Don't Be a Nuisance

Lots of (cold) excited gardeners!

Amberley Women's Forum, Property Maintenance, Backyard Chickens 

The Amberley Women's Forum met again this week. Every month, for the past four months, Amberley women have been gathering at different homes to discuss various topics of interest to the residents of Amberley. There are no requirements or impediments to joining, other than being a woman. Past topics have included Amberley updates, police block watch and neighborhood safety, and Pleasant Ridge Montessori School. There are some "regulars" in attendance, but the group is fluid, with new people joining us whenever they are free on the night we meet. The best part is we drink wine and no book-reading is required! That is not to say that we will never read a book, but if a book club sprouts from this group all the better. The idea is to make connections to our fellow Amberley neighbors. While we love our 1 acre lots, we still miss the camaraderie that comes from getting to know each other on a casual basis. Already, as a direct result of this group, the women of Amberley can join the Amberley Women's Tennis league that will be playing regularly on our community tennis courts. Please send me an email if you want more information about this group because you will be warmly welcomed.

Will Jackson presents his Eagle Scout project

One of the topics of Wednesday's discussion, which was themed "current Amberley affairs" was the upcoming Public Hearing on the Ordinance Allowing Domesticated Chickens.  One resident was concerned because there were properties in her neighborhood that were already not being maintained in accordance with Amberley's Property Maintenance Code and that allowing these neighbors to raise chickens would add to the property infractions that are already in place.  This is a very real concern, but it was pointed out that there are already provisions in place to deal with such infractions. The important thing is that residents must be willing to bring such code violations to the attention of Village Hall. Once Village Hall is made aware of the unkempt or unsightly property, an investigation can be made into zoning violations. If violations are noted, the resident can be given fair warning, or even fined. Please do not be hesitant in calling the Village to report continued nuisances.

 With regard to chickens, it is important to note that the Chicken Ordinance clearly states that:

§ 154.54 CHICKENS.

(A)  Notwithstanding other provisions in the Village Code of Ordinances, 

chickens may be kept within the Village in any residential district subject to the following 

rules and conditions.

So, to address concerns about chickens that become a nuisance, or trespass on your neighbor's property, one needs only to look to the zoning code which already has provisions in place to ticket or fine such infractions. You are not allowed to let your dog, cat, or other animal trespass, nor are you allowed to let your chickens be trespassers on your neighbor's property. 

There was also a question about whether the chickens would be "free-range," and whether chickens would wander onto various household properties. Again, Amberley already has laws against that sort of thing, 

§ 95.51  DAMAGE TO GARDENS AND LAWNS BY ANIMALS.

   No person owning, harboring or having the care of any dog, cat, fowl or other animal, shall permit the same to run at large so as to trespass upon the property of another in a manner as to do damage to gardens, lawns, shrubbery or other property of another.

Additionally, the Chicken Ordinance itself requires that:

(D) Habitat.

(1)  Chickens may only be maintained outdoors in a predator-proof 

chicken house, coop, or other structure that is thoroughly ventilated, of sufficient 

size to permit free movement of the animals, designed to be easily accessed, 

cleaned, and maintained by the owner, and at least two square feet in size for each 

chicken.

Any suggestion that the proposed ordinance allows chickens to be "free-range" in the sense that they not be confined at all is strictly rumor. Further, since we live in an area with an abundance of hawks, vultures, and other predatory wildlife, it would be imprudent to let your chickens run free, lest they become a meal for one of Amberley's true "free-range" animals.

The Women's Forum was very positive about allowing chickens, and were especially excited to take home some freshly-laid eggs.  The Public Hearing on the Ordinance will be at the May 14th Council meeting and I encourage residents who have any interest or questions to come. By passing an ordinance permitting backyard chickens, Amberley joins the multitude of Cincinnati and Hamilton County communities that are already allowing their residents to raise chickens for eggs. 

