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Land use staff instructed to draft chicken-keeping ordinance after committee review of sample codes
Summary
County staff presented research on urban chicken regulations (lot-size minimums, coop setbacks, registration and enforcement); the Land Use Committee directed staff to develop a formal draft and return it to the subcommittee for detailed review.
Grundy County land-use staff on Aug. 27 presented comparative research on chicken-keeping rules used by nearby municipalities and recommended the county develop a registration-and-inspection approach if the committee wants to allow backyard hens in unincorporated areas.
Staff summary: Heidi, a county land-use staff member, told the committee she reviewed ordinances from municipalities including Batavia, DuPage-area communities, Coal City and others. Notes in the packet showed typical provisions used elsewhere: a minimum lot size (staff identified 10,500 square feet in one example for four hens), coop setbacks (30 feet from lot lines in one sample), limits on numbers of hens, ban on roosters in residential settings, maintenance requirements and a registration process with reinspection. Heidi recommended using International Property Maintenance Code provisions and involving the county’s property-maintenance and building-inspection staff for plan review and enforcement; she noted electrical work or permanent coop construction would require inspections similar to other building permits.
Enforcement and fees: Staff noted enforcement requires staff time and site inspections; the packet compared registration fees used by other jurisdictions (many in the $50–$60 range, while the county’s comparable deck permit is $125). Heidi suggested a renewal or reinspection cycle and recommended the county set fees to recover administrative costs.
Committee direction: Committee members asked about staffing, inspection practicality and complaints that have arisen in subdivisions over odor, loose birds and roosters. Members directed Heidi to continue and prepare a formal draft ordinance and recommended sending it to the land-use subcommittee for further detailed review, fee-setting and permit language.
Next steps: Staff will draft an ordinance for the subcommittee to review; future committee meetings will consider the subcommittee’s recommendation before the county advances any ordinance to the County Board.
