Glencoe residents will soon be able to keep hens on their property after village trustees approved a change to local regulations to allow it.
The Village Board voted 5-1 at the March 17 board meeting to change the rules to permit residents to maintain up to four hens at their homes.
Proponents support the idea for reasons including the availability of fresh eggs and children learning about the origins of food, according to the village website.
However, those opposed fear noise, odors and predators coming into the area.
After staff spoke with other communities in the Chicago area about their experience with permitting chickens at residences, trustees voted to create a program where residents will have to apply for a one-year license to keep chickens with a limit of four per household, officials explained.
Initially, the village will only allow 10 licenses to be granted – on a first-come, first-served basis.
“It’s an assurance we are not going to allow these things everywhere,” Management Analyst Jeff Mawdsley told trustees.
The hens will have to be kept in an enclosed pen or coop with a minimum of 4 square feet per chicken, a property inspection by village staff will be required before a license is issued or renewed, and the pen or coop must be kept clean to prevent odors and they must be resistant to predators, according to the approved ordinance.
Any resident deemed to be violating the conditions of the ordinance may have their license revoked, the rules state.
Roosters are prohibited, out of concerns over noise.
Trustee Peter Mulvaney did not think predators would become an issue.
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“Those 40 hens are not going to create a coyote pack,” he said.
The lone dissenting vote came from Trustee Gail Lissner who feared health issues, including salmonella.
“I think there are so many issues that could bring difficulties between neighbors,” Lissner said. “Why are we doing this?”
The vote culminated a process that began last year when the board discussed the idea at two committee meetings. At one point, village staff reported getting 57 responses from the public – 18 in support and 39 opposed.
Village President Howard Roin acknowledged the differences within the community.
“We recognize we are not going to make everyone happy,” he said.
While he did not cast a vote on the issue, Roin supports the idea – at least on a temporary basis.
“If it turns out there’s a problem, we are going to step in and fix it,” he said.
Roin said he does not believe the issue deeply resonates throughout the village.
“In the real world most people don’t care,” Roin said.
Mawdsley said a start date for the program is undetermined, but it could be in the next few months.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer.