Arlington Heights makes it clear: No chickens, no how

Arlington Heights made it official on Monday night — no chickens allowed. Pigs and goats should stay out too.

After several requests from residents in the past year asking to keep backyard chickens, the village board on Monday reworked their ordinance to specifically ban fowl and other farm animals from residential parts of Arlington Heights.

Previously, the code banned “uncommon pets,” but did not spell out specifically what animals were not allowed and gave a procedure for obtaining a variance.

Therefore, residents could continue petitioning the board time after time asking for variances, although trustees made it clear they do not approve of backyard chickens.

The municipal code section on prohibited animals now reads, “It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or raise any of the following animals or fowl in any residential district withing the village: pigs, cattle, horses, goats, sheep or any other farm animals, or any chickens, geese or ducks.”

In January the village board denied requests from two residents asking for backyard chickens. Several trustees said they weren’t happy to be discussing the issue again after similarly rejecting a variance request from one of the same residents in February 2012.

“Having repetitive discussion of the same subject is not a good use of the board’s or the public’s time,” said Trustee Thomas Glasgow at the time.