Neighbor divided as Henning seeks to locate chicken coop 3 feet from side lot line

Ed Hennig asked the DuPage County zoning hearing July 16 for a variance to reduce the interior side setback for a chicken coop from the required 25 feet to approximately 3 feet on a 1.07-acre lot abutting DuPage County Forest Preserve land.

Hennig said placing the coop on the west side of the property, adjacent to the forest preserve, reduced potential impacts to neighbors to the north and east because there is no adjacent private residence to the west. He said the proposed location would not impair light, create a fire hazard or diminish land values.

Neighbor testimony was mixed. Across-the-street neighbor Michael Webb said he did not find the existing coop to be a nuisance: “I find that the chicken poop is not a nuisance at all. I think that it's been put together professionally. It looks nice,” Webb said. By contrast, neighbor Hiro Kyokawa said his primary concerns were wildlife attraction and disease risk: “The potential viral infection, so called bird flu…that is the concern,” Kyokawa said, adding that wild animals such as fox, raccoon or coyote could be drawn to the coop.

The hearing officer noted a separate issue with an existing shed that appears to encroach over a property line; he said that matter likely could not be permitted without further review and that petitioners had previously been advised they could not include that relief in the chicken-coop petition. Hennig said the shed predated his ownership.

The officer closed the hearing and will issue a written recommendation on Aug. 20 at 3 p.m.; the case will then proceed to committee and board review for final action. No final decision was made at the July 16 hearing.