You can have all the blue tarps you want but dont you dare get a chicken! Actually, try Quail, chicken rules do not apply to them and their eggs are healthier than chicken! Love finding news ways to get over on this stupid town :-)

Maybe, just maybe, is an awfully clever way to trick the town into reclassifying their residential property as a farm, thereby qualifying for a more tax friendly farm assessment.

for what little I know about chickens other than how I like to eat them, I think sometimes you don't realize you have a rooster until it starts to mature. That is something I wouldn't want to listen too if I lived there!!
"Shine On"

I think it's a great idea

So you all are all ok with chickens but are pissed that people have blue tarps on their roofs while waiting for the foot dragging insurance companies to give them the money to fix their roofs that were destroyed by Sandy? Heartless much?

Jessica, referencing the blue tarp issue is not related to the storm damage, it is focused on individuals who use them to cover the mounds of junk that is piling up in their yards, "hoarders"

Oh ok that I get.

Oh to agree or disagree with allowing the chickens. 3 chickens doesn't seem so bad. I could get into it. Then again, do you really want to be downwind of your neighbors chicken coop? Step outside in the
morning & you're greeted with the pleasant aroma of chicken $h1t. Fun!

Appeared on the Alternate press
Hopatcong Introduces Budget By Jane Primerano
HOPATCONG, NJ – Hopatcong Borough Council introduced a budget not much higher than its predecessor at the Wednesday, March 6, council meeting.
A presentation by the borough’s accounting firm outlined the changes from the 2012 budget of $16,179,793 to the 2012 budget of $16,556.560.
The greatest increase was an 8.3 percent jump in debt service from $1,333,600 to $1,231,290.
Next was the increase in statutory and fixed charges, which are mostly mandated costs, such as the borough contribution to employee pensions and the county-mandated revaluation. Those items increased by 7.7 percent, from $1,550,291 to $1,439,689.

Other increases were in police services and reserve for uncollected taxes.
Borough Administrator Robert Elia said copies of the budget would be available at the municipal building on Thursday, March 7.
The budget comes in under the state mandated spending cap by $521,678 and below the state’s cap on tax levy by $530,689
The amount to be raised by taxation is $12,931,034. This represents an increase of .026 dollars. This breaks down to an average increase of $38 on a home assessed at $214,600, which is the borough average.

“We worked very hard to get it down to $38,” Mayor Sylvia Petillo said. “We rearranged expenditures to get it down and not cut back on services. We are working toward a zero percent increase some day. We are continuing to look for ways to save money.”

This does not mean the average homeowner’s bill will only increase $38. Municipal taxes represent 28 cents of every $1 collected. The school district takes 53 cents, and Sussex County takes 19 cents.

Assuming a two percent increase in the tax levy from each the county and school, the increase will be .070 dollars. This would mean a total assessment of $3.142 per $100 of valuation of each residence.

Because the borough came in under the state caps, it can “bank” that money for future use.
The state allows a municipality to possess cap banks for up to three years.

After the budget introduction, the council authorized the expenditure of some of its 2012 capital improvement fund surplus. They introduced an ordinance appropriating $80,000 for police equipment.
Elia said the equipment is an upgrade in the computer system that assists record keeping for both the police and fire departments. He said the chief is anxious to make the purchase before the price increases. The administrator noted the chief thinks the equipment is essential and since there is a surplus in the borough’s capital improvement fund it was an opportunity to pay for something without going into further debt.

“It’s not like we were sitting around looking for what we could do with all the extra money,” he said.

The public hearings on both the budget and the ordinance to appropriate the $80,000 will be held at the Wednesday, April 3 council meeting.

In answer to a resident’s question, Elia explained the borough is saving money by entering into a shared services agreement with the county to use an employee of the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority to handle the borough’s recycling paperwork. This will cost about $250 a year, while it costs about $3,000 to train someone to do the work on the local level and the employees would still have to be compensated for his or her time.

