How many of you are parents?
How many of you have nieces, nephews, God- children, or other important children in your lives? How many of those loved ones in your life were able to decide on their own where to have their children? Many of those who decided chose to have hospital births. Hospital births that didn't become a trend until the wealthy, starting in the 1920s, were convinced through media messaging that they were the trendy, up and coming, and the safest place to have their children. That's right, having babies in hospitals is a very successful PR campaign that has been around for a tiny blip in our world's history. You know what has been around since the dawn of time? Midwifery. Since babies have been arriving, midwives have been there. What does midwifery mean? Well, I looked it up for you. midwife (n.) "a woman who assists women in childbirth," c. 1300, literally "woman who is 'with' " (the mother at birth), from Middle English mid "with" -ery or -ary (word forming element) Latin "connected with, pertaining to; the man engaged in," from PIE relational adjective suffix *-yo- "of or belonging to." Midwifery means engaged with the woman at birth. Traditionally these women have been the women elders, family friends, sisters, cousins, aunts. Anyone whom the woman birthing desired to be at her side during this transition of bringing life from her womb into this existence. Women still have this choice today here in NV, and we are here to ask you to leave this choice intact. Leave Nevadans free to have whomever they want to choose to attend them, whether it is at the hospital or at home, as they currently have the choice to make. Families chose to have their babies in the hospitals every day. Yet, when a family chooses to have their child at home, in a familiar situation, they are often criticized, chastised, and told horror stories about bad outcomes. Bad outcomes happen far more frequently at the hospitals although people accept the trauma of hospital births as fact. The numbers back up the claims that, for the majority of births, being at home is actually safer than going to the hospital, and that in the occasion when birth becomes a medical event, the hospitals are there for what they are best at, emergencies. Families are traveling to Nevada to get the birth they desire, because the government in their state has decided that they are not able to take the decision into their own hands and be responsible for it. They are told the parameters under which they can give birth. These medical refugees flee to Nevada to exercise the freedom of choice. Imagine in a year, a few years, a decade, when your loved one in your life comes to you desiring to have whomever they want at their birth, and they cannot. They are crying and saying it isn't fair that the state took away this freedom and now they have to choose from only a handful of people, or go against the law. You will have that on your heart that you were a part of the pain your loved one is now in. Remember you have the choice to keep Nevada a sanctuary for not only Nevadans, but also for families across the country. Thank you for opposing this bill.
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My public comment, Kristin Gray:
We all know John Locke. He was an amazing man, and he says, “It is a Mistake to think tyranny is proper only to Monarchies; that other Forms of Government are liable to it. For where-ever the Power that is put in any hands of the Government for the People, for the Preservation of their Properties, it is applied to other ends, made use of to impoverish, harass, or subdue them to the Arbitrary and Irregular Commands of those that have the power: There it presently becomes Tyranny, whether those that thus use it are one or many.” You asked for help with this [the draft bill]. You said we’ve searched all these other towns that have these ordinances, and this is what we came up with. Well, I’ve looked across the entire country at all the ordinances [clearly not “ALL” but, quite a lot. I am just that way. I geek out on research.]; they’re not good. They’re just not good. If you want to have freedom for your people, and allow them to have chickens; then just simply say, “Poultry shall be allowed,” end stop. Uhm, and honestly the need for permits increases the costs and makes it so that only the wealthy, or those who are okay coming into the government [will do it]. A lot of people don’t like the government. They are scared of the government. They don’t have a hand to hold to walk through the process, [and] they’re not going to do it. And you’ll get complaints about this. Or they just won’t be able to provide for their families, and this is taking self sufficiency away from people. And we should be encouraging self sufficiency. Thank you. Notes plus my internal dialogue: They only had 50 copies made. There were nearly 200 people in the room at the beginning. I was lucky enough to get a copy. VR20 zoning is .46 acres (20,000 sq ft) lots and bigger. There are many lots that are well over half acre in that zone. VR stands for Village Residential. VR20 was adopted (created) in 2004, and as part of that zoning creation they stipulated no livestock in that zone. They clarified that this draft was to allow chickens in the zone to make a happy medium for parties on both sides of the issue. What they fail to realize is that the developers out there that are creating the HOAs can ban livestock/chickens via CC&Rs. They didn’t need to have it in the zoning code. There was just over 2 hours of public comment. There were approximately 33 people who gave public comments. I was trying to remember to keep track, but got a little side tracked listening and taking notes. Several people ousted themselves as living in VR20 and owning chickens “illegally,” and stated that they are not going to be getting rid of their chickens, so “shrug.” One was one of the complaints that started the ball rolling on allowing VR20 to have chickens, and this terrible draft. A couple people stated that they bought where they did because after research they were allowed to have livestock, and after they closed, within two weeks their area had been rezoned to VR20 rendering them unable to homestead on their property. After public comment there was approximately an hour of board/staff discussion on it before it was scrapped and the staff was told to bring something new to the table next