Amberley Green Garden

Mary Lennard shows the garden plot layout

Last Monday, the first meeting of gardeners was held at the site which will be the location of the Amberley Green Garden. There is space for 40 gardeners to each cultivate their own 9'x15' garden plot. Next Monday, May 7th, representatives of the Environmental Stewardship Committee will ask the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance to construct a 7 1/2 foot high deer fence. Residents can begin gardening as soon as the fence is erected (or sooner, but at their own risk). Those gardening will use organic practices under the helpful advice of residents David Dyke, OSU extension agent, and Kathy Wise, who along with her husband Rabbi Irv Wise, have been growing vegetables organically for years. The Amberley Green Garden brings to fruition months of diligent work by both residents and council members with the financial backing of a grant from We Thrive! No Village funds were used on any We Thrive! project, and we are proud to use the funding for projects that will 1) create a community meeting place as well as a means of learning about growing food, 2) create walking paths for our residents while forming partnerships with the Cincinnati Park Board and local and Israeli scouting troops, 3) provide access to public transportation to people who must come and go to and from Amberley for work. Amberley Village is a leader among Hamilton County communities in its commitment to the health and well-being of our residents. For more information on joining the Amberley Green Garden, request a "Welcome Packet" from amberleygarden@gmail.com.

Council Member Tom Muething explains the rainwater collection

Continuing Education

Finally, as  I've mentioned in other blog posts, being a member of council gives me access to a number of educational workshops and seminars designed to educate elected officials about current trends in government and cities. Today I had the opportunity to attend a workshop given by the Hamilton County Planning Commission which focused on economic development and sustainable communities. One thing that I took away was that it is vitally important to invest in our own community in order to attract business and development to Amberley. Transit access, walking and cycling paths, access to green space are all sought-after amenities by businesses looking to grow or relocate. We have to ask ourselves what we are doing as a community to make ourselves attractive to development. Tomorrow I am attending a forum on "Form Based Codes" which ask what we want our community to look like as we develop it. These are questions that are always on my mind as we make our Village a more livable community for all ages.

Garbage IN

One of the first things I did upon being elected to Amberley Village Council is establish a new email address for council-related business. It's a good thing I did too, since my inbox is already up to 548 emails, with very little spam. In fact, I just checked and there are only 2 spam emails in the spam filter. Don't let that give you any ideas, however! I get enough interesting email already...

So, where do these emails come from and what are they about? Most are actually Village business or from residents. But, as a council member, I have the opportunity to attend seminars and network. As well, I think as a council member, my name just gets added to lists of organizations that Amberley participants in as a member, as well as other interesting things. Today, in fact, I received an email from the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services. It was the Spring 2012 newsletter "WasteLine" and I found every single article of interest to me and I think the information will be of interest to you as an Amberley Village resident.

For example, the higher a community's recycling rate, the more dollars per ton they receive as an incentive. Out of the 48 Hamilton County communities that recycle, Amberley's recycling rate is the eighth highest. At 22.41%, our recycling rate is well above the county's average rate of 13.04%. Because of all of our efforts, Amberley received $11,230.00 just for recycling! There are ways of boosting our rate even higher. Last year, you may have taken advantage of Amberley's community wide shredding event. Tonnage recycled at community shredding events counts toward a community's recycling rate. Because this is also a very valuable service to our residents, look for another community-wide shred event this Spring.

Also of interest, both to gardeners and others interested in reducing the amount of garbage they bring to the curb (or perhaps extending the life of the garbage disposal), the Hamilton County Waste and Recycling District is sponsoring composting seminars. The closest to Amberley is the seminar to be held in Deer Park on April 26th at 6:00 PM. With the Amberley Green Garden opening in April, anyone interested in gardening on the Green is encouraged to attend. Space is limited, so call Susan Schumacher at 946-7734 to register.

Look for these yard signs indicating a We THRIVE! project coming soon.

