Goats for Vegetation Control and Management

GOATS FOR VEGETATION CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive this report for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To present Committee with a report identifying the issues and considerations for permitting goats for the purpose of vegetation management in non-agricultural areas of the Town of View Royal.

BACKGROUND

The Town of View Royal was recently approached by Goats on the Hoof Vegetation Management, a firm which utilizes a tribe of (currently) 11 goats for the purpose of clearing vegetation from areas of land. The inquiry was relating to a potential job at the Glentana Housing Co-op at 1509 Glentana Rd.

Staff met with the owners of the business on February 19, 2016 and discussed the details of the use of goats for vegetation management.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

Goat Vegetation Management

The process of vegetation management as done by Goats on the Hoof has the following major components:

1. Jobs are generally mid-March to Mid-October.
2. Goats on the Hoof has a $5M third party liability insurance policy.
3. The site is first visited by the owners to assess the feasibility of the goats for vegetation management. It involves identifying any poisonous plants or hazardous conditions for the goats, such as the presence of spurge laurel or giant hogweed, and any sensitive or native plants which may be avoided. An area for fencing is trimmed.
4. The transport of 11 goats to the site by a 27 foot ‘herd hauler’ and a pickup truck/RV support vehicle, which is used for living in for the duration of the stay on the property. The vehicle has a generator which is used infrequently during the day, or the RV’s engine is run to recharge the battery.
5. An electric fence is set up around the area (if no appropriate fencing is already in place) to be cleared by the goats and the goats are then released in that area to clear the area of vegetation. The fence can be electrified, or not. The goats now associate the fence with electricity and stay away from it.
6. The process takes 5 days for the average job.
7. Two people take turns monitoring the goats 24 hours a day.
8. The goats are not returned to the trailer at night, but rather remain in the fencing.
9. The goats do not eat some invasive plants (daphne laurel, giant hogweed, Russian olive, yellow flag iris, St John’s wort, butterfly bush, or poison hemlock). The goats also do not eat the roots of plants, nor the woody stems of many plants like English Ivy or broom.
10. The goats do not discriminate between invasives and native species, and have to be managed through that process.
11. There is no site cleanup by the company, as the droppings do not contain active seeds and act as fertilizer on the ground.

Town Bylaws

The two major issues with permitting such an activity is the permission of goats on non-agricultural land, and the parking of a commercial vehicle with living quarters for an extended period of time. Currently the Town has several bylaws which would have to be amended in order to permit such activity:

1. Section 3.3.2.a of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014:
   • The keeping of livestock is prohibited except: i) on lots within Agriculture Zones with a minimum lot size of 4 ha; or ii) unless otherwise expressly permitted in this Bylaw
2. Section 3.12 of the Animal Control Bylaw
   • 3.12 No person shall allow animal excrement to accumulate on or about the land or premises where an animal is kept.

Parking and living on a recreational vehicle and a vehicle over 7.5m in length would also require a temporary permit to use the roadway for parking and/or an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw to allow what amounts to temporary accommodation for a commercial/maintenance use. The exact nature of these amendments will need some additional evaluation.

DISCUSSION

Environmental Considerations

The management of vegetation by goats is purported to be environmentally responsible, with less noise and emissions than power tools. While the on-site impact may be more environmentally responsible, it is not impact-free.

1. The transport of a tribe of goats over almost 150km vs employing a local landscaper with hand tools is perhaps not an ideal example of environmental stewardship. The goats do, however, remove some of the requirement for biomass disposal off-site.
2. The goats are not discriminatory in their consumption of vegetation and are likely to also consume any native species within the removal area. A human landscaper is able to discriminate between native and non-native species.
3. The goats do not remove the roots of invasive plants. A human landscaper can be more thorough in the removal of the roots of invasives. This does not, therefore, remove the plant itself but merely makes a temporary aesthetic improvement while literally not getting to the root of the invasive issue on the property.
4. Goats leave droppings which are not removed by Goats on the Hoof afterwards. In a rural setting this may act as fertilizer. In an urban setting, this is not desirable and is in violation of the Town’s Animal Control Bylaw.

Other Jurisdictions

City of Parksville

In discussions with City of Parksville staff, the bylaw changes which were made were as follows:

• Creation of Bylaw No. 1503: A Bylaw to Permit the Use of Goats for Vegetation Control and Management;
• Fees and Charges Bylaw to permit ticketing for non-compliance.

Bylaw No. 1503 includes several ‘notwithstanding’ references to their zoning bylaw and animal control bylaw (so neither were changed) and the business license bylaw classifies the use in the same way as a landscape contractor.

City of Nanaimo

The City of Nanaimo undertook a pilot project managing goats at Bowen Park and at Woodgrove Centre.

Township of Esquimalt

The Township of Esquimalt only used the goats for an Earth Day demonstration.

Generally speaking, it seems that the goats in other jurisdictions have been used for non-residential vegetation management.

CONCLUSION

Much of the consideration of the ban on livestock within residential areas in the Town of View Royal is aesthetic in nature. It is simply not in keeping with a residential use. While some people may enjoy close proximity to goats, many may not. Being adjacent to a property containing goats is not an acceptable or reasonable thing in a residential zone for some people.

It is staff’s opinion that goats are more suited to commercial/agricultural vegetation management in open spaces and vacant lots which are not heavily populated, which have parking on-site for the large support vehicles, and which are away from densely populated areas.

The use of goats should not be permitted in residential zones, but at most limited to commercial, industrial, vacant, rural and highway right-of-way. There are too many practical impediments to more dense, residential environments including the large recreational and commercial vehicles required, the lack of cleanup, the length of time required, and the round-the-clock operation.

If Council did want to let Goats on the Hoof conduct their business on a trial basis, staff suggests a non-residential use rather than that requested for the Glentana Housing Co-op at 1509 Glentana Rd. The Town would need to not enforce any bylaw which would prevent the business from being conducted. Staff would also recommend that electric fencing not be used if the use is on residential land or public land. Staff would also suggest that some form of public notification take place, perhaps as website and notice board postings.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive this report for information.

SUBMITTED BY

James Davison MCIP RPP, Planner

REVIEWED BY

Lindsay Chase, MCIP RPP, Director of Development Services

Attachments

1. Correspondence from Goats on the Hood – January 29, 2016
2. City of Parksville Bylaw No. 1503: A Bylaw to Permit the Use of Goats for Vegetation Control and Management