If you want chickens you should be allowed to get chickens..however i think you should have a big enough yard, the rights space,housing for the chickens. also must get your neighbors to approve. If 1 person says no...then your outa luck!!

There is no reason why we should still have this law in Hopatcong. Chickens are not as bad as everyone thinks they are. Growing up, my grandparents had a farm here in Sussex with chickens. They had 1 acre of land and about 12 chickens at any given time (no roosters). They weren't noisy at all, never smelled, and my grandparents had a beautiful coop that kept them safe from any animals (including bears). I truly hope Hopatcong amends the law so that you can have 3 chickens for every 1/10th of an acre. That makes perfect sense.

For those who have an issue with chickens, please just do a little research because your myths are hurting what is an otherwise lovely and useful pet. Chickens can be quite loving and personable as I grew attached to some (ones that I was upset about when they became dinner but I also understand the circle of life). Hopatcong also has people with kids that are 4H members and this is a great way for their kids to participate!

It seems that the AP covered a nest egg that Patch did not cover and these eggs just laid were not from chickens. "Because the borough came in under the state caps, it can “bank” that money for future use. The state allows a municipality to possess cap banks for up to three years." Now that is something to scramble the budget with or for Hopatcong's Budget chefs it always Sunny Side Up. Oh! the joy of cooking. Look at the wonderful things they will be serving with this windfall of nest egg money.

wow another attempt to use the lake as a excuse to manipulate the tax payers,first it all began with the moronic thought that we all needed sewers to save the lake,we`re only half way completed and some how the lakes still here,..now someone...this Barbra Loring another tool of the council im sure, made this statement again...sit down shut up most of you people down there in the audience are tools of mayor like puppets in a crowd with strings attached.you people are more of a problem then this currupted council.whats their pay off? So with some catch basins connected directly to the lake and more properties with ceptic tanks now boardering the lake ten times more then these sewer connected properties, dog walkers who leave it on the street and winter road salt/sand/grit left on the shoulders until memorial day, and April rains washing everything to lake,how in the ell could anyone had made such a statement!,,,,its a zoning issue...have him send out the letters to his neighbors also making a stipulation that he can sell them to his friends and family and be done with it.

Chaffee said chickens squawk at 63 decibels, a volume level that can not be heard more than 25 feet away. ..EXPLAIN WHY THE PRESENT LAW WAS PASSED! A NEIGHBOR ABOUT 700 FEET AWAY HAD ROOSTERS CROWING AT 5 AM; THEY WOKE NEIGHBORS UP FOR THOUSANDS OF SQUARE FEET!

No, last I checked, roosters are 'chickens'

I grew up in Hopatcong. Up until sometime in the 80s my neighbor raised chickens. My sibling and I got to go over and feed them and collect eggs. It was a unqiue experience to have in this town. The coop still remains to this day.

Somehow I don't think that having 3 chickens will make you "more self-sufficient". An egg, at the grocery store, is roughly 15 cents each (by the dozen). If you add up the cost of the chickens and the feed, I think you'll be losing money. Grow vegetables instead. They hardly ever make any noise.

Self sufficiency isn't about money, it is about growing and harvesting your own food.

Maybe Jim's chicken idea got shot down because he wanted to raise farm birds instead of for sport birds. "Hardly Taxed" Farms has no problem raising birds for shooting sports on their farm. No enforcement on this farm with their nearby annexation of the adjacent 900-acre Westby Farm that raises game birds for seasonal hunts. You know it's a mega amount of birds when they release 800 of them for one sports session. No one is asking about the enviro impact of so many birds being raised in one area and are the deer having a feast on the bird feeders on this property. Nope it does not get any enviro concerns from Hopatcong because it is a big farm that raises granite counter tops for courtrooms too.

http://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2011/02/02/the-7-false-myths-about-urban-chickens-myths-4-7/

"Myth 4. Chickens Attract Predators, Pests & Rodents.
Fact: Predators and rodents are already living in urban areas.....Modern micro-flock coops, such as chicken tractors arks and other pens are ways of keeping, and managing, family flocks that eliminate concerns about predators, rodents and other pests."