month. When asked about the number of complaints that have been heard because of the VR20 zoning restrictions, no numbers were given. Based on the body language, I suggest that it has been less than 5. I would like to see real numbers on this. I will have to do research to see if they have it posted anywhere. Was stated that there were 2308 zoning complaints filed in the last year. Yet they couldn’t tell us how many specifically were for VR20 zone chickens. They keep harping on chickens, not realizing that by using the word chickens people would then not be allowed to own any other kinds of poultry. If they really want to give people freedom they need to say poultry. I would prefer if they allowed livestock within reason, based on animal husbandry ordinances that are already on the books. Many people said if these people don’t want to live rurally then kick them to Vegas. I don’t want those people in Vegas though…. When asked of the board what they considered commercial farming numbers to be, some were as little as 50 chickens. They clearly have no clue. They really should just go back into the VR20 zoning docs and strike the section that states no livestock, then allow those who don’t want any, to not have any. BOOM problem solved. Walt Turner said that he is open to discussions about changing the draft. He seemed really interested in what the people wanted, and was curious as to why the staff wrote in 10 chickens when clearly that is not enough, and they could have come to that conclusion by just asking a few people. He agrees that based on the consensus that roosters should be allowed. That there are nuisance laws that would cover roosters making unreasonable noises, but he can’t see how they are any louder than barking dogs. Based on public testimony roosters play a vital role in the protection of a flock of chickens. I really like that he is trying to play the role of for the people, by the people. He said that they needed to go back and look at other ordinances, and do some more research. They can’t just go on the ordinances, they need to remember what Pahrump is at its core. He said he grew up there, I swear he looks super familiar. I probably ran into him during HS at some point. Robert Blackstock was very quiet, and observing the whole time. He didn’t let really anything slip on his demeanor. He was very neutral on the topic with body language the whole time. His only comment was that this seems like a very controversial topic and asked if there was a way to put in a temporary ordinance, to which Brett Waggoner said, “No, that is not possible. It is an ordinance, or it is not, but ordinances can always be changed. They are never temporary. This is the third time we have had this discussion about changing the VR20 zoning to allow chickens. We either need to get this pushed through, or let it die.” Pamela Tyler - She was acting as chair as Beth Lee was not in attendance. She was mostly observant for the most part. She did mention that she herself keeps chickens. She agreed that there needs to be a quantifiable number for the ordinance, but doesn’t know what the right number is. She was concerned about the public comment person who mentioned 2-4 sq ft of space per chicken and how animal control is going to know how to deal with complaints without a minimum size of available area per chicken. Decided that the staff needed to do some research into animal husbandry of chickens to try and best draft this ordinance. She also wanted the rooster idea revisited because clearly roosters have more use than she knew of. She suggested also talking to the Dept of Ag for their take on this since this is what they do, and not what the zoning board does. She honestly seemed a bit clueless. She rolled her eyes A LOT during public comment. Was annoyed that it was taking so long, and super annoyed that so many people showed up for something that was supposed to be simple. She kept looking at the agenda and at the clock. She ultimately decided that the back and forth was going nowhere, to scrap the whole thing, and come back next month with another proposal. Jacob Skinner is one of the new guys on the board. He joked asking if they regret having him yet. He is 1000% for people having whatever they want to live freely on their land, just my personal observation. He personally has chickens. He asked many great questions to get the board thinking and was reading the draft as I do, and as a lawyer would. He was picking it apart like crazy. He thinks it is way too restrictive, and nodded when I said that it is as simple as saying “Poultry shall be allowed.” He lit up when I mentioned John Locke. I need to research him some more and see who he is. He proposed striking numbers 2 & 3 of Section D, nad #4 except for the zoning review. He them asked for Section C #4 to have clarification. He asked that they define commercial farming if they are going to keep that there. As it reads it looks like that even using the chickens for commercial purposes would be disallowed which is contradictory to what Brett Waggoner said about being able to go out of the neighborhood and sell them. Jacob also mentioned that eggs are really like a lemonade stand for families. Just a way to earn a little extra, and not really something that is a commercial enterprise. It wouldn’t disrupt the neighborhood. Brett said that no one wants to see “Fresh Egg” signs on all their neighbors yards. Jacob had many great points about the keeping of chickens, and self sufficiency, and that we do need to be encouraging it. He also said that restricting chicken coops to the backyard doesn’t make sense; that many people in town have fully fenced yards, and sometimes it makes more sense to have them in the front yard depending on how their land is. He attempted to clarify with Brett Waggoner that coops aren’t always accessory buildings, unless they were permanently affixed to the ground. As such they don’t need a 10ft setback unless people are pouring a concrete slab for it. Brett Waggoner harrumphed at that. Brett said the reason it needs to be 10ft is because if future owners don’t want chickens and they want to use it as a shed it has to have a 10ft set back. My question is why do sheds need a ten foot set back? That seems extreme. Let’s get that changed too. 10 ft out of your yard here and there takes up a lot of space, especially on the smaller lots. Jacob agreed that it is best to scrap the whole thing and send it back to the drawing board to be discussed again next month. Brett said this thing either needs to get done, or not, and that he is tired of dealing with it. Director Brett Waggoner - According to Brett’s LinkedIn he is a developer from Vegas, which speaks volumes about his actions at the meeting. HE clearly doesn’t like that people want to keep Parhump, Pahrump, and is looking to change it. He has been the “Director of Planning” since Nov 2017. Maybe it is time to replace him. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-waggoner-5ab10433/ It appears that he moved out to Pahrump in 2016, and got his spot as Director of Planning shortly thereafter. The person on staff in charge of this proposal seemed to be Director Brett Waggoner. His body language suggested that he was pissed off to no end that this many people came to propose what he feels is a good idea. He clearly has a thing against chickens. He claimed that he could get just as many people against having chickens in the room as we had for freedom and chickens. Well, why didn’t he let these chicken haters know that this meeting was going on then? I don’t like this guy. He was very combative the whole time. His body language suggested that he was taking offense to us hating what he put together. I understand the time it takes to research and put things together. He needs to learn to not take offense, and respect that the people he is supposed to be representing didn’t like what he put forth. Just go back to the drawing board and come up with something else. He said: [quotes are from my notes, and are a summary. I put them in quotes to differentiate between my thoughts about what was said, and what he said.] “Just pass this as is and we can allow people to apply for waivers to have more chickens.” Uhm, no. Do you hear yourself? That isn’t how the government works. You didn’t put in any language even suggesting this was possible, and why would I want a waiver? That leaves me open to you pulling said waiver whenever you feel like it. “We did all this research, more research isn’t going to help.” Well clearly you didn’t. One public commenter brought up Santa Monica’s ordinance where they are allowed Roosters, AND 13 chickens on their DECKS! You are talking about lots with half acre minimums and saying no roosters and only 10 hens. “We can’t pass anything saying a reasonable number because what is reasonable varies by person.” I agree with him on that point. Let’s not allow someone who is potentially having a bad day to come up with a number on a whim. “Maybe people who bought in VR20 bought there because they didn’t want to be in the farm areas.” Then why aren’t they here protesting said ordinance to allow chickens? Not a single public comment was for not allowing this. “Someone in public comment said 2-4 ft of space per chicken. That is a huge difference. We will need to look into that and maybe put something in on coop size restrictions.” But you just said more research wasn’t going to help, and we don’t need MORE restrictions. This is getting absurd. “It is a zoning review, not a permit to build. Of course they need a permit for anything over 200 sq ft, but this is just bringing it to the zoning board, that is a $25 cost. If you can afford to feed your chickens you can afford the zoning review.” Really? So you are going to take a bag and a half of chicken feed from these people just so you can say, yes you can put your coop there? “Zoning cannot change.” We all know that is a lie!!! It changes all the time! He also said “people with bigger lots can apply to have their properties re-zoned.” But you just said the zoning can’t change. So what we would have then is VR20 interspersed with other lots that are allowed to have livestock, and all these “complainers” would be complaining and wasting the zoning board's time even more. It was stated several times that the zoning is confusing for people who don’t know how to look up their zoning on their property. “We could get just as many people against allowing this ordinance as are in here wanting these people to have chickens.” They weren’t here saying NO! DON’T PASS THIS ORDINANCE ALLOWING CHICKENS IN OUR ZONE! Not a single person showed up to say we don’t like chickens, please keep our zoning chicken free. “Commercial farming is just like any home business. We can’t have people interrupting the community with your business. We don’t care if you take your eggs to farmers markets. Just no business in your community. Sounds like most of these people are just giving away eggs anyway and not actually selling them.” Well, because we aren’t going to tell you that we are selling them for “cost of feed donations.” And sorry, not sorry, he clearly doesn’t understand what “commercial farming” is. Personally - They need to either allow it or not, and not have any restrictions on it. Clearly, as evidenced by public comment, people are going to have chickens if they want them, regardless of zoning. The best thing to do would be to say, if you want poultry, get poultry. If it becomes a problem for animal control, or the sheriff, then there are consequences already outlined in other ordinances. Zoning doesn’t need to dictate how many, and where on the property they can be. The majority of people don’t need to be punished for the select few. This is toxic government at its finest. It would be great if more people who weren’t directly affected got into standing up for what they know is right, regardless. So many people walked out once it was clarified that this only affected VR20. It was sad to see. And then there was a steady trickle of people leaving as public comments went on. People need to be committed, and clearly they have never been to a meeting, like some I have been to in Vegas, where they go past midnight. The legislative session in Nevada is about to start again, and we are going to have a HUGE fight already. Plus, we have to deal with these people that are like, oh well that doesn’t affect me right now. Well let me tell you. It might not today, but it will tomorrow, and what about future generations? We need to stand up for the rights of everyone everywhere to guarantee the freedoms that this country was seeking when England was taxing without representation. It starts locally, and goes up the chain. People have the most influence locally. |
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