Elmhurst Officials Open To Chickens

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst aldermen this week seemed open to allowing backyard chickens in town, joining a growing number of communities.

More than a decade ago, aldermen considered opening the door to chickens, but did not go forward with the proposal.

On Monday, members of the Public Affairs and Safety Committee – aldermen Mike Brennan, Jacob Hill and Guido Nardini – discussed the idea.

They talked about possible regulations; none indicated they were outright opposed to allowing chickens. They said Elmhurst could learn from the experiences of other towns.

Eileen Franz, the city's planner, said other municipalities found that chickens were "not as big of a deal as anticipated."

"Generally speaking, none of the communities had a ton of complaints about them," she said. "Occasionally, chickens get loose and they need to be reined in."

Nardini said his concern was the maintenance of chicken coops. If done right, he said, neighbors would not be bothered.

He said he could imagine some coops would attract little notice, while others may look "God awful."

Brennan suggested limiting the number of houses with chickens to, say, 15 at first. Then the city could see how it works out and then permit more, he said.

Hill was among the aldermen who suggested the city consider chickens. He said he was in favor of compromise.

"A visit to a coop would help me to get a sense of it," he said.

Brennan, who heads the committee, said it would probably take three meetings for the committee to hash out the issue. The committee usually meets twice a month.

When Elmhurst last considered chickens, nearly 300 people signed a petition in favor.