Farm Animals in El Cerrito? Menagerie of Views at Public Meeting

Emotions ran high last night at El Cerrito City Hall when about three dozen people showed up with sharply divided views on keeping barnyard animals in the city.

City staff has produced a draft proposal that would allow, for example, up to four hens or two pot-bellied pigs under much easier conditions than the current expensive and time-consuming requirement of obtaining a use permit from the Planning Commission.

One side complained of stink, health hazards, dangers (from bee stings and swarms), noise and reduced property values, while the other said home-based farm animals can provide a healthier, less expensive diet that is kinder to the animals and the planet.

Resident LaPreal Moore told Patch she lives next door to a home that is illegally keeping chickens without a use permit. "We have the run-off, the stench, the flies," she told Patch. "I will leave the city of El Cerrito if this is allowed."

Joanna Gomes said during public comments that the proposal "seems very reasonable. It seems well thought-out."

Resident Kyle Brunelle lambasted mass-scale processed methods, saying the home-based approach is healthier. "The current state of food production in this country is an embarrassment," he told the gathering.

Resident Roberta Shaw read aloud a message from her husband, Frederick Shaw, a doctor of public health currently in India, who wrote that "pathogens which are benign in some animal life can be deadly in humans. Because of this, it is commonly the case that farm animals are excluded from urban areas."

In the first part of the meeting, city officials asked members of the public to write their comments on large pads of paper mounted on easels and the walls of the chamber. The comments reflected the diversity of views.

"Gaga for Goats," read one.

"Fire the people responsible for this!" wrote another.

"Cheese," was added by someone else.

"This is not a done deal," Assistant City Manager Karen Pinkos said, possibly in a conciliatory gesture to the more restive members of the audience. She said that the proposal, if the staff decides to forward it, would likely go to the City Council before year's end.

"I really appreciate that we've had some very strong opinions here tonight," she said at the end of the meeting. "We have a lot to think about, and we have a lot to work on before bringing it to the City Council, if we bring it to the City Council."