How egg-citing: Des Plaines set to ease limits on backyard chickens
With complaints about high egg prices all-too common these days, Des Plaines officials are preparing to ease rules for keeping hens in backyard coops.
The city council on Monday is expected to convert a limited pilot program that's about to expire into a permanent, expanded effort. A second, council vote could be waived if there's no vocal opposition, Mayor Andrew Goczkowski said.
If the proposal passes, hen owners will be able to keep six birds instead of the current four. A cap on the number of permits that can be issued citywide would be eliminated, too.
"I'm excited to see this ... made permanent," said Goczkowski, who voted for the pilot program when he was alderman for the 8th Ward. "It's been a great thing to have for the city."
Interest in backyard chickens has picked up over the last decade or so. Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, Elgin, Wauconda and Batavia are among the communities that have crafted regulations for coops.
Proponents of backyard coops say hens are a source of healthy eggs, provide environmental education and aren't as noisy as roosters, which aren't needed for egg production. Additionally, their eggs are an affordable food option.
That last point is particularly salient now. An avian flu outbreak and inflation contributed to egg prices more than doubling in 2022.
In 2020, Des Plaines launched a three-year pilot program that allowed coops in some residential neighborhoods. Thirty permits have been issued out of a maximum 100, documents indicate.
Under the city's rules:
• Permits require a one-time $35 fee.
• Roosters are forbidden.
• Chicken enclosures must be in fenced rear yards and not visible from the street.
• Enclosures must be at least five feet from property lines or other structures.
• Enclosures can't be larger than 100 square feet or more than 8 feet tall.
• Slaughtering chickens is prohibited.
• Notices must be delivered by the applicant to the owners of any adjoining properties.
• Coops and enclosures must be built within 180 days of a permit being issued.
Complaints about noise or the appearance of coops have been infrequent, city officials said.
"I think it's been successful," Goczkowski said.
Not all suburbs have welcomed backyard chickens. Lincolnshire, Island Lake, Fox River Grove and Lombard are among those that have rejected proposals.
A proposal in Mundelein faded away in 2012 without a formal board vote.
"(It) just never got legs," Village Administrator Eric Guenther said.
Which came first, the chicken or the rules?
Lisle: 2022
Wheeling: 2021
Rolling Meadows: 2019
Wauconda: 2017
Elgin: 2015
Grayslake: 2014
Naperville: 2012
Batavia: 2010
Source: Daily Herald archives