For more details on what's happening with this group, check out our Facebook page!
2014
Fall: The Law & Courts Committee plans to vote on the draft after a new Ingham County Animal Control Director is hired, so that the director can have input on the issue.
April 17: Commissioner Tennis presented an updated draft (revisions from a working on April 1) to the Law & Courts Committee.
2013
April - December: A few meetings of this group to discuss revisions to the draft ordinance, including minimum space for goats, how to manage waste, requiring at least two goats, and exempting goats under 12 weeks of age from minimum numbers of goats allowed.
March 25: The Animal Control Advisory Board voted to recommend the draft dairy goat ordinance! After some revisions, it's next stop will be the Law & Courts Committee of the Board of County Commissioners.
Jan 29: Dairy goats were back on the agenda of the Ingham County Animal Control Advisory Board. Based on discussion at the meeting, County Commissioner Todd Tennis decided to draft a proposal for urban dwarf goats to present at the next meeting.
2012
See individual updates on the blob.
*Note: Names were left out of all the people involved in the legalization process in 2011 notes as a courtesy.
2011
2014
Fall: The Law & Courts Committee plans to vote on the draft after a new Ingham County Animal Control Director is hired, so that the director can have input on the issue.
April 17: Commissioner Tennis presented an updated draft (revisions from a working on April 1) to the Law & Courts Committee.
2013
April - December: A few meetings of this group to discuss revisions to the draft ordinance, including minimum space for goats, how to manage waste, requiring at least two goats, and exempting goats under 12 weeks of age from minimum numbers of goats allowed.
March 25: The Animal Control Advisory Board voted to recommend the draft dairy goat ordinance! After some revisions, it's next stop will be the Law & Courts Committee of the Board of County Commissioners.
Jan 29: Dairy goats were back on the agenda of the Ingham County Animal Control Advisory Board. Based on discussion at the meeting, County Commissioner Todd Tennis decided to draft a proposal for urban dwarf goats to present at the next meeting.
2012
See individual updates on the blob.
*Note: Names were left out of all the people involved in the legalization process in 2011 notes as a courtesy.
2011
Nov 4: emailed the
Director of Ingham County Animal Control. I remember contacting someone from Ingham county Animal Control with questions about the legality of backyard chickens and they were helpful and willing to took things up for me. Maybe she will be willing to answer some questions?
Nov 4: emailed a member of the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board. I contacted her back when the chicken amendment was going through and she was helpful.
Nov 6: emailed Jennie Grant, creator of the Goat Justice League based in Seattle. Hopefully she can give me some advice.
Nov 6: emailed the vice-president of the Lansing City Council. I have personally met this person and she should recognize my name. I know she is a supporter of the local food movement because she is also involved in a community farmer's market and other nutrition and gardening education efforts.
Nov 6: emailed another Lansing City Council member who (according to the Lansing Backyard Poultry Meetup Group) was a supporter of the Lansing backyard chicken ordinance passed in 2009.
Nov 7: I decided to re-write the Ingham County chicken ordinance for miniature goats as I would eventually like to see it. I added a few things important to goat-keeping that didn't apply to chicken-keeping (such as castration of males, and dehorning).
Nov 7: emailed the County Commissioner for my district. This is the first person on the Ingham county commission I have contacted. Since changing the Ingham county ordinance may be simpler than changing the city of Lansing ordinance, I thought it would be a good idea to contact someone form the county. Since I don't personally know any of the commissioners (or know of them), I just choose the commissioner from my district.
Nov 9: I'm getting frustrated because I have yet to hear back from a single person (and I've emailed 6 people so far). I realize it has only been a few days and these are all busy people, but I would at least like somebody to acknowledge that they received my email.
Nov 9: emailed the chairperson of the Ingham County Commissioners.
Nov 9: emailed the vice-chairperson of the Ingham County Commissioners.
Nov 9: emailed the coordinator for the Ingham County Board of Commissioners to ask if county commission meetings are open to the public and if community members are allowed to speak in front of the board. I told her about my proposed amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance and asked if she knew what I should do?
Nov 10: After running into a bunch of weird glitches on the Ingham County website (I swear that half of the stuff I was able to find today, wasn't there yesterday), I found out that the next full board meeting for the Ingham County Commission is on November 22. Assuming they allow public comment, I plan on attending the meeting and proposing my miniature goat amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance. Hopefully some of the people I have contacted will respond by then (it has been almost a week for some of them with no reply) and be able to give me some suggestions.
Nov 10: I found out today that the county commissioner for my district is also on the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board. Maybe this will be to my advantage?
Nov 15: It has been at least 6 days (and as many as 10 days) since I emailed certain city/county officials and other important persons. I have still not heard back from any of the nine people I have contacted regarding legalizing goats in Lansing. NINE people, and not a single response! I guess I'll have to start calling these people up!
Nov 10: After running into a bunch of weird glitches on the Ingham County website (I swear that half of the stuff I was able to find today, wasn't there yesterday), I found out that the next full board meeting for the Ingham County Commission is on November 22. Assuming they allow public comment, I plan on attending the meeting and proposing my miniature goat amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance. Hopefully some of the people I have contacted will respond by then (it has been almost a week for some of them with no reply) and be able to give me some suggestions.
Nov 10: I found out today that the county commissioner for my district is also on the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board. Maybe this will be to my advantage?
Nov 15: It has been at least 6 days (and as many as 10 days) since I emailed certain city/county officials and other important persons. I have still not heard back from any of the nine people I have contacted regarding legalizing goats in Lansing. NINE people, and not a single response! I guess I'll have to start calling these people up!
Nov 15: I called Ingham County Commission trying to contact the board coordinator, but got someone else instead. She took down my contact information, the names of the 3 commission members I had emailed (and not heard back from), and the basic gist of what I'm trying to do. She said she would relay the information to the board coordinator and have her call me back. She also said that the full board meetings are open to the public and there is time for public comment (3 minutes per person) at the end of the meeting (and possibly also at the beginning of the meeting). The next full board meeting is a week from today, on November 22.
Nov 15: The board coordinator emailed me back quite soon after speaking with the person I talked to on the phone. She suggested that I contact the Animal Control Director and discuss the issue with her first, before speaking at a board meeting. This particular email was CC'd to the Animal Control Director (so hopefully she'll see me coming) and the Ingham County Deputy Controller (I'm not sure why).
Nov 16: I left a voice mail with with the director of Ingham County Animal Control.
Nov 16: I left a voice mail with with the director of Ingham County Animal Control.
Nov 16: Progress! The Animal Control director called me back and she was great! She said that the best place to start the process of legalization would be with the Animal Control Advisory Board, not the County Commission. She said that an advisory board member was the one to introduce the chicken amendment and the chicken amendment went though pretty easily! However goats might be a more difficult "sell" since they are so much bigger. She said that chickens were legalized by making an "exception" to the Animal Control Ordinance, that goats could also be written as an "exception".
She told me who to contact on the the Animal Control Advisory Board and said she even offered to call ahead and introduce me! Unfortunately, the Advisory Board only meets ever other month, but the next meeting happens to be November 28!
She said that I should make handouts of my proposal to give to the board members at the meeting. I should include as much information as possible about keeping goats and explain how urban goats will improve my (and others) quality of life. I should be prepared to discuss the number, size, breed, and gender of goats appropriate for backyard keeping, as well as shelter size, fencing, and sanitation issues. She said I need to be prepared to answer any questions and dispel any fears that the board members may have. She commented that their main concern may likely be sanitation issues and smell.
I was excited to hear all the stuff she wants me to discuss, because I have already researched nearly all of it and/or written about it! I've even spent some time re-writing the Animal Control Ordinance to include a goat exception (using the chicken exception as a template).
Nov 16: I called my new contact on the Animal Control Advisory Board. She didn't really have any new information for me, but sounded very welcoming and receptive! She said that I can take up to 7 minutes to present my proposal.
After I give my presentation, the board will discuss privately. I may not hear back until the next Advisory Board meeting in January. I'm not sure if the Advisory Board has direct control over the Animal Control Ordinance or if they will have to submit a proposal to the County Commission. It would be really exciting (and potentially a quick process) if the Advisory Board's decision directly led to an amendment of the Animal Control Ordinance!
Nov 29: So I attended the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory board meeting last night. I was surprised because they actually put me on the agenda (so I had more time than a normal public comment). I handed out my information packets, gave my presentation, and then the board asked me some questions and we had some discussion. It was very informal (plus there were only 6 board members) and they were very nice and enthusiastic.
Overall, I think it went really well! They said that my info packet was really good and thorough (and joked that they should have me write proposals for them in the future). They mentioned that I might have to give my presentation again in the future (I'm assuming they are referring to a county comission meeting). A representative from the county is on this advisory board and he said that he would be happy to bring this up with the county commission. However, since we're getting towards the end of the year (and a lot of people either switch or end positions around this time of year), he said that he probably wouldn't be able to do anything until January.
I was really pleased with how it went. However, I'm not really sure what to expect at this point. I don't know if I should be expecting someone to contact me or if I will have to keep in touch with them. The next full board county commission meeting is December 13. I guess I'll probably wait until after that before contacting anyone asking for an estimate timeline.
Nov 29: So I attended the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory board meeting last night. I was surprised because they actually put me on the agenda (so I had more time than a normal public comment). I handed out my information packets, gave my presentation, and then the board asked me some questions and we had some discussion. It was very informal (plus there were only 6 board members) and they were very nice and enthusiastic.
Overall, I think it went really well! They said that my info packet was really good and thorough (and joked that they should have me write proposals for them in the future). They mentioned that I might have to give my presentation again in the future (I'm assuming they are referring to a county comission meeting). A representative from the county is on this advisory board and he said that he would be happy to bring this up with the county commission. However, since we're getting towards the end of the year (and a lot of people either switch or end positions around this time of year), he said that he probably wouldn't be able to do anything until January.
I was really pleased with how it went. However, I'm not really sure what to expect at this point. I don't know if I should be expecting someone to contact me or if I will have to keep in touch with them. The next full board county commission meeting is December 13. I guess I'll probably wait until after that before contacting anyone asking for an estimate timeline.
