The board members of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Panel met with Country Club Estates residents to debate chickens that had taken up residence in Lehigh neighborhoods.

The LACPP met at the Lee County Sheriffs Annex Building, 1299 Homestead Road, on Aug. 10. Chairman Edd Weiner presided.

What began as the communitys typical planning meeting ended with feathers flying over the unwanted chickens. Code enforcement was alerted to the chickens and Kathie Ebaugh, principal planner with the Lee County Department of Community Development, was scheduled on the agenda.

She spoke about a community center and a neighborhood center scheduled for Lehigh in the future.

Dianna Caminos, a resident in a less populated area of Lehigh, spoke about the chickens she has that benefit her family. She has a garden from which she feeds her family, and she gives excess produce to the community.

Leftover produce feeds the chickens. She has 10 hens and no roosters. They produce approximately three to three and a half dozen eggs per week – enough for her family and friends. Their manure fertilizes her garden, she said.

She also collects rain in barrels to water her garden. She hangs her laundry outside – all efforts to preserve the environment. Caminos is hoping for a special permission to continue her lifestyle from Lee County.

Quite unlike her story is that of Diane Muth, a resident of Country Club Estates. It is a heavily populated exclusive neighborhood.

According to her neighbors, she has hens and a rooster. The homeowners’ association’s bylaws forbid “poultry,” as well as the Lee County Codes Enforcement.

All areas of Lee County zoned as residential do not permit farm animals.

All of the residents present at the LACPP meeting were in unanimous agreement that the chicken need to fly the coop. The meeting was somewhat lengthy, as Weiner redirected some very disgruntled residents.

Board members and Country Club Estates residents alike want the chickens to be removed. The board voted to stand behind the law and recommend the removal of the chickens in compliance to codes.