Letter to the Editor: Process Moving Along for Goat and Chicken Ordinances, Support is Appreciated

Editor's Note: This letter to the editor was submitted to Patch by Kathe Barsotti, a Town of Herndon resident. It is an update to a letter she submitted recently asking for residents' support for the Town Council redrafting ordinances to allow residents to keep miniature pet goats on their properties.

Letters to the editor can be submitted to Herndon Patch Editor Jennifer van der Kleut at jennifer.vanderkleut@patch.com.


Thank you all for your support. The goat resolution passed on Aug. 13 at the Town Council meeting! There were three people who stood up and spoke in favor of having goats in town. The resolution was passed unanimously along with three other resolutions.

This is just the preliminary resolution, which means that the ZOTA (zoning ordinance text amendment) will now be handled by the Planning and Zoning staff, who will be rewriting the ordinance. The process could take up to six months.  

There will be a working meeting on Oct. 7 that you may attend with me if you like. Public comment is not taken at working meetings, but it is a good opportunity to see how staff is working the process.  

Please feel free to send them a fresh comment on what you might like to see in the ordinance, such as:

• Lots of 10,000 square feet or greater only

• Addressing size requirements of goats (such as, under 100 lbs each)

• Number of goats (no more than 2-3 adult females with kids under the ages of 6 months), or no more than 2 to 3 'wethers,' or fixed male goats) 

• Goat housing structures to be no less than two feet from backyard fencing

• Backyard fencing to contain miniature goats should be no lower than four feet and will contain animals at all times

To get the law changed, we need 50 people sending in letters and checking in regularly to make sure the process is moving forward. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested!  

We currently have about a dozen folks writing in to the positive and maybe a handful of folks writing in to the negative.  You can send your comments about what you would like to see in regards to the specifics of the law to: community.development@herndon-va.gov.

You can send in continuing comments in support of moving forward with allowing goats in the Town of Herndon to:  
Facts to know about miniature pet goats, which you can show your support for:

• Miniature goats are smaller than labradors

• Their manure does not attract flies and can be used as garden fertilizer

• They are naturally quiet animals (to avoid attracting predators) and their bleats have been measured at decibel levels below that of barking dogs and lawn mowers

• Goats eat invasive weeds such as poison ivy, English ivy and kitchen scraps, thus reducing the need for kitchen trash pickup

• Nigerian dwarf goats are good dairy goats and will reduce the carbon emissions in our neighborhoods as folks can get milk in their backyards!

The Town Council is also considering allowing small, micro flocks of hens to allow residents the pleasures of fresh homegrown eggs and the fun of chicken watching! 

The goats are governed under the zoning ordinances and the hens are governed under the Town Code, so each issue must be addressed individually with the Town.  Please send your comments in now, asking for the Town to change our Code to allow for more than one pet hen in town.  

Hens are social animals and should not be kept only one at a time as pets. Small, micro flocks of two to 12 hens (no roosters or guinea hens) make very little noise - hens usually only cluck to announce the arrival of an egg!  And their sounds have been measured at decibel levels below that of barking dogs and gas-powered lawn equipment.  

One dozen hens make less manure than two 30-pound dogs, and their manure can be composted into energy-packed garden fertilizer. Properly cared for, there is no smell or noise issues with hens, and they eat bugs and other vermin such as ants, ticks, slugs, and mice. Plus, hens are great fun to watch as they chase after a particularly juicy bug, and they can be trained to hop into your lap for a petting session!  

You can send your comments to change the code for the better to the Town Council, Manager, and Lawyer at town.clerk@herndon-va.gov.

If anyone would like to come visit the goats and hens and see how well they are kept and how much fun they can be, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail or give  me a call. You can also see some of our chickens at the Herndon Farmers Market this Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Herndon Environmental Network booth.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support!


Kathe Barsotti
Town of Herndon resident
kathebarsotti@gmail.com


What do you think of the ideas of allowing town residents to keep minature pet goats, chickens and hens in this manner? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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