Village of Sugar Grove Board met April 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
President Michels opened the meeting at 6:00 PM and asked that Trustee Montalto lead the pledge lead the Pledge. The roll was then called.
Present: President Michels, Trustee Herron, Trustee Geary, Trustee Paluch, Trustee
Koch, Trustee Montalto, and Trustee Johnson.
Quorum Established.
Also Present:
Administrator Eichelberger, Clerk Galbreath, Finance Director Anastasia, Community Development Director Magdziarz, PD Administration Hanold, Supervisor Payton and Chief Rollins
Public Hearings
None. Appointments and Presentations
None. Public Comments on Items Scheduled for Action
President Michels called for any public comment. No member stepped forward and this portion of the agenda was closed.
Consent Agenda
a. Approval: Minutes b. Approval: Vouchers c. Approval: Treasurer’s Report d. Proclamation: Arbor Day e. Proclamation: Building Safety Month f. Proclamation: Public Service Week g. Proclamation: Motorcycle Awareness h. Proclamation: Small Business Week i. Resolution: Setting the Number and Classes of Liquor Licenses 20170418A j. Approval: 2017-18 Liquor Licenses k. Resolution: Approving Audit Services – L&A 20170418B l. Resolution: Authorizing the Purchase of Police Vehicles 20170418C m. Ordinance: Authorizing an Agreement with Nicor 20170418 n. Resolution: Contract Amendment for Engineering Services
Trustee Johnson moved to Approve the Consent Agenda removing item m. Trustee Herron seconded the motion. President Michels then called for a roll call vote.
AYE: Koch NAY: None ABSENT: None
Herron
Geary
Montalto
Johnson
Paluch
Motion Carried
Ordinance Authoring an Agreement with Nicor Trustee x moved to Approve an ordinance, 20170418C, An Agreement with Nicor. Trustee Paluch seconded the motion. President Michels asked why the term is 25 years. Attorney Andersson answered that franchise agreements can be up to 50 years. Staff recommended no more than 25 years as that will put the Village into alignment with other municipalities in the future for negotiations. Hearing no further discussion. President Michels then called for a roll call vote.
AYE: Koch NAY: None ABSENT: None
Herron
Geary
Montalto
Johnson
None
Motion Carried
General Business
None.
Discussion Items
Regulation of Backyard Chickens
Community Development Director Walter Magdziarz explained Recently, the Community Development Department received a complaint about the keeping of chickens in a residential backyard. Section 11-4-6 of the municipal code prohibits the raising or keeping of poultry in any zoning district except A-1 Agriculture. Staff investigated the complaint and notified the homeowner of the violation. The homeowner attended the March 7, 2017 Village Board meeting and asked that the Village Board consider amending the municipal code to allow for the keeping of chickens. Since then, the Community Development Department staff researched how other area municipalities regulated the keeping of chickens.
Two area municipalities provide successful examples of regulating chickens. The City of St Charles has a long history of allowing residential chickens. The city code has never prohibited the keeping of chickens on residential properties. Although complaints about the keeping of chickens was never a significant issue for the city, the City Council amended their Animal Control Ordinance in 2004 to place some standards on residential chickens. This was a preemptive effort since the popularity of keeping chickens rose significantly in the community. A summary of the St Charles residential chicken regulations follows:
• Up to 6 chickens allowed on properties zoned and occupied for single family use only
• Roosters prohibited
• Chickens must be enclosed/fenced at all times
• Must be kept in the rear yard
• Must be maintained free of accumulated waste and no odors detectable on adjacent properties
• Must be five (5) feet from lot line and screened by solid landscaping or fence from adjoining properties or streets
• Building permit is required for the coop and enclosure
City of St Charles staff have had only two complaints that required action. In both cases a rooster was being kept and had to be removed from the property.
The City of Elgin initiated a pilot Backyard Chicken program through their Environmental Sustainability program. The program was so successful that the City Council made the backyard chicken regulations permanent in 2016. The city of Elgin program is very structured and imposes far more regulations than the City of St Charles. A summary of the Elgin regulations follow:
• Up to 4 hens allowed on properties zoned and occupied for single family use only
• Roosters prohibited
• Chickens must be enclosed/fences at all times. Must provide coop at ten (10) square feet per chicken up to maximum size of fifty (50) square feet and attached pen area up to one hundred (100) square feet. Pens must be covered and made predator proof. Coop must be constructed on appropriate foundation.
