Couple Asks Village Board for OK on Backyard Hens

It appears unlikely hens will be ruling the roost anytime soon in Lake in the Hills. 

Bill and Barb Rasmussen, residents of the village-owned home at 1111 Pyott Road, appeared before the Lake in the Hills Committee of the Whole on Tuesday night to request the board allow them to keep their five hens in their backyard. 

The couple brought the hens with them from Barrington Hills when they moved into the home in August. The animals are not permitted under village code, said Village Administrator Gerald Sagona.

“We keep them for the farm-fresh eggs,” Bill Rasmussen told trustees at Tuesday's meeting. “We were just not aware that (the hens) were not permitted in the village.”

The village recently cited the couple and asked them to remove the hens, he said. The property formerly was used as a horse farm.

With hopes of keeping the hens, the Rasmussens offered to donate half the eggs they collect each month to the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Food Pantry, which soon will move into a refurbished pole barn behind their home on the same property.

Village Code Does Not Allow Hens

To keep the birds, the Lake in the Hills Village Board would have to grant special permission to the Rasmussens, and village staff would have to draft regulations pertaining to raising and keeping hens.

A resolution is on the agenda for Thursday's Village Board meeting. However, if board members decide not to allow the hens, they won’t need to hold a formal vote on the issue.

The board members who chose to comment on the issue Tuesday did not speak in favor of the practice.

“This is not a rural area,” Village President Ed Plaza said. “My problem is that by granting you an exception, it would make it very difficult for us to decline future requests from other residents. … The other aspect is that it is village-owned property.”

The Rasmussens rent the home owned by the village. The property is zoned as an institutional building district.

The Rasmussens said they will comply with the Village Board’s decision and find the hens a new home if they are not permitted.

Backyard Chickens a Hot Topic

The practice of rearing chickens in backyard coops has been the topic of much discussion in recent months in surrounding communities, with some people wanting to keep hens to produce their own eggs for health and financial reasons.

recently voted against a similar request. At the Tuesday night meeting, Lake in the Hills staff mentioned that Arlington Heights also voted against allowing chickens. 

adopted an ordinance allowing backyard chickens in May. on Batavia's vote to allow backyard chickens.