Legalize Chickens in O'Fallon, IL!

The O'Fallon city council thinks there is little to no interest in this hobby!

Currently city ordinances list chickens as a nuisance (Chapter 94). I attended the city council meeting on 6 February 2017 and proposed the city council consider removing chickens as a nuisance and add guidelines for keeping backyard chickens.

My goal: If the city council accepts my proposal and decides to vote on changing the ordinance, I want to rally as many citizens of O'Fallon as I can to show the city council members that people are interested and do want backyard chickens in O'Fallon.

We respectfully request the City of O’Fallon Council Members consider and find that a small number of hens, kept properly confined in their owners’ yard, be a variance in the current law governing nuisance animals and therefore be permitted within the city limits of O’Fallon, IL. Currently Chapter 94.01 section (M) lists chickens as a nuisance animal. However, Chapter 90.01 (4) lists poultry as a domestic animal and Chapter 90.07 does not list poultry or chickens as animals restricted to agricultural and rural residential districts. Therefore, the only impedance to keeping “Urban Chickens” within the city of O’Fallon is Chapter 94.01 (M), which is in direct conflict with Chapters 90.01 (4) and 90.07.

Background
Across the country, urban and suburban areas are allowing small backyard flocks of hens. Major cities allowing hens include New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Baltimore. Closer to home, St. Louis, Swansea, Fairview Heights, and Collinsville have joined many towns that allow “Urban Chickens”. UNH-Cooperative Extension (https://extension.unh.edu/), Start Off Homesteading (http://startoffhomesteading.com) and Back Yard Chickens (www.backyardchickens.com) provide several articles and links containing information for citizens interested in this hobby. In addition, Rural King and Buchheits offer free educational classes curtesy of Mrs. Anne May, who also instructs classes at Southwestern Illinois College and Rand Lake College.

Hens
Owners of hens prize them as any other pet. Some for their personality, others for their heritage, and others for their colors and patterns. Hens, unlike roosters, are friendly, entertaining, and quiet.

Hens are also part of some citzens’ wish to live a “greener” lifestyle. They readily eat table scraps (keeping them from ending up in landfills), are a natural insect control for lawns, produce fertilizer for use in home gardens, and also provide eggs for the family they live with. A common misconception is that hens must have a rooster to lay eggs and this is simply not true.

Adult hens thrive in a pen that provides a 3-4 square foot dwelling with 10 square foot of run. The small unassuming pen is about the size of a large doghouse.

We would like to keep hens for the above listed reasons; eating table scraps, insect control, fertilizer, and eggs. Furthermore I would like to allow my future children, and other children of O’Fallon, the experience of raising hens to demonstrate green living, showing them where their food originated, and the responsibility of caring for this extraordinary animal. Moreover, allowing the citzens of O’Fallon to keep hens will preserve the agricultural heritage of the area.

We respectfully request a variance or clarification for poultry livestock, and allowing small flock hens to be kept in the y ards of citzens of O’Fallon.

Guidelines
I have put together guidelines based on other cities’ ordinances, and have included an analysis of other cities’ ordinances for the city council members to review.

Small Flock Ordinance for Poultry:
Minimum requirements for shelter based upon the UNH Cooperative Extension as follows: 3-4 square feet per bird, not to exceed 6 hens in order to fall under the guidelines of “small flock”.

No roosters shall be allowed due to proximity to neighbors and noise level in populated areas. This is to avoid public nuisance.

Hens are to be confined so as to not be allowed to freely pasture. They must be protected from wildlife in a fenced-in run.

Pens and runs are to be kept clean so there is no perceptible odor at property lines.

Feed for hens must be stored in an impermeable container to avoid attracting pests and natural predators of the hen.