HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 08-05 City wins case against Maplewood chicken owner MAPLEWOOD REVIEWpilVOW 11
City wins case against Maplewood chicken owner I Lillie Suburban Newspapers - LillieNews.com
City wins case against
Maplewood chicken owner
Submitted by adminl on Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:00am
By: Erin Hinrichs
Nancy Blomquist, Anah, 12, and Lizzy, 10, hold Alice, a red star hen,
outside of the chicken coop that's become a point of contention.
(Erin Hinrichs photos/Review)
On Aug. 3, Nancy Blomquist and her husband, Joe, sat inside the
Ramsey County Courthouse in Maplewood, anxiously awaiting
their turn before Ramsey County District Judge Patrick Diamond.
While the majority of the defendants in the courtroom pleaded
guilty to charges of drunk driving, the Blomquists were there to
contest a different sort of offense: a violation of Maplewood's
chicken ordinance.
It's been an emotionally -charged situation for the Blomquists,
who are raising four children ages 10 through 14, two of which
have developmental disabilities and have grown quite attached to
the chickens.
But District Judge Diamond made it clear early on that he has
little patience for those who violate city code and come back
contesting how the city interprets permit requirements.
After exhausting her grievances against the city, Nancy weighed
her options with her public defender and decided to plead guilty
later that afternoon.
Nancy has until Oct. 2 to relocate her chicken coop. If she
doesn't comply, she could face up to 90 days in a workhouse.
(Erin Hinrichs photos/Review)
Lizzy Blomquist, 10, and Nancy, 57, hold eggs collected from
their flock of 10 hens. (Erin Hinrichs photos/Review)
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Illegal chickens
Nancy admits she made the initial mistake of building their chicken coop and hatching chickens without first acquiring a
chicken permit from the city.
As stated in Sec. 10-484, "No person shall (without first obtaining a permit in writing from the city clerk) own, keep, harbor or
have custody of any live chicken."
She was inspired to raise chickens as therapy pets for her children, who benefit from their interactions with the hens —
collecting their eggs, feeding them and cleaning up after them.
That was back in the fall of 2013.
Assuming she could simply pay a fine and secure a permit to then be in compliance, Nancy sent out formal notices to all of
her immediate neighbors, seeking 100 percent neighbor consent, as specified in the ordinance. The majority had already
fallen in love with her chickens, or at least grown indifferent. But the objection of one neighbor, whose house sits to the north
of the Blomquist residence, put a snag in Nancy's plan.
According to Henry Schaeffer, the attorney representing the city of Maplewood at the trial Monday, the objecting neighbor had
filed their position with the city — at which point some sort of compromise would be required to mediate the situation.
Police Chief Paul Schnell spoke with the neighbors, who agreed to grant consent if the Blomquists agreed to relocate their
coop away from the back fence.
The city says Nancy agreed, then reneged on the deal. Nancy contends that she never agreed to anything. Rather, she felt
the city was showing undue favoritism towards her neighbor.
Criminal court
After racking up two citations in Aug. 2014, Nancy's case bypassed civil court and went straight to criminal court on Aug. 3,
where city attorney Schaeffer says she, again, backed out of an agreement.
Prior to the hearing, Schnell spoke with Nancy and her public defender, Areanna Coale, in an effort to reach a last-minute
agreement.
According to Schaeffer, the city proposed the case would be withdrawn and vacated if Nancy would agree to convert her
coop and run into a flower shed and rebuild the chicken quarters near her house within 60 days.
"I'm not sure what happened, but after the city agreed to that, Mrs. Blomquist didn't," Schaeffer told the judge.
Nancy denied ever agreeing to the proposal and proceeded to state her case.
"We have requested a fee and to move forward with having the permit granted," Nancy said, before listing her grievances
against the city for denying her a permit.
After some back and forth between the opposing parties, Diamond said, "This has become more complicated than it needs to
be.
"Frankly, it baffles me that he [Schnell] is involved in all of this."
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Boiling down the issue, as a legal matter, Diamond explained the issue was rather quite simple — did the chickens come
before the permit?
"If we were to go to a trial on this as a misdemeanor, the issue is whether you had a chickens on [the date of your offense].
That's what we're going to try," he said flatly. "It doesn't work the other way around."
Wanting to ensure his message was coming across clearly, Diamond repeated himself more than once, adding that a
maximum sentence would be 90 days in a workhouse with a maximum fine of $1,000.
He cautioned that multiple violations of the same ordinance would likely work against her, if the case were to be tried by a
jury. Also, he said any evidence that the city had improperly denied her a permit, which she sought retroactively, would be
ruled irrelevant.
In light of Diamond's comments, public defender Coale asked to recall the case, to further discuss options with her client.
Nancy pleaded guilty later that afternoon and was granted 60 days to relocate the chickens. Her review hearing is scheduled
for Oct. 2.
"If she complies, the city will dismiss a second citation pending against her for a subsequent violation," Schaeffer told the
Review.
"If not, the city will seek an appropriate sentence ... and move forward in the prosecution of her remaining case as well. In that
event, she and her husband could also face additional charges for every day they remain in violation of the ordinance."
Nancy could not be reached for comment prior to deadline for the Review.
Erin Hinrichs can be reached at 651-748-7814 and ehinrichs@lillienews.com. Follow her at twitter.com/EHinrichsNews.
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