I can see their argument about not wanting a “thriving” business next door if there’s no parking. That’s something that would clearly be a pain, and should have been addressed openly. HOWEVER…

Properly taken care of, a compost pile will NOT smell. I worked at an urban farm all summer with 16 large compost stacks between pallets, all kept full to the brim with fresh layers of material from the farm. Not a single pile ever smelled of anything but fresh earth and hay, even in the 90+ degree heat. My own tiny home compost pile only rarely smells, even though I’m hardly a master composter. If your compost smells, you’re doing something wrong. Even if you can’t remove the ‘earthy’ smell entirely (why some people will put up with inhaling perfume all day but can’t put up with smelling good rich earth I’ll never understand), putting it into a container (a plain black trash can with holes punched/cut in it works just fine) should be enough to keep any smell in your own yard.

As far as livestock noise and “smells”, I like ‘em. I don’t mind the soft clucking of chickens in the back yard and I certainly don’t think THEY smell if kept clean. Goats are a different story and I would hesitate before keeping them in a very small cul-de-sac, but why not keep them in a large backyard? Again, when properly kept, they shouldn’t smell much… and it’s not like the neighbors don’t produce bad odors. Burnt cooking, trash cans full of half-eaten food that attract flies and rats, noxious “ornamental” flowers whose scent is so heavy you can barely breathe when walking by the lawn… am I allowed to complain to the city about my neighbor’s immaculately sculpted, pesticide-heavy, water-wasting atrocity of a lawn?

You should get educated because you do not know what you are talking about. Things for US city FOLK are not going to get any easier and we have to eat too. Some of us do not live in snootyville and are able to grow our own food. I hope the walls on the snootyvilles in this country are high enough to keep the hungry out when the come a callin’.

We either learn to take care of ourselves and our friends and neighbors or we all go down together. This country is fast becoming a third world nation and just because you have a few more discretionary dollars in your pocket….what makes you think you are safe. You just have a little more time on your side.

Do the right thing and really look into the movement that is trying to keep the food on the average American table through these hard times.

B.

“If things get any worse, this household is making plans to go live with the Na’vi. “- BH