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.
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