A Naperville nonprofit group that uses chickens to provide therapy for people with special needs has been operating and expanding its large chicken coops for the last two years without official city approval.
Now facing complaints from neighbors who live near the growing operation, the Touch My Heart organization owners will make their case at Wednesday night’s Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission meeting for why variances should be granted that will allow them to continue.
Wendy and Rick Montalbano run the nonprofit out of their 2300 Flambeau Drive home in south Naperville, where they started organizing social events for people with special needs during the pandemic after reading about the benefits of the practice in places like Britain and Australia.
They began in May 2021 with six female chickens. Wendy Montalbano became certified in poultry education and the couple began hosting small group sessions in their back yard. Now with 17 chickens, they and have expanded their reach, partnering with organizations like 4H, an agriculture youth program.
Visitors not only spend time with the therapy animals but also explore sensory gardens and are taught sustainability and composting, Rick Montalbano said.
The problem is city ordinances allow for a maximum of eight chickens at a residence and the coop structure was erected without a permit in 2021, something the city learned about after receiving a complaint from a neighbor, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said.
Efforts to have them obtain city permits for the structures failed because everything submitted did not meet code.
According to city documents, the Montalbanos are asking for variances that will allow them to house up to 20 chickens, to have the coops less than five feet from the rear property line and to host groups of up to 12 students at one time.
“We need a home occupation variance because technically we are running a business out of our home,” Rick Montalbano said.
As things currently operate, groups of between five and 12 people plus caregivers arrive at scheduled times for two-hour appointments, he said. There are typically one or two group visits a week and they’re limited to weekdays only.
Three neighbors have submitted letters to the city in opposition to the variances and one neighbor wrote in support.
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Eric and Stacy Rush, who live to the east of the property, said they contacted the Naperville Code Enforcement Office in October 2021 and requested the chickens be removed from the Montalbanos’ property. Instead, the Montalbanos have continued to build new coops and expand their operations, they said.
The chickens create a lot of noise, the Rushes said, and there’s no privacy when groups of people visit. As a result, they’ve been unable to use their yard and deck as much as they once did, they said.
Neighbors John and Barb Buzzelli voiced similar criticism.
“They just keep building and growing,” the couple said in their letter. “We have put up with the noise, the smells, the crowds of visiting people … We live in a residential neighborhood. Not a farm. They should not be allowed to have what they have in their back yard and we as their neighbors should not have to endure this any longer.”
Rick Montalbano said they are looking to move to a larger location with three or four acres of land. They’d like to stay in Naperville so they can continue to work with the volunteers they have and to continue offering programs for local organizations, including Indian Prarie School District 204 and Naperville School District 203.
“There are so many people to serve here at all different levels because, for a lot of people with special needs above the age of 22, they don’t have a lot to do and the adult day programs can be very expensive with long wait periods because of the high demand,” Rick Montalbano said.
“The community we serve is the most underserved and invisible population in all of our communities and they have no voice,” he said. “Because of their disabilities and being wards of the state sometimes, they don’t have anyone in the masses speaking up for them. When they come here, they are shown they are loved and cared for.”
Whatever decision the commission reaches on the variance requests will be forwarded to the Naperville City Council for final approval.