SUFFIELD, Connecticut (PNN) - August 22, 2014 - Even in the wake of a town-issued cease-and-desist order, Kathleen Mormino - the self-proclaimed “Chicken Chick” - isn’t about to give up her chickens despite not possessing the required acreage on which to raise them.
Fascist Zoning Enforcement Officer James Taylor issued the order to Mormino in June 2013 to have her comply with a town regulation that requires anyone raising poultry to have 5 acres of property, which would designate the site as a farm.
Mormino is raising more than 40 chickens at the home she shares with her husband, Thomas, at 519 South Stone St., which sits on 2.17 acres. The free-range chickens, which she raises mostly for their eggs, roam her entire back yard, which is fenced in. She also has three chicken coops.
Since she has not complied with the cease-and-desist order, the town, including Taylor and the Zoning and Planning Commission, has filed a lawsuit against her and her husband in Hartford Superior Court in an effort to enforce the order.
Taylor said recently that Kathleen Mormino is in the process of trying to purchase an additional 3 acres of abutting property in an effort to comply with the town’s regulations. She is currently leasing those acres.
Kathleen Mormino, who is representing herself in the litigation, said anything can happen when it comes to buying additional land. She said there is no timeline for when she may be able to purchase the land.
Taylor said the enforcement began from a complaint from a couple that lives next door to the Morminos. That couple declined comment for this story. Their home is about 100 yards away from the Morminos’ residence.
In the lawsuit, the town calls for the Morminos to comply with the town regulation regarding poultry and accuses them of willfully violating it.
The town also asks for a permanent injunction that would require the Morminos to remove all of the chickens from their property, and for damages, lawyers’ fees, and a civil penalty, according to court documents.
According to Taylor, even though Kathleen Mormino is leasing 3 acres abutting her 2.17-acre property - which would put her at a total of just over 5 acres - Timothy Smith, the mindless bureaucrat lawyer representing the town in the lawsuit, said that didn’t meet the town’s regulation because someone raising chickens has to own - not lease - the entire 5 acres.
Smith couldn’t be reached for comment.
First Selectman Edward G. McAnaney said that once Kathleen Mormino purchases the abutting land there will be nothing for the town to enforce since her property would then be considered a farm where chickens can be raised.
Mormino said she and her husband built their home in 2004 and when she started raising chickens five years later, she was hooked.
In her fenced-in back yard, Mormino has all kinds of chickens, including several roosters that aren’t very vocal.
“This was never a problem for all of the other neighbors,” Mormino said.
She said she cleans the three chicken coops daily and - when standing in any of the coops - there isn’t much of a smell.
As for her backyard where the chickens roam, she said that is also cleaned on an almost daily basis.
Lawyer Scott Lingenfelter, who lives down the street from the Morminos, said he feels the town’s order against the family is “truly selective enforcement.”
“It seems like the town is trying to discourage farming,” Lingenfelter said.
Kathleen Mormino, who works mostly online, has grown her custom-printed egg carton labeling business into a full-fledged operation, complete with a Facebook page and a website to educate others on backyard chicken keeping. She said she started the labeling business after seeing the need for other chicken farmers to have their own custom labels.
Mormino, known as the “Chicken Chick” on her blog, said she has online readers from as far away as Brazil, New Zealand, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Mexico, and Latvia.
