Elmhurst Family Shows You Can Fight City Hall

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst residents Nicole and Dan Virgil fought for years for the right to grow their own food in a hoop house.

To fanfare earlier this month, they erected such a structure in their backyard in the 500 block of South Fairview Avenue.

This followed the City Council's decision in June to reverse itself and allow hoop houses, with restrictions.

"We compelled them to, between the state law and longevity of our grassroots effort," Nicole Virgil said in an interview with Patch this week.

She was referring to a state law that required towns to allow residents to grow their own food. It was inspired by the Virgils and other residents.

Elmhurst resident Nicole Virgil (second from right) and other supporters of the right to grow food stand next to Virgil's hoop house earlier this month. (Courtesy of Nicole Virgil)

With the 2021 election, the council gained new members, who Virgil said brought a fresh set of eyes.

Virgil singled out one of the new aldermen, Emily Bastedo, for praise. Bastedo, Virgil said, played a key role in supporting hoop houses on the council's zoning committee

Whenever the hoop house came up on a city agenda, dozens of people would send emails in support of the Virgils and the structures.

On Oct. 14, the Virgils and about 30 others held a hoop house-raising party at the Virgils' house.

In February 2019, a split City Council voted to continue the city's ban on hoop houses, with then-Mayor Steve Morley breaking a tie. At the time, the issue was whether to allow such tents up to 100 square feet.

Many residents in town protested the council's decision, saying it prevented them from exercising their right to grow food during the winter.

At its June meeting, the council unanimously voted to allow such tents up to 400 square feet. The Virgils' hoop house is about 360.

The inside of the hoop house in the backyard of the house of Nicole and Dan Virgil in the 500 block of South Fairview Avenue. (Courtesy of Nicole Virgil)