Darien Chicken Debate Goes Before Council

DARIEN, IL — A Darien resident and her neighbor faced off at Monday's City Council meeting over whether her chicken coop was affecting the neighbor's lifestyle. Tensions were apparent between the neighbors, who apparently once got along well.

In the spring, Melissa Goodridge and her husband, James Harvatt, who live on Seminole Drive, bought egg-laying chickens to help with the family's food budget. They built a coop in their corner lot's side yard, which is next to Jim and Marie Freidag's front yard.

The Freidags have complained about the smell and flies that they say are the result of the coop. At Monday's council meeting, Jim Freidag told the council repeatedly that he was not opposed to chickens, but he was against a chicken coop that he said was 10 or 15 feet from his house. Goodridge later told the council that she believed it was 15 or 20 feet away from the property line.

Freidag contended the coop limited the full potential of his house, hurting its property value. He acknowledged his grandchildren like the chickens and have visited the coop a number of times, but he argued it was an eyesore. He said he wanted to build a privacy fence, but Darien law bars him from doing so in his front yard.

He said he and his wife like to eat outside, but occasionally cannot because of the odor. And he said he needs fly strips and jars because of a dramatic increase in flies, which he blamed on the coop.

"The City Council needs to take into consideration the possibility of disease, the values of other houses and the noise levels it can cause," he said. "It's impacting my life after 37 years in the house."

Goodridge, who has six chickens, said the public needed to understand that her coop is in her side yard and that if she put it anywhere else it would be closer to the Freidags or another neighbor.

As for the alleged odor, Goodridge said she often eats at the picnic table next to the coop and has no issues eating there.

"I don't know where their flies are coming from. Maybe from the food they are eating. I don't have flies in my home. The fact that they have hundreds is not my problem," Goodridge said. "I don't know where they are coming from, but they should look into that."

She said her family has been friends with the Freidags since her family moved in three years ago. Not until Monday, she said, did she know that the Freidags opposed the coop.

"They have brought food to my chickens on numerous occasions. They have spoken highly of how our family has interacted with them," Goodridge said.

She noted that Jim Freidag called the coop "offensive" in a Darien Patch story.

"That's a very privileged tone," Goodridge said. "I don't know what could be offensive, but I do know that Darien is looking to incorporate first-time homeowners and new families. And I promise you that everyone in that demographic has been all for the chickens. Even if they know nothing about chickens, they think it's pretty darn cool."

In later comments to the council, Freidag took issue with Goodridge's assertion that she did not know about his objections until that day.

"Last week, my grandkids went over there, and the first thing her kids said, 'Oh, you're staying with the people who made us get rid of our rooster. You don't like us.' So this has been an issue for a long time," Freidag said.

At one point, Goodridge's neighbors complained about the rooster because of the crowing, according to the city. Goodridge had the rooster go to a farm and has said she understood the neighbors' concerns about it.

Mayor Joseph Marchese and other officials said they would like to see the two neighbors find a solution, perhaps a privacy fence.

Because of the issue, the city is considering drafting an ordinance dealing with chickens because it has no such regulations now. The city's nuisance law applies to noise issues such as crowing roosters.

Check other stories about the chicken debate:

Backyard Chickens Upset Some Darien Residents

Darien Chicken Owner Fights For Rights

Darien Family Makes Case For Chickens

The Case Against Chickens In Darien Neighborhood

Darien Question: Do Chicken Coops Hurt Property Values?