Speaking of Amberley's Community Garden, we are about a month away from rolling out the carpet on this fully-funded initiative made possible by Hamilton County Public Health's We THRIVE! grant. The flyer is available HERE and we hope to see you growing some fresh veggies this summer. Plots are 9'x15' and will rent for $50. Families who do not think they can handle an entire plot are encouraged to find another family to share with. The entire garden will be fenced with 7.5' high deer fencing that is practically invisible to the eye until you are upon it. The bottom will be reinforced with chicken wire in order to keep out burrowing animals. We will provide the water, hoses, and garden carts. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other in a fun and productive setting and I hope you will join the Wolf family in this gardening adventure. We will be using organic practices, in keeping with current trends in healthy food practices. Check out the Amberley Village We THRIVE! page on the Watch Us Thrive website.

There is always something going on in the Village, but I try to keep these posts as brief as possible and I also try to keep my imposition on YOUR email inbox as minimal as possible. Don't forget to subscribe to the Village e-news at http://www.amberleyvillage.org/.

Spring in My Step

Is it really March already? Whatever happened to winter? Pretty soon the grass will be turning green and I haven't done anything about contracting to have it mowed this year. Whoops. But, while I may have neglected my own lawn, lots of cool things are in store for Amberley residents beginning this spring.

First of all, let's start with the new Ordinance allowing egg-laying chickens to be raised by residents in their own backyard. Consistent with the trend toward locally produced food and home gardening, it shouldn't come as a surprise that homeowners are desiring to raise their own chickens for their eggs. I have studied the current zoning in Amberley Village, and although it is my belief that our zoning did not prohibit backyard chickens, our solicitor, Kevin Frank, felt it was better if the Village had a separate ordinance pertaining to keeping chickens. I agree, as this way, there is no question as to whether residents can or cannot have chickens, and there are restrictions as to number of hens, and setbacks. Currently, Amberley -- with its large lots and bucolic atmosphere -- is one of very, very few local communities that don't allow chickens. Several residents have asked over the past few years if chickens were permitted, but were never given a definitive answer. I think that is because the zoning code was not clear on the issue. With the passage of this Ordinance, the answer will be very clear. Additionally, allowing backyard chickens allows our residents who so desire to follow the most current and healthy food trends as well as reducing their own carbon footprint and providing their families and friends with the experience of producing their own food. If you would like to read more about the history of prohibiting chickens in suburban communities, a wonderful resource can be found at Chickens for Montgomery, where the zoning code was revised in 2009 to specifically allow for chickens to be raised by residents. The first reading of Amberley's new chicken ordinance will be Monday, March 12th at the regularly scheduled Council meeting. By-the-way,  residents who live in neighborhoods with restrictive covenants, such as Rollman Estates, will not be permitted to have chickens in their yards, even with the passage of this ordinance, if their HOA specifically prohibits them.

Another sign of spring is that the new community garden at Amberley Green is staked out and ready to plow. The Amberley Green Garden will consist of garden plots that are 9x15' in size. Up to thirty-six plots can be accommodated and will rent at $50 per growing season (April to November). The entire garden will be fenced with 7 1/2 foot high deer fencing and water will be available as well as a garden cart and experienced gardeners willing to share their knowledge.  The garden will be an organic garden and there is already interest from some of our local non-profit neighbors in renting plots for educational and philanthropic purposes. The Amberley Green Garden committee will sponsor social events at the garden as well as educational presentations related to everything garden. Please be on the lookout for a flyer in your email that will be headlined "Amberley Green Garden." You will then be directed to instructions for applying for a plot and a welcome packet for gardeners. The garden is made possible from a grant from We THRIVE! which is an important initiative of the Hamilton County Dept. of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control. The purpose of We THRIVE! is to make the healthy choice the easy choice, thereby decreasing incidences of obesity and related diseases, as well as reducing smoking and increasing physical activity. It all begins at the local level, which is why grant funding was provided to a total of 12 local Cincinnati communities who are at the forefront of this movement.

