RESIDENTIAL CHICKEN LICENSE APPLICATION
Office of the City Planner
850 N. Hobbie Avenue
Kankakee, IL 6090
P: 815-436-9485
Application Form (For Applicant To Complete):
Applicant Information:
Applicant Name:
Phone:
Address:
Email:
Landlord or Property Owner Name (if different than applicant
):
Landlord or Property Owner Signature (if different than applicant
):
Initial Each Item Below:
______ I have applied for a building permit with the City of Kankakee for all structures related
to the keeping of chickens.
______ I have submitted with this application a plat of survey accurately depicting the location
of the proposed structure housing hens on the property.
______ I have submitted with this application the required license fee for the keeping of
chickens in the amount of thirty dollars ($30.00).
______ I understand that once granted, a license to keep chickens must be renewed annually,
including an inspection. The annual renewal fee shall be $30.
______ I have read and will comply with all applicable City of Kankakee Municipal Codes
regulating the keeping of chickens.
Date:
Number of Chickens
(Max 5 Hens):
Applicant Signature:
Office Use Only:
Staff Signature:
Approved
Denied
If Denied, Explanation:
1
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CHAPTER 7: RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS
7.02(B) Permitted Uses.
(6) Keeping Chickens, subject to the following conditions:
(a) Definitions. Whenever the following words or phrases are used, they shall, for the purposes
of this chapter, have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except when the context
otherwise indicates:
Chicken. The common name of the species Gallus gallus domesticus, a type of
domesticated fowl.
Chicken Tractor. A non-fixed, mobile screened enclosure for the purposes of allowing
chickens to easily be moved around while remaining in an enclosed, predator safe
environment.
Coop. A structure housing hens consisting of a covered inside enclosure. see Hen
Hen. Female chicken. see Chicken
Pen. A covered outside fenced structure connected to a coop for the purposes of allowing
chickens to leave the coop while remaining in an enclosed, predator safe environment. see
Coop
Rooster. Male chicken. see Chicken
(b) Limit to the Number of Hens Permitted. No person shall keep more than five (5) hens.
Roosters shall be prohibited.
(c) Confinement. All hens kept in the city shall always be entirely confined in a pen, coop or
other enclosure such as a fully fenced yard. During daylight hours hens may be temporarily kept in
a chicken tractor, as defined by this chapter. Such chicken tractors shall be located only in a rear
yard in accordance with the structures-location restrictions provided in this chapter. No chicken
shall be kept inside a residence, with the exception of baby chicks less than eight (8) weeks old
which may be kept indoors until it is fully feathered.
(d) Structures. Structures housing hens shall consist of a covered inside enclosure known as a
coop, an adjacent covered outside fenced area known as a pen. A license for the keeping of
chickens and a building permit for a structure for the keeping of chickens shall not be granted
unless the applicant can show proof at the time of application that the proposed structure complies
with all provisions of this chapter.
(1) Location Restrictions. Structures housing hens including any pens, coops, or chicken
tractors, as defined by this chapter, shall be permitted only in conjunction with a
single-family detached dwelling located in the R-1 Single-Family Residential Zoning District.
Said structures shall be located only in a rear yard, erected or maintained at least
twenty-five feet (25') from any occupied residential structure other than that of the owner,
set back at least five feet (5') from all property lines.
(2) Requirements. Structures housing hens shall provide not less than ten (10) square
feet per hen with coop size limited to not more than fifty (50) square feet and pen
enclosures limited to not more than one hundred (100) square feet. Coops shall be
constructed to specifications as approved by the Planning Director and must be placed
either above ground or on a hard surface such as concrete, patio block or gravel and able to
withstand natural forces such as wind, rain and snow. Wooden or precast concrete posts
shall be acceptable foundations if they are placed at least twenty-four inches (24") into the
ground and firmly tamped with dirt or gravel. Wooden or precast concrete posts may also
be secured into the ground using anchor posts that are otherwise typically used for fencing
or decks.
(e) Maintenance of Sanitary Conditions. All pens, coops, buildings, yards or enclosures for
hens shall be kept clean, sanitary and free from all refuse and waste. All refuse and chicken waste
shall be disposed of in a clean and sanitary fashion.
(f) Miscellaneous Regulations.
(1) All feed for hens shall be kept in rodent-proof containers until put out for consumption
by the permitted hens being kept.
(2) Slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.
(3) No person shall allow chickens to provide noise loud enough to annoy or disturb the
comfort, health, peace or repose of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities, and it is
hereby declared a nuisance and shall be unlawful for any person to allow such nuisance to
exist.
(g) License and Permit.
(1) Requirements. No person