• Must be kept in the rear yard
• Must be kept clean and free from refuse and waste. Must be cleaned at least once every twenty four (24) hours
• Must be located twenty five (25) feet from any structure (other than that of owner), six (6) feet from property lines, and screened by solid six (6) foot fence.
• A non-transferable license is required along with a one-time $30 fee.
• Building permit is required for coop and pen.
• Feed must be kept in rodent proof container
• Slaughtering of chickens is prohibited
Similar to St Charles, Elgin has had only one actionable complaint. An owner purchased chick not knowing that one was a rooster. The city required the rooster to be removed from the property. During the pilot program, the city limited the number of licenses to fifteen (15) total. After the permanent regulations went into effect, the City limited the number of licenses to twenty five (25) total. Currently all 25 licenses have been allocated and the city maintains a wait list which currently includes 12 applicants.
The least restricted community, researched by staff, is the City of Chicago. Chicago allows the keeping of chickens without restriction. Roosters are not prohibited in Chicago. Since roosters are very noisy, the owner of a rooster runs the risk of being cited for violation of the nuisance/noise ordinance.
If the Village Board is interested in permitting residential chickens, both the Municipal Code and Zoning Ordinance will need to be amended. Title 11 (Zoning Ordinance) Chapter 4 Section 6 will need to be amended to remove or modify the prohibition of raising poultry on any property in the Village. Title 5 Chapter 4 of the Village of Sugar Grove Municipal Code may be amended to include standards for keeping of chickens. The following standards may be appropriate for the Village of Sugar Grove Board to consider:
• Residential Chickens may be kept on properties zoned for and occupied as single family residential use.
• Up to four (4) residential chickens may be maintained on the premises.
• Roosters prohibited.
• An enclosed coop that provides a minimum of ten (10) square feet per chicken is required. The coop must comply with the standards for accessory structures set forth in Section 11-4- 7 of the Village of Sugar Grove Municipal Code. A building permit must be obtained prior to construction of or placement of the coop on the property. The coop must be setback at least five (5) feet from adjoining lot lines and twenty five (25) feet from any residential structure other than that of the owner.
• An adjoining pen must be provided. The pen may not cover more than twenty five percent (25%) of the rear yard. The pen must be predator proof by means of a permanent, secure cover.
• The coop and pen must be screened by a six (6) foot solid fence.
• Feed must be stored in a rodent proof container.
• No slaughter allowed.
• Must be maintained free of any detectable odor on adjoining property.
The Board discussed the proposed ordinance and had some concerns with how to come up with a way to determine if an odor is “reasonable” After much debate it was determine that Board felt that using the conditions as presented by staff and allowing for a one-year trial for a small numbers of households would be reasonable. Staff was directed to move forward on preparing the ordinance.
Public Comments
Karen McCannon stated she enjoyed campaigning and leard a lot from the process. She presented a list to the clerk 4 addresses In particular that would like to be contacted regarding issues they see in their neighborhoods.
Mrs. Klingberg addressed the board concerning some issues with her mailbox and some street lights. She also thanked that the Board support the chicken coops.
REPORTS
Trustee Montalto stated that he had noticed a lot of sidewalks that need some type of attention. He did people as he was campaigning to contact the Village.
Trustee Heron asked about the seemingly steady requests for speed studies. Chief stated that the department is working on the education of drivers and moving the speed trailer around. Also digital signs will be popping up in neighbor hoods for education purposes as well. There are very specific fed and traffic guidelines that need to be followed for signage.
President Michels stated that the Park District is behind and has offered to help fund the study for the Bike Bridge. He will be speaking to the Township next.
Airport Report
None.
Closed Session
Trustee Johnson moved to adjourn to closed session to discuss probably litigation and adjourn therefrom. Trustee Geary seconded the motion. President Michels then called for a roll call vote.
AYE: Koch NAY: None ABSENT: None
Herron
Geary
Montalto
Johnson
None
Motion Carried
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned by Trustee Johnson and seconded Trustee Montalto at 7:30 p.m.
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