded through an
annual levy, which is billed and collected in a similar manner to property taxes, on all
commercial and industrial property owners (i.e. business properties) within the BIA.

What is the average annual levy of a Toronto BIA member?

Every business member is charged a share of the annual budget, based on that member's share of the BIA's total commercial realty assessment.

For example: If a business's commercial realty assessment is 6,000, the total commercial realty assessment of all businesses in the BIA is 2,000,000, and the BIA's annual budget is $100,000, then that business's BIA levy is:

6,000 X $100,000	= $300 average amount a business pays as a BIA levy
2,000,000

Data TABIA (see link below)

Assessment Appeal Provision for Business
Improvement Areas staff action report [opens in new window]

TABIA Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas web site [opens in new window]

Call for Urban Development ideas Junction Residents Association committee

Call for Junction Urban Development ideas

On October 9 the Junction Residents Association committee will be conducting a strategy session and we are looking to the community for urban development projects.

All ideas are welcome from the simple (more bike posts) to the over the top (permanent town square). Please also think beyond the physical side of urban development and submit ideas on job creation, enhancement of the arts and heritage preservation.

Please remember the JRA agenda is to strengthen the existing community and promote positive urban development.

Please submit your ideas before September 30 at the email address below;

jra.urban.development@gmail.com

Requested Post By Martin