Lombard poised to allow backyard hens

The clucking of backyard hens may soon become a permissible sound in Lombard.

On Thursday, the Lombard board of trustees indicated they would strongly be in favor of establishing policies for "keeping chickens as an accessory use." Trustees heard from Director of Community Development Bill Heniff, who outlined proposed changes in zoning, nuisance and building codes to allow for backyard chickens.

The board also heard from supportive residents.

"I think that it's wonderful to see Lombard embracing sustainability in so many different ways," said Emily Presad of Lombard.

Presad has been lobbying since 2010 for the village to reverse its ban on residents owning chickens. She noted that Lombard's plan commission made a unanimous recommendation on Jan. 24 for the proposed ordinance.

"(It) does a really great job of protecting the property rights of people who are interested in using their property for a small backyard flock," Presad said. "But it's also a very common-sense ordinance that protects the rights of neighbors as well."

In his presentation, Heniff said the proposed regulations for Lombard were based upon studies of 10 other DuPage County communities that already have hen-keeping policies in place. Lombard Village Manager Scott Niehaus later chimed in that those communities have issued 14 permits on average.

Only 50 permits would be issued in Lombard, and interested residents would pay an initial $50 registration fee and apply for an annual renewal at no cost. Homeowners could keep between two to six hens - but no roosters.

"In hindsight, we probably should have called the whole thing backyard hens rather than chickens because that's what we're really permitting," Heniff said.

Coops can only be built in backyards and must be positioned 10 feet away from property lines. Coops may be up to 150 total square feet and up to 8 feet in height.

"Chickens must be kept in the enclosed area," Heniff said. "We're not going to let chickens just roam free."

Village Manager Niehaus said Lombard could increase the number of permits if there was a demand. But he also pointed to the hefty startup costs for potential hen owners.

"If they want to do the chicken coops correctly, they might have to spend $500, $600 or $700, maybe $1000 to do a real nice one," Niehaus said.

Lombard trustees are set to make their final vote on the backyard chicken ordinance on March 3. If it passes, Heniff said residents would be able to apply for a permit at villageoflombard.org/onlinepermits.