Urban farmer frustrated by Moncton's bylaw delay

A Monctonwoman is growing tired of waiting for the city to approve new bylaws that would allow residents to set up backyard farms.

The Greater Moncton Planning Commission is in the process of rewriting its planning bylaws surrounding urban farms. The existing bylaws prohibit such things as backyard chicken coops.

But the process of rewriting the local bylaws is taking too long for one proponent of urban farming.

Anne-Marie Laroche still has an empty chicken coop in her backyard.

Laroche was part of a pilot project where she and her partner kept four chickens in the backyard coop for a year.

When the project ended in the spring of 2010, she gave the chickens away to a local farmer.

Laroche said she wouldlike to have chickens return to her backyard.

"What we would like to have is a decision from the city, if it's yes or no, if they take 10 years we will use the space for something else," she said.

The urban farming pilot project was approved in 2009.

Laroche said she filed a report with the city on the pilot project in the hope that she would be able to keep a permanent flock in her backyard.

But the bylaws still havent been changed to allow urban farming in the city limits.

"We haven't heard any news. So we keep the coop and the enclosure hoping that the city will make a decision," she said.

But the Greater Moncton Planning Commission is in the midst of making several bylaw changes that will cause the delay to continue for several more months.

Bill Budd, the executive director of the planning commission, saidhe expects future bylaws to allow for backyard chickens, but it's taking a long time because the issue is tied in with so many others.

"This new plan is dealing with everything from downtown development to parks and recreation to transportation, so it's sort of part of that overall plan," he said.

Budd said the plan and municipal bylaws changes are expected go to council sometime in 2013.