Planning Commission Not Gruff with Goats

The problem with goats is that they are — well — goaty. Or perhaps goatish. Especially billy goats. Anyone who visited the goat barn at a county fair can tell you that guy goats flaunt their masculinity with some rather spectacular endowments. And they can get a bit cantankerous when nanny goats come into season, signaling their availability however female goats do.

That's just one issue city planning commissioners and staff are considering as they work toward regulations that could eventually make it legal to keep goats within the Albany city limits.

Still, the Planning Commission found goats a pleasant counterpoint to the minutia of zoning regulations when members took their first pass at possible goat rules last week, Senior Planner Anne Hersch told Albany Patch Tuesday.

The planning staff had roughed out some guidelines for good urban goat-keeping in advance of that meeting, and commissioners added some concerns of their own, Hersch said.

Those guidelines included a maximum of three or fewer miniature female or neutered male dehorned goats in addition to goat babies up to 4 months old, "safe and humane" housing and a mandate to keep goat enclaves in a clean and sanitary condition.

Commissioners asked staff members to research some additional points: how to store goat feed so that it's not available to vermin or wild turkeys and how to prevent goat droppings from eventually making their way into stormwater via runoff.

"Those are two big ideas we hadn't broached," Hersch said.

The commission also wants staff to gather more information from experienced goat keepers, including the son of Suaznne Popkin, the local resident who first brought the goat issue to the Albany City Council

Most members of the public who attended the planning commission meeting were pro-goat, Hersch said, although one former goat owner raised some concerns.

No one seemed to mind limiting Albany goats to the miniature varieties, she said. Nor did they raise objections to banning intact billies.

Standard practice for breeding goats is to take the females to a specialized goat farm — not, generally, in an urban area — Hersch said. She said it's also considered advantageous for mom, dad and the kid to spend a few days together immediately after a baby goat's birth.

Hersch said her own first-hand experience with goats was limited to a very pleasant outing a few years ago to Harley Farms in Pescadero, a dairy that produces goat cheese and also offers tours.

"You go out in the fields with the goats and get to milk them," she said.

Planning staff will bring more information back to the commission later this year, probably in May, Hersch said. After formal review by the Planning Commission, goat regulations would go to the Albany City Council for a final decision. 

Goat tales? Goat experiences? Share them in the comments section below.