Allow Backyard Chickens in Wheaton, IL 2020

We believe that small-scale chicken keeping is a healthy, economic, and sustainable way to feed and enrich our families and our community. Besides making great pets, hens provide us with fresh eggs and encourage local sustainable living. The ability to raise chickens offers educational opportunities for our children.

Chickens serve as a natural alternative to pesticides by eating bugs and insects, including fleas and disease-spreading ticks. Chickens also eat weeds, and chicken manure serves as an excellent fertilizer for lawns and gardens. Backyard chickens provide many benefits, which is why many towns and cities across the country now permit their residents to raise backyard chickens. At this time, Wheaton permits chickens being raised for 4-H or other similar educational projects for no more than 90 days per year.

Many area communities have ordinances allowing chickens in the city limits including, but not limited to, Batavia, St. Charles, Warrenville, Downers Grove, and Naperville. The City Manager in Naperville reports that since passing their ordinance to allow chickens they have not had any complaints from residents. Through our research we have found that these communities, demographically, are very similar to Wheaton and when considering allowing chickens had residents, like us, who desired to raise chickens in their backyard for educational purposes and for healthy eggs.

As the ordinance is written in Wheaton, chickens are allowed for 90 days per year. Any issues or concerns would be issues or concerns that would be evident in the 90 days that are already allowed. We ask that you consider lifting the 90 day restriction and allow chickens year round with reasonable parameters such as 1-4 hens, no roosters, requirements on screening the coop from neighbors view and coop distance minimums from the nearest house. These are similar to other area communities.

Thank you for considering our request.