A. Fowl: It shall be unlawful and it is hereby declared to be a nuisance to raise, maintain or have upon any property within the city any chickens, ducks, geese, guinea hens, pigeons or other similar fowl except as provided in section 6-1-1
.D; provided, however, that it is not unlawful to keep, for educational purposes, up to six (6) chicken hens on any property located within the city that is greater than fifteen (15) acres and is listed on the national register of historic places.
B. Horses: It shall be unlawful for any person to stable or otherwise keep a horse or horses anywhere in the city, except on premises where the keeping of horses was lawful under the ordinances of Cook County at the time such premises were annexed to the city and provided that horses were kept on said premises on the date of such annexation and continuously thereafter; and provided further that said premises have remained the same size as when first annexed to the city.
C. Goats, Pigs, Sheep, Cattle And Other Farm Animals: It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any goats, pigs, sheep, cattle or other farm animals of any kind anywhere in the city; provided, however, that it is not unlawful to keep, for educational purposes, up to two (2) goats and two (2) sheep on any property located within the city that is greater than fifteen (15) acres and is listed on the national register of historic places.
D. Chicken Hens: It shall be unlawful and is hereby declared to be a nuisance to raise, maintain, or have upon any property within the city any chickens except under the following conditions:
1. Permit Required. Residents must obtain a permit from the Department of Community and Economic Development.
2. Permit Fee. Payment of a non-refundable $35.00 permit fee is required.
3. Certification Required. Applicants for permits pursuant to this section must sign a certification acknowledging and attesting to the following:
a. The applicant received best practice and training information from the City; and
b. The applicant provided a courtesy notice, at least two weeks prior to the date of application, to the owners of adjoining property stating the applicant’s intention to apply for a permit to keep hens pursuant to this section.
4. Permits will only be issued to single family residences located in the R-1 Zoning District.
5. Expiration of Permit. Every permit issued pursuant to this section will become void and invalid unless the enclosure and coop required by subsection D.9 of this section are installed within 180 days after the issuance of the permit, or if the keeping of hens is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days.
6. No more than six hens are permitted per zoning lot.
7. Roosters are prohibited.
8. Slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.
9. Hens must be kept in an enclosure and provided a coop.
a. Size. Enclosures may not exceed 100 square feet and coops may not exceed 24 square feet in area and eight feet in height.
b. Location. Coops and enclosures must not be visible from the street, must be located in a fenced rear yard, and must comply with all applicable setback requirements set forth in section 12-8-1.C.
10. Perimeter Fencing Requirements. A permanent fence structure that complies with section 12-8-2 of this Code must fully enclose the rear yard containing the coop and enclosure. If the rear yard of a property requesting a hen permit is not already enclosed with a permanent fence, the property owner must obtain a fence permit from the City and install the fence prior to keeping chickens on the property.
11. Sanitary Conditions. Coops and enclosures shall be maintained in clean and sanitary condition at all times.
12. Violations. In addition to any other penalties that may apply under this Code, if the permit holder is found to be in violation of this section 6-1-1.D, the City Manager may revoke the permit. (Ord. M-21-15, 11-2-2015; amd. Ord. M-50-19, 12-16-2019; Ord. M-9-23, 4-3-2023)