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Fight to keep Stanley the goat
#1
A woman in a small Ontario town is in a big fight to keep her pet goat. Jo-Anne rescued Stanley when he was a baby and he has been her constant companion ever since. He is actually a real support to her. Everyone loves him. Almost everyone that is, since one person complained to the city about the presence of a goat.
She has been told that having a goat makes her home a "hobby farm" and hobby farms are not allowed in the town.
She has been told to get rid of the goat, but a local support group has formed to fight his removal. They call themselves Stanley's Army and they have created online petitions. The town could allow Stanley to stay by granting a variance of the existing bylaw.

https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-new...nt-5387004

Stanley is one small goat, living in Jo-Anne's home. That hardly makes her place a hobby farm. He is one well behaved pet, not a herd of goats.
Bylaws are needed and they usually work fairly well to peace between neighbors. They prevent someone from actually running a hobby farm withing the town.
A small city property would be too small for any kind of farm. Problems happen in the interpreting of a bylaw. Clearly she doesn't have a farm.
It makes sense that she would need to apply for permission to keep Stanley. It would be no worse than getting a dog license. The city has ordered Jo-Anne to remove Stanley, so they are not listening and they are not being reasonable.
I just hope the petitions are enough to get the city to reconsider their decision. 
Stanley has been living as a beloved pet. Where would he go that would give him a happy life.
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Catherine

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#2
How can one animal be a "farm"? From Cambridge Dictionary: "an area of land, together with a house and buildings, used for growing crops and/or keeping animals as a business."

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/diction...glish/farm

Even the term "hobby farm" implies plural animals, not one solitary animal. The ruling could clearly be challenged legally, but it will probably be easier to try to get a zoning exemption first (as her supporters are doing).
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#3
Good point about the definition of a farm, even a hobby farm. 
They have a chance of getting a zoning exemption. Cities do it all the time.
Getting a bylaw changed is much harder. It would mean the city has to admit that its bylaw was wrong in the first place. I don't think that will happen.

I just wonder who would complain about one small goat who lives as a beloved pet and doesn't cause anyone any harm.
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Catherine

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#4
(05-22-2022, 02:55 PM)Catherine Wrote: I just wonder who would complain about one small goat who lives as a beloved pet and doesn't cause anyone any harm.
...Presumably someone who is petty-minded and has nothing more important to worry about at the moment. Never mind the invasion of Ukraine, looming world food shortages, global warming, pandemics, etc...! I also wonder about the enforcement officer, who seems to be expanding his interpretation of the regulations so far as to interpret one goat as a "hobby farm"!

In Texas (not Canada, I know!), having one animal is specifically *excluded* from the tax exemption necessary so as to be reckoned as a hobby or commercial farm. See:
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/libra...andowners/
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#5
Quote:Presumably someone who is petty-minded and has nothing more important to worry about at the moment. Never mind the invasion of Ukraine, looming world food shortages, global warming, pandemics, etc...! 
That is a really good point. There is so much happening right now, who has time to worry about the neighbor's goat. If it makes her happy, I would be happy for her. We are now starting a Monkey Pox outbreak so I don't care if my neighbour has 10 goats.

Quote: I also wonder about the enforcement officer, who seems to be expanding his interpretation of the regulations so far as to interpret one goat as a "hobby farm"!
Good point about the tax definition of a hobby farm.

As far as I can tell from the article, Jo-Anne has a house and some kind of yard in a small town. There is nothing to indicate that she farms in any way. She just has a pet goat. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_farm

Hobby farm or working farm by definition seem to involve "farming". She would actually have to be working some land or raising some animals. 
Small vegetable gardens don't count as farming. One goat doesn't count as raising animals.
I grew up on an acre of land and we worked that land and ate the vegetables it produced. We even had chickens for a while. We were not considered to be a farm, hobby or otherwise.

Enforcement officers can be a little zealous. An example is our parking enforcement officers. People attended a one hour event. The building was open less than two hours. Most people parked a little over an hour. They all got tickets for exceeding the 4 hour parking limit for the area. All the tickets got cancelled because no one parked for 4 hours.

The guy who did all the ticketing would have no trouble seeing one pet goat as evidence of a farm.
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Catherine

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#6
Things have taken a good turn in the fight to keep Stanley. 
The petition has collected over 7000 signatures.
The city is allowing Jo-Anne to apply for a minor variance. Until that is sorted out Stanley can stay.
Very likely the variance will be granted.


https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-new...ow-5431527

As I understand the concept of variances, the city keeps its rule in place. It just lets one person "break" that rule.
The issue of Stanley the goat has created so much interest and support it probably makes sense to leave him be.

So for now Stanley and Jo-Anne can live in peace.
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Catherine

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