(A) Definitions: As used in this section the following terms, unless the context otherwise requires, are defined as follows:
COOP: A structure housing hens consisting of a covered inside enclosure.
HENS: The female of the species Gallus gallusdomesticus, commonly known as chickens.
RUN: An enclosure connected to a coop for the purposes of allowing hens to leave the coop while remaining in an enclosed, predator safe environment.
(B) License And Permit Required: No person shall keep hens within the Village without first obtaining a license therefor issued by the Village. Any run, coop, and other enclosure used for housing hens may be erected only after obtaining a building permit as provided for herein.
(C) License And Permit Process:
1. An applicant for a license for keeping hens or for a building permit for any run, coop, and other enclosure used for housing hens must submit the following to the Assistant Village Manager or his or her designee:
(a) A completed application on forms provided by the Village;
(b) A plat of survey accurately depicting the potential location of the run, coop, and other enclosures used for housing hens on the applicant's property; and
(c) The required fee for a license to keep hens in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) and the required building permit fee, if any. The building permit fee for a run, coop, and other enclosure used for housing hens shall be the same fee as for a shed.
2. Prior to issuing a license to keep hens, the Village shall notify all adjacent landowners, except landowners that are municipalities or utilities, of the application for a license to keep hens.
3. A license for keeping hens shall not be transferable or run with the land and shall terminate and become invalid upon the licensee no longer occupying the property for which the license was issued, or upon termination of the pilot project as set forth in subsection (O) of this section.
4. A license for keeping hens shall be granted on an annual basis. If the Village receives no complaints regarding the licensee's keeping of hens, and the pilot project as set forth in subsection (O) of this section is continued or extended, the license will be presumptively renewed at a cost of twenty five dollars ($25.00).
5. During the first year, the keeping of hens shall be approved on a trial basis only as part of a pilot project as set forth in subsection (O) of this section. The Village will begin accepting applications for a license for keeping hens and for a building permit for any run, coop, and other enclosure used for housing hens beginning January 1, 2017. In the event applications for such a license and permit received by the Village between January 1, 2017 and January 15, 2017, exceed fifteen (15) in number a lottery will be used to determine the order such applications will be considered by the Village.
(D) Number Of Hens Permitted: No licensee shall keep fewer than two (2) or more than four (4) hens. Roosters are prohibited.
(E) Confinement: All hens kept in the Village shall be entirely confined in a run, coop, or other enclosure used for housing hens at all times.
(F) Location Of Structures: Runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens shall be permitted only in conjunction with a single-family detached dwelling, shall be located only in a rear yard, shall be erected or maintained at least thirty feet (30') from any structure authorized for residency other than that of the owner, shall be set back at least fifteen feet (15') from all property lines of an adjacent property, and shall not be visible from a street.
(G) Requirements For Structures:
1. A coop or other covered inside enclosure shall be provided for housing hens. Coops and other enclosures used for housing hens shall provide not less than four (4) square feet per hen. Runs shall provide not less than eight (8) square feet per hen with run size limited to not more than fifty (50) square feet.
2. Runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens shall be constructed of quality, durable building materials. Outdoor shelters shall be constructed and maintained to be weatherproof in order to withstand inclement and extreme weather and to be secure from predators.
3. Runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens shall be designed and constructed with adequate ventilation and in a manner that allows them to be easily cleaned.
4. Maximum roof height for runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens shall not exceed eight feet (8'). For a pitched roof, the eight foot (8') measurement shall be to the midpoint of the pitched roof.
(H) Maintenance Of Sanitary Conditions: Runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens shall be kept clean, sanitary, and reasonably free from all refuse and waste. All refuse and hen waste shall be disposed of in a clean and sanitary fashion.
(I) Miscellaneous Regulations:
1. All feed for hens shall be kept in rodent proof containers until put out for consumption by the permitted hens being kept.
2. Slaughtering of hens is prohibited within the Village.
3. Odors from hens, hen manure, or other hen related substances shall not be perceptible at the boundaries of the property where the hens are kept, and it is hereby declared a nuisance and shall be unlawful for any licensee to allow such nuisance to exist at the boundaries of the property where the hens are kept.
4. No licensee shall allow hens to make noise loud enough to annoy or disturb the comfort, health, peace, or repose of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities, and it is hereby declared a nuisance and shall be unlawful for any licensee to allow such a nuisance to exist.
(J) Right Of Entry For Enforcement: Village officials shall be empowered to enter upon any premises where hens are kept, or where there is reason to believe that hens are kept, to enforce the provisions of this section.
(K) Suspension, Revocation, Nonrenewal; One Year Wait For New License:
1. Whenever a licensee violates or fails to act in conformity with the provisions of this section or any other provisions set forth elsewhere in this Code, the license for keeping hens may be suspended or revoked, or the Village may refuse to renew the license, following notice and a hearing before the Village Manager, in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 3-1-5 of this Code.
2. If a license for the keeping of hens is revoked for any cause, no license shall be granted to the same licensee for keeping hens for a period of one (1) year from the date of revocation.
(L) Summary Suspension: Where the Assistant Village Manager or his or her designee presents to the Village Manager sufficient evidence demonstrating probable cause to believe that the licensee has violated the provisions of this section or State or Federal law, and that said violation will immediately threaten the public health, safety or welfare, the Village Manager may, upon the issuance of a written order stating the reason for such conclusion, and without prior notice or hearing, order the licensed structure for the keeping of hens closed and the license summarily suspended pending a hearing and a determination on suspension or revocation. The licensee shall be provided a copy of the order and a notice of violation. A hearing shall be commenced not more than ten (10) days following the entry of such an order, unless the licensee shall agree to a longer period of time. The procedure for such a hearing or any appeal with respect thereto shall be as provided by section 3-1-5 of this Code.
(M) Removal Of Structures: Runs, coops, and other enclosures used for the housing of hens shall be removed within sixty (60) days upon a licensee no longer keeping hens, upon a licensee no longer occupying the property for which a license for the keeping of hens was issued, or upon a license for the keeping of hens having been revoked.
(N) Number Of Licenses And Permits To Be Issued: The number of licenses for keeping hens within the Village at any one time shall not exceed fifteen (15) in number.
(O) One Year Pilot Project: The adoption of this section on keeping hens is being done on an experimental basis as a pilot project, and no person who is granted a license or associated building permit for keeping hens shall have any property interest, vested right, or other protectable interest in the continuation of such license or permit. The Village Manager is directed to submit a report to the Village Board prior to December 31, 2017, informing the Village Board on the Village's experience with the keeping of hens. If the Village Board thereafter decides to no longer allow the keeping of hens, all licensees shall have sixty (60) days to remove all hens, runs, coops, and other enclosures used for housing hens from their property. (Ord. 2940, 12-1-2016; amd. Ord. 2947, 3-16-2017; Ord. 3084, 4-15-2021)