'It has to go somewhere else': Naperville chicken therapy nonprofit given 12 months to relocate

A Naperville couple operating a backyard chicken therapy nonprofit group has been given 12 months to find a location more suitable for its mission of serving adults with special needs.

City council members at Tuesday's meeting voted unanimously for a compromise between Rick and Wendy Montalbano - the property owners and Touch My Heart founders - and their neighbors, who have complained about the noise and smell from 16 chickens.

Instead of being immediately forced to drastically alter and reduce the scale of their operations based on numerous code violations, the Montalbanos were given a temporary reprieve if they meet certain stipulations.

"I do believe that your guys' heart is in the right place," said Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, who proposed the one-year temporary use exemption. "But it has to go somewhere else."

The Montalbanos, who launched Touch My Heart in 2010, began welcoming groups to visit their chickens in May 2021. Adults with special needs and other visitors pet and hold the specially trained chickens.

According to the ordinance approved Tuesday, the Montalbanos have until Nov. 15 to remove the structures from an unauthorized expansion of their coops, install a 6-foot privacy fence around the property, reduce the number of chickens to 12 and remove a portable restroom.

Rick Montalbano failed to persuade the council members to allow Touch My Heart to operate with the portable restroom and all structures in place, and with the 16 chickens, during a two-year window while they find a new site. The council members also didn't side with the planning and zoning commission's recommended 18-month option.

"The adult special needs community relies on us," Rick Montalbano said. "Some guests have asked if we're being shut down, and this has caused them anxiety and stress."

If the stipulations aren't met, the Montalbanos will be required to fully adhere to city code, which includes having only eight chickens on the property. Citations eventually may be issued.

"My opposition is not against Touch My Heart or the Montalbanos," Eric Rush, the Montalbanos' neighbor to the east, said at Tuesday's meeting. "We just don't believe that the operation and method is meant in a residential setting of Naperville."