"...chickens are part of the solution to pesky problems. Chickens are voracious carnivores and will seek and eat just about anything that moves including ticks (think Lymes disease), fleas, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, stink bugs, slugs, and even mice, baby rats and small snakes."

http://www.lifetransplanet.com/backyard-hens-facts-and-faqs-myths-and-reality/

"Chickens are just like any other animal including humans, dogs, cats and others when it comes to disease. They are not any more likely to carry disease than a dog. If they are well-cared for, fed, watered and kept in a clean environment, then they are more likely to stay healthy. Diseases are much more likely to be harbored in confined animal feeding operations due to their sheer size and tight conditions than in a healthy backyard setting."

This issue raises the potential for a new cottage industry in Hopatcong. The Farmer’s Market would be the perfect outlet for eggs, fresh killed chickens, even “eat-in or take-out” BBQ chicken. Why limit this concept to chicken? An earlier post mentioned quail, certainly worth a try. What about foie gras? Maybe a bridge too far!

people need to learn how to subsidize there food by growing it. the laws need to change. we are becoming a third world country and we need to start acting like one.

Patch was it a misprint that dogs bark at 700 decibels? I believe dogs bark at 70 decibels this category would also include vacuums and hair dryers. So chickens at 63 decibels would be annoying and loud to most people.

"Messieurs et mesdames, aimeriez-vous essayer mon foie fait maison gras ?"

Sounds really classy for Hopatcong, doesn't it? My attempt at rebuilding Hopatcong's tarnished image!

I too would like to have a few on my property all in the means of being more self sufficient. If these storms and the direction our world is going isn't enough to wake people up to insuring ones ability for independence, then go back to sleep and watch Honey boo boo. With a population of 313,914,040 and around 2% supplying the food it does not take a rocket scientist to tell you it might be a good idea to put down the I-pad, go outside and do and learn for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBli1snpReY

Revitalize Hopatcong - Lower River Styx and Lakeside Blvd

Chicken droppings smell terrible. Lots are too small in hopatcong to support chickens.

Warren, have you ever raised chickens? The only coops that smell are the ones that aren't cleaned or maintained properly. Have a cat? If you don't clean its litter box, the entire house smells like ammonia and feces. Have a dog? Don't clean up after it, and your yard is full of odorous feces. Most people raise chickens for years in their backyards without a neighbor ever knowing because they do what they are supposed to and keep it clean.

Had a lovely talk with a man from San Diego today who once owned chickens. He informed me that in San Diego you can have up to 15 chickens as long as you have a quarter of an acre of land or more. Two chickens will give you about 10 eggs per week.

Rather have a neighbor with chickens then yappy dogs and screaming owners....

For a town that does NOT by provide city water and sewers to all its residents, does NOT provide sidewalks and street lights to all its residents, does NOT maintain all its residential roads, does NOT pay its EMT and fire dept, does NOT regulate the mega bird farming (in the thousands), commercial/ retail businesses and child rifle shooting schools on Hopatcong's land trust property, does NOT regulate the noise levels of outdoor gas powered equipment and tools, does NOT regulate the how many dogs a resident can own, does NOT regulate the noise of barking dogs — just shows its overreach and audacity to regulate the small landholder who wants to raise a few chickens. But the most outrageous thing about this chicken issue is that we allow our town officials to impose these laws on us and yet give absolute freedom to large landholders to do whatever they want to do and usually at a tax deduction to do so. That is the outrageousness here - our acceptance of this injustice as being fair and just and that it is for the welfare of all. It is a hypocrisy we are willing to accept without a peep from the chickens.

Is it legal for the peasants to purchase Peeps for Easter in Hopatcong or is that verboten?

@Muse - What can't be seen, can't be taxed! I like your line of thinking.