By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Just because something seems like a good idea in big urban cities doesn’t mean we have to fall for it here in the Heartland. Case in point: urban chickens.

For starters, there are health issues, with disease and rodents topping the list. But more significantly, what’s the point?

Kansas City is in the midst of farm country. Actual farms with chickens are everywhere around us. Surely some enterprising individual out there can put people who feel a need for farm-fresh eggs in touch with those who produce them just outside the city.

Heck, there are farms that this metro area has expanded around and are now inside city limits that produce and sell fresh eggs. Those farms are prepared to properly handle chickens, their waste and the problems associated with them.

And don’t forget the area’s plentiful farmers markets, plus the supermarkets that stock hormone-free eggs.

As for the cost savings, really? Building a coop, putting up the proper fencing, buying chicks and raising and feeding a handful of them is going to result in a significant savings? At best, those savings are chicken feed.

The Overland Park Planning Commission voted to grant a test permit for chickens to two brothers this week. On June 1, the Overland Park City Council should just say no.

Let’s leave the livestock to the farmers. We’re sorry urban-chickeneers — opossums aside, the rest of us like to sleep without the clucking and crowing.