Garden location "before" plowing and staking

Finally, Amberley will be championing a new, cutting-edge, initiative by Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati which is called "Community for a Lifetime." According to the most recent census, 22% of Amberley's residents are age 65 or older and the population of residents aged 50 and older is 49% higher than the national average. Due to the demographic of our community, care of our elderly population sometimes requires our police and fire department to assist our seniors in their day-to-day tasks. I recently attended the annual meeting of the Hamilton County Health District, and learned of a new and very vital and useful program called AHEAD. From this data, you can see that injuries from falls that require hospitalization among seniors in Amberley aged 65 and older are among the highest in the health district, with our neighbor, Deer Park, being even higher. Community for a Lifetime aims to take some of the pressure off our police and fire department by establishing a concierge service with our seniors so that they can form relationships with JFS social workers and, in addition, receive referrals for services they otherwise might resort to calling the police to assist with.

Don't forget to subscribe to the Village e-news at http://www.amberleyvillage.org/. E-mail is Amberley's primary means of communicating Village news to the residents. You can also sign up for meeting notices at the same time. Look for "subscriptions" on the left-side of the Village website. Also, the easiest way to read this blog is to subscribe by email and have the content delivered directly to your inbox.

Gardening on the Green

The sky is grey today and I awoke to the sound of rain.  Don't you just love December in Cincinnati?  I just finished reading Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook and I'm now consumed with the thought of selecting which tomato varieties to plant this year. It has been at least five years since I've struggled against the wilds of Amberley Village to grow my own vegetables in my beautiful, sunny backyard.  Since I gave up the fight, my tomatoes have been languishing in the shade of my backyard deck, relegated to my largest pots.  I'm lucky if I get a handful of tomatoes each August because my dogs refuse to let them ripen on the vine without succumbing to the temptation to take a bite of each nearly-red orb.

Luckily, things may be different this summer.  With a We Thrive! grant behind us, Amberley is on the verge of becoming one of a handful of communities in the nation to pave the way to committing to providing the means for a healthier lifestyle for its residents. Just last week, council member Tom Muething met with Public Works Supervisor, Steve Rasfeld, to determine what, if any, water sources were still available at Amberley Green. Some of the options presented were truly unique and don't even require turning on a water source! Can you imagine watering your garden with the rainwater that accumulates in one of the existing lakes or even in the old swimming pool? Bill and Mary Lennard later met Tom Muething and myself to walk the Green and see for ourselves what the possibilities were for planting gardens. To learn more about this exciting initiative, please join our planning meeting on Thursday, December 29th at 4:00 in the lower level Community Room.

Another thing we will be discussing, as part of the grant requirement, are "Shared Use Agreements." The purpose of the shared use agreement is to examine our existing amenities and see how we can share them with other communities to encourage more physical activity.  We can either share what we have, or develop agreements with neighboring communities to share what they have and we lack. Resident Jim Rulli is chairing this committee and the possibilities that have been suggested so far are unique and may even provide a little income to Amberley, as well as developing goodwill across communities.

Finally, please forward this post to your Amberley neighbors.  Also, encourage everyone you know to sign up for the Village e-news and meeting announcements.  The fastest, and most economical way, to communicate with our residents is by email and the Village has access to only 400 emails out of 3500 residents.

I hope to see you at Thursday's meeting, and if not, have a happy and healthy New Year!

...and so it begins

The first meeting of the (mostly) new Amberley Village council took place on December 12th.  I'm sure it must have been a little bit disconcerting to see six out of seven new bodies sitting at the bench.  I know I was keenly aware of our inexperience, but I think we managed quite well.  Scot Lahrmer, Village Manager, had previously met one-on-one with each of us to make sure we understand how the village works, from council, to administrative staff, to police/fire, to maintenance.  My own meeting was over two hours long!

It's been an incredibly busy month and council passed several ordinances on Monday night. The village treasurer, Rick Kay, was reappointed by Mayor Byar as was the village solicitor, Kevin Franke, and the village prosecutor, Stacey  Lefton.  Stan Cohen was reappointed to the Stormwater commission and my husband, Scott Wolf, was reappointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals.  Council passed the budget without much fanfare.  It is a lean budget. We know the village is in need of new revenue.  There will definitely be a safety levy on the ballot on March 6th.  Public Outreach, which I chair, has recommended a minimum of three "open house" meetings where residents can learn about the roles of our police and fire department and meet the men and women whose job it is to keep our residents safe.  If you aren't aware, all of Amberley's council meetings are televised.  You can view them on cable, or, watch them on your computer by clicking on this link:  http://www.icrctv.com/amberley-village .

