Proposed Rooster Ban Removed As Cook County Amends Rules For Pets

CHICAGO — The Cook County Board of Commissioners scrapped a proposed ban on roosters, simplified regulations on horses and added a cap on house pets as part of an amendment to zoning regulations for unincorporated portions of the county.

No more than three adult pets may be kept at any single residential unit, according to the amendment. It said pets are considered "adult" when they reach four months of age. Unless otherwise permitted to do so under applicable law, having four or more pets living in a single residential unit may be declared a nuisance.

As for horses, the new rules allow for one horse per acre in private stables. Previously, private stables needed to be at least 3 acres — owners could keep three horses at that size and one more per additional acre — and the keeping of horses was limited to lots of at least 0.5 acres.

The earlier version of the zoning change included a complete prohibition on keeping roosters and a limit of five fowl for lots of under 1 acre.

An amended version of the changes was approved unanimously at the board's zoning and building committee hearing Wednesday. The vote tally for Thursday's final vote on the changes was not immediately available.

In March, Commissioner Peter Silvestri, an Elmwood Park Republican, introduced a version of the amendment and referred it to the zoning committee he chairs.

"This provision formalizes some of the practices of the department but, more importantly, corrects some of the duplicative language in the ordinance dealing with horses, fowl, bees and variances," he said. "How about that for a mix?"

It had been set for a vote by the full board in May, but commissioners instead decided to defer a decision on the matter.

Commissioner Larry Suffredin, an Evanston Democrat, said concerns from urban farmers and local environmental groups led the board to delay the ban, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

"We have a lot of urban farmers, and I know some people who have roosters and chickens," Suffredin told the paper at the time. "I think what happened is that they weren't aware it was there."

The amended version of the zoning ordinance also increases the minimum lot size required to keep any non-fowl livestock from 0.5 acres to 5 acres.

The rules do not apply to farms, zoos, animal hospitals, kennels or animal shelters. Previously, there was no exemption for farms.

According to Cook County's code, pets are defined as animals who have "a special and close relationship with humans," depend on people for some extent and are able to live inside a home. Feral cats do not count as "pets," according to the code.