10-year-old can temporarily keep her pet chickens, as College Township Council waives appeals fee
Maeve Elliott, 10, will be able to temporarily keep her pet chickens — for a few more months at least — after College Township’s council waived the Elliotts’ fees Monday for appealing to the zoning hearing board, clearing the way for the family to challenge the ordinance that forbids chickens.
Maeve raised four baby chicks into chickens during the pandemic, an exercise that her pediatrician called “important” for her well-being. But College Township’s zoning enforcement officer told the family on May 15, the date of Maeve’s 10th birthday, that the chickens would have to go due to an old “farm-use ordinance” — or the family would face fines totaling up to $500 per day after June 30.
So on Monday, two days before enforcement, the College Township Council voted unanimously in a special meeting to approve a one-time waiver of the $600 fee for the Elliotts’ appeal to the zoning hearing board. Maeve’s mother, Jackie Elliott, told the Centre Daily Times her family now plans to appeal by Tuesday morning.
“We appreciate the council taking time out of their busy schedule to meet and discuss this,” Jackie said. “It does make it a little bit easier to go ahead.”
According to officials, upon receipt of the appeal, the hearing for the zoning board will then take place within 60 days. A ruling will not come until as many as 45 days after that, and the Elliotts will then have about another 30 days after the ruling to become fully compliant if the ruling goes against them and they don’t plan to appeal to a higher court. During the entirety of the township appeals process, which has the potential to last about four months, Maeve will be allowed to keep her pet chickens and the fines will not accumulate.
Jackie said the news is sure to soothe her 10-year-old girl, who’s been inconsolable the last few days as the deadline drew near for Purple, Waffles, El and Banana.
For their part, council members reiterated Monday that their hands are mostly tied. They could not compel the zoning enforcement officer to drop the case, and they noted the special meeting had to be held at the last minute because they had to legally advertise the meeting, open for public comment, etc. — all of which takes time.
“It’s certainly not lack of empathy on the council’s part,” councilman Rich Francke said. “I would hope that this council has shown nothing but a history of empathy in matters of ours.”
Although the Elliotts did not attend the meeting in-person — Jackie and Maeve followed along virtually — several supporters did show up, including Maeve’s 9-year-old friend from Julian who also has pet chickens.
Maeve’s young friend, Ella, read to the council from index cards while council members smiled along. She told them how her heart “goes nuts” every time Maeve shows off her chickens.
“I love those chickens,” Ella said, “but Maeve loves them even more.” She continued, “If you break my best friend’s heart, you’ll break mine too.”
Ella’s mother, Laura Van Velsor, also implored the council to, “Please help restore my faith in humanity. ... You don’t have to know anything about chickens to know this is unjust.”
It is unknown exactly when the zoning board will hear the Elliotts’ case or how it might rule. But Van Velsor and Jackie Elliott both felt this was a positive step forward — and Maeve is now potentially a step closer to hugging her chickens for years, instead of days.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