As an update to "We Thrive," committees are moving forward with plans for an Amberley community garden.  If the village has your email address, you should be receiving an email shortly. If not, we are interested in your input.  Would you be interested in renting a plot? How large? Suggested sizes for plots are 10x30, 10x20, and 10x10.  Yes, the entire area would be fenced to keep the deer and wildlife out.  Please let me or Jim and Mary Lennard know your thoughts.

Finally, Peg Conway is forming the Amberley Women's Forum.  The first meeting will be held on January 16th, from 7-9:00PM at her house.  There are a lot of very talented women in Amberley and we want to hear from them and get them more actively involved in our community.  Peg will be sending out emails soon, but if you want to make sure you are on our list, please make sure I have your email address.  We all have very limited email lists of our own and do not want to use the Village list for our own personal mailings.  However, on that note, the Village only has email addresses for 400 residents.  There are 3400 residents in Amberley Village in 1500 households.  We are barely reaching one-third of our households with important news. Please give your email address to the Village! Communication with residents was consistently identified as being in need of improvement and one way to help is to subscribe to meeting notices and the e-news.  Speaking of the e-news, here is the newest issue:  http://www.amberleyvillage.org/ENewsDecember2011.cfm .  Even I didn't receive it in my email and I'm subscribed to everything! At least I thought I was...

I leave you with a photo from Council's swearing in.  Can you find the "lone Wolf" in this picture?

Amberley Thrives!

Amberley was recently awarded a grant of up to $24,000 from Hamilton County Public Health's We Thrive! initiative.  We Thrive! is making it easier for people in Hamilton County to eat healthy, be more active and limit tobacco use.  It is funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant.  Amberley must now use the grant money to make healthy changes in our community.

To that end, the Public Parks & Buildings committee, which was formerly chaired by Merrie Stillpass and Leslie McIntosh, has been meeting since late spring to discuss four possible concepts for the use of Amberley Green, as directed by the Long Range Planning Committee. Together with a group of interested residents, they have networked with city, county and state resources, as well as various non-profit, and for-profit organizations, to explore options for urban agriculture on Amberley Green.  Four ideas were preferred: 1) construction of a community garden, 2) an Amberley Village farmers' market, 3) community supported agriculture (csa), and 4) commercial aquaponics.  All were discussed extensively, but the community garden and farmers' market were felt to fill a need to the community that the CSA and aquaponic could not at this particular time.  Community gardens and farmers' markets function as a way of building the community that Amberley otherwise lacks.

The grant from We Thrive! makes it possible to move forward on these projects and committees are now forming.  If you are interested in helping to plan Amberley's community garden or Farmer's market, please email Merrie Stillpass (community garden chair). If you would like to be on the committee to plan the farmers' market, contact Leslie McIntosh, or simply contact Nicole at Village Hall.

Also, as part of the grant requirement, Amberley is required to enter into a "shared use agreement" that will promote physical activity to our residents or allow residents of other communities to use our facilities to foster physical activity.  For an example of a shared-use agreement that Amberley already hosts, look to the Amberley Green tennis courts.  Currently, they are used by both Amberley residents and the Mount Notre Dame Academy.  If you are interested in exploring more opportunities for shared use, you can contact me at wolfoncouncil@gmail.com.

As you can see from the photo, there is a good amount of interest in this project.  Please let me know if you would like to see a community garden at Amberley Green.  Would you use it? I know that I would like to have a vegetable garden where I didn't have to worry that I was simply providing salad for the wildlife in my backyard!  How about a farmers' market? Do you currently shop at one? What features do you think make for an exciting farmers' market?