Plan Commission reviews Heritage Hen Collective site plan at Trimborne Farm

The Village of Greendale Plan Commission on July 8 reviewed a site-plan, landscape-plan and life-safety application (PC 26-22) submitted by Aaron Drummond for the Heritage Hen Collective at 8881 West Grange Avenue.

Planning staff told the commission the proposed operation would involve the care and management of laying hens, agricultural stewardship activities, a grama tunnel connection and an educational sign panel. Staff said the use would occupy a limited portion of the Trimborne Farm property, would be accessory to existing farm activities, and would not alter existing grading, landscaping, lighting or utilities.

"The planning commission actually is looking at the ordinance that allows these kind of places in parks that we currently don't allow," Commissioner Jim Birmingham said as he opened the discussion and clarified that the commission’s role was to make a recommendation to the Village Board, which will make the final decision.

Staff recommended the commission forward approval to the Village Board subject to conditions: the applicant must obtain a sign permit from the director of inspection services; the commission must determine whether the proposed parking areas are sufficient to serve the visiting public; and final review and approval of the site plan by the village engineer, director of public works and the director of inspection services. Staff also noted that, because the property has historic designation, the commission should confirm whether the planned chicken run and tunnel constitute "major" alterations requiring special-use review.

On parking, staff reported typical operations expect one to two employees and community programs serving fewer than 12 participants at a time, with larger open-house events of roughly 20 attendees; existing internal drives would accommodate about 10–12 vehicles and a grass parking area east of the main farmhouse could accommodate roughly 15–25 vehicles. Staff cited Village Code section 17.06, which requires surfaced parking areas with more than four spaces, and said the commission should rule on adequacy of the proposed parking arrangement.

The applicant, Aaron Drummond, joined the meeting after staff comments and began addressing the commission. At the close of the transcript provided, the commission had not taken a formal vote on PC 26-22; staff’s recommendation and the questions about parking and historic-structure determinations remained the key outstanding items to resolve before a final recommendation to the Village Board.

Next steps: the commission must decide whether the parking plan meets local code and whether the chicken run and tunnel are "major" changes under the site’s historic designation; following those determinations the commission may forward a formal recommendation to the Village Board, which will schedule any required public hearing and make the final decision.