Kane County Reporter

Kane County Agriculture Committee met July 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Call To Order

Chairman Kenyon called the meeting to order at 11:30 AM.

PRESENT Board Member Michael Kenyon

Board Member Bill Roth

Board Member Leslie Juby

Board Member Bill Lenert

REMOTE Board Member Deborah Allan

ABSENT Board Member Jarett Sanchez

Board Member Rick Williams

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Vern Tepe

Also present: Bd. Members Berman, Daugherty, Kious* & Lewis; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff; Dev. Planners Amir, Hill & Tansley; Sp. ASA Shepro; and ITD staff Peters.

2. Roll Call

3. Remote Attendance Requests

There were no remote attendance requests.

4. Approval of Minutes: June 22, 2023

RESULT: APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

MOVER: Bill Lenert

5. Public Comment (Agenda Items)

Kane County resident Michelle Langworthy expressed gratitude to the Committee for addressing the backyard chicken ordinance. She spoke on chicken coop cleanliness and ease of care. Discussion ensued.

6. Partners

A. Kane County Farm Bureau Updates

No update was made.

7. Presentations/Announcements

A. Potential Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments for Backyard Chickens (Mark VanKerkhoff, Director)

Dev. Planner Amir provided a presentation on backyard chickens. She spoke on current Kane County regulations for housing backyard chickens, including setbacks and lot size requirements. She detailed a number of advantages and disadvantages that come with housing backyard chickens. She presented collar county data on various local ordinances. She suggested that Kane County revisit their ordinance, such as text amendments to reduce the 100 ft. setback or the minimum lot size requirement. Discussion ensued on the construction of an ordinance to facilitate the housing of backyard chickens.

B. Livestock Market Assessment Updates (Matt Tansley, Planner)

Dev. Planner Tansley presented updates on the project timeline for the Livestock Market Assessment, as well as the Urban Agriculture Innovative Production Grant Program. He stated that the department is promoting a livestock operator survey to gather information on the production capacity of Kane County farmers.

C. Future Farmland Funding (Janice Hill, Executive Planner)

Exec. Dev. Planner Hill provided a presentation on future farmland funding. She spoke on the Farm Bill and Kane County's participation in farmland protection. She detailed federal funding over the course of five years, as well as the lack of state funding. She stressed the importance of acquiring funding to continue helping local farmers. Discussion ensued.

D. Water Resources Updates (Jodie Wollnik, Director)

No update was made.

8. New Business

None.

9. Reports Placed On File

RESULT: APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

MOVER: Bill Lenert

10. Executive Session (if needed)

None.

11. Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items)

None.

12. Adjournment

RESULT: APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

MOVER: Bill Roth

SECONDER: Bill Lenert

This meeting was adjourned at 12:05 PM.

https://www.countyofkane.org/MeetingMinutes/6671/23-7-20.pdf