Interested in Keeping Chickens? You Can Have Up to Six Without Planning Board Approval

Burlington Town Meeting approved a zoning bylaw that eases the process for those who want to keep hen chickens.

Town Meeting voted on Monday to a zoning bylaw change that makes it easier for people looking to keep up to six chickens in their yard. The change was to Burlington Zoning Bylaw 4.3.1.12 which read as "The keeping of animals other than the usual household pets, subject to restrictions of the Board of Health." The bylaw now reads "The keeping of animals, other than the usual household pets or more than 6 hen chickens; subject to the restriction of the Board of Health." The zoning this applies to is RO, or one-family dwelling districts. The change means that anyone looking to keep up to six hen chickens no longer need approval by the Planning Board. They must still get approval by the Board of Health and follow the regulations put forward by…

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Richard Hosford

10:41 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

J. Parker, haha, sadly not. Though I will say the whole 'roosters only crowing at dawn' thing is a farce. When I was in the Peace Corps in Bolivia the family that were my neighbors had a couple of roosters and they would start making noise at about 3 a.m. Way before I wanted my alarm to go off!   more ›

Burlington Town Meeting Approves Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Town Meeting unanimously approved a 17-month moratorium on any applications for medical marijuana dispensaries in town.

Burlington Town Meeting voted unanimously last night to approve a moratorium, put forward by the Planning Board, on medical marijuana dispensaries in town. The moratorium would prohibit any application for a marijuana dispensary until June 30 of 2014. The rational for the moratorium, explained Planning Director Kirsten Kassner, was to give the town time to come up with regulations and to give the State Department of Public Health time to provide its regulations and recommendations. According to the law, which was passed as a ballot initiative during the Nov. 6, 2012 election, the Department of Public Health has 120 days to come up with regulations on the state level. The Planning Board recommended a moratorium, rather than a prohibition, …

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Patch Facts

5T: Anime Club, Bridge Games and Public Meetings

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Planning Board to Recommend Moratorium on Marijuana Dispensaries

The Planning Board voted last week to recommend that Town Meeting approve a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries until June 30, 2014.

The Burlington Planning Board voted unanimously during last Thursday's meeting to recommend that Town Meeting approve a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensary applications until June 30, 2014. The next Town Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 28. The warrant article was put forward by the board to give the town more time to figure out what restrictions can legally be placed on the dispensaries. It will also give town officials time to better asses the public's will when it comes to medical marijuana sales in town. The moratorium was originally suggested by member Paul Raymond, who said he thought it was important that the town have more time to react to the new law allowing marijuana dispensaries, which was passed as a ballot measure in the …

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5T: Public Meeetings, School Volunteers and You Ask, Patch Answers

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5T: Blood Drive, New Career Help and Teen Meeting at the Library

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5T: Glass Harmonica Concert, Help Sandy Victims with a Tweet and Today's Weather

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Five Things: Anime Club, Foreign Affairs Talk and Health & Safety Fair

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5 Things: Afternoon Showers, Planning Board Meeting and Kid Movie Time

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Burlington Planning Director Heading to Billerica

The Planning Board wished Planning Director Anthony Fields thanks for his years of service last week.

After 21 years of service in town Planning Director Anthony (Tony) Fields will be leaving his post for a spot in his hometown of Billerica. Planning Board Chair Paul Roth informed everyone at the meeting last Thursday of Fields' departure and offered his thanks for his work in town. "Tony has been a great asset for the town and this board," Roth said. "He has a lot of knowledge up there in his head." Roth also joked that the board would continue to call on the Planning Director even after he moved to his new position. "Billerica is going to get annoyed with us because we're going to keep on calling you." Fields first started in Burlington as the assistant planner in 1991. In 1994 he took on his current position as the planning director. …

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