As many of you may already know, Maine voters approved the "Right to food" amendment to our state constitution in 2021. This amendment provided Mainers with "a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being." What this means, in part, is that we as Mainers, now have a constitutionally protected right to raise a reasonable amount of livestock(as long as it isnt causing harm to the local enviorment, or breaking any laws) on OUR OWN property. We no longer have to depend on  the corporations and large food producers to provide us with food. We were given a right to be able to do things on our own terms on the property that we have all worked so hard to purchase. What you may not be aware of is the fact that local governments, such as the town of Hermon, are still pushing their Zoning laws and preventing people in certain zones from being able to raise ANY animals for themselves and/or for their families. As a member of the local community of Hermon, I can completely understand why such zoning laws exist, and am not trying to say that someone should be able to raise 10 cows on their 1/4 acre lot, directly next to your home. Certain situations such as the example I have provided, would inhibit your right to be able to live happily and without disturbance. The issue that was recently brought to my attention, was the fact that nobody in zoning district A is permitted even a single chicken. In the other zones, lots that are an acre or larger are permitted to have a set limit of larger animals as well. I learned this when I myself called the town office to request a permit to build a chicken coop on my lot that is over 1 acre. I was informed that I would be in violation of the zoning. What was even more appalling to me is that there are others in my zone who are about to get their small flocks of chickens forcibly removed from THEIR property that they own and pay taxes on. As citizens of Maine, the first state in the United states to pass a constitutionally protected right to food, we should not be told whether or not we can have a reasonable number of animals on our land. Upon further research I found that we are one of the very few cities in which this ordinance exists. Larger Maine cities such as Portland or Bangor, where people's property is much smaller, and homes are closer in proximity, are allowed a certain number of chickens or ducks.  Zoning laws should not be so black and white. Each district that would like to keep farm animals out of their zone should be allowed to enact this but only to properties who are too small to support the livestock. Each piece of land is different, as it is in my area. Some homes are close together and some have plenty of space for animals to live. This is why in those districts, they should not be able to outright BAN the owning of animals, especially smaller animals such as poultry birds. It may be a reasonable request to require you get a permit for larger animals after inspection of the area in question, but a ban on poultry birds especially is unnecessary. Most homes across the town of Hermon have land that can support poultry without any sort of nuisance to the neighboring properties or the enviorment of our city. Land over one acre is also plenty large enough to support a small amount of larger livestock regardless of whether we are zoned as a "residential" area. I will be spending time writing something up that is fair, both to the owners of the property who would like to raise animals, and to the cities' reasonable request to not want animals overruning an area and causing problems for neighbors or delicate ecosystems. Everyone, no matter where you live (excluding apartments where you have no yard) can raise a few chickens while causing absolutely no harm to the neighbors or ecosystem. Therefore, town ordinances that are written in black and white stating that "if you live in this big square on the map, your constitutionally protected rights to food are revoked" are completely unconstitutional and require further examination.

To sum things up. This petition is to request that the town of Hermon allow everyone living within its borders the right to own poultry birds. It is also to request that those who own property larger than 1 acre, have the right to request a permit to own a small number of larger animals as long as those animals do not cause problems for the neighboring homes and/or ecosystem.

It should be on a case by case situation, and understandably with a set of rules for those people who do end up getting the approved permit to own the animals in a district that otherwise would not allow them.

I am sick of the ticks on my property and one of the biggest reasons I wanted some poultry birds, other than being provided with a fresh source of food, was to help mitigate the tick population on my land. The tick issue is a losing battle that the entire state of Maine and myself have been affected by. I have been fighting  Lyme disease for 2 years and it has affected me in every way, making my life increasingly more difficult. I grew up with chickens and would love for my future children and your children to be allowed the opportunity to experience the joy of providing for yourself in a sustainable manner. 

Help me with the steps I need to take to fight this unconstitutional ban. I request that you take action in signing this petition, calling our town office to give them your opinions or concerns, or attending the Hermon town meetings with me to discuss this further with our elected officials. We can all work together to make this work for each and every member of the town of Hermon.

To make a strong case, I am focused on collecting signatures within Hermon only. Thanks to all others for your interest, and keep up the fight!

Below, I have listed the emails and phone numbers of all of the elected officials. 

Howard Kroll-Town manager

207-848-1010

krollh@hermonmaine.gov

Jeseffa Murphy-Code Enforcement

207) 848-1042

murphyj@hermonmaine.gov

Steven Thomas-Town Council Chair

 thomas70ss@yahoo.com

  

 (207) 735-8977

Anthony Reynolds-Town Councilor - Vice Chair

reynoldst@hermon.net

 (207)-745-6126

Charles Lever IV-Town Councilor
 charleslever4@gmail.com
 (207)-404-4508
 

Ronald Murphy-Town Councilor 

murphy8708@roadrunner.com 

(207) 848-5462

 

Phillip Richardson- Town Councilor 

philr05@icloud.com

 (207)-299-3170

John Snyer-Town Councilor
 johnsnyer@yahoo.com
 (207) 848-8183

G. Stephen Watson-Town Councilor 

gstephen.watson@gmail.com

 (207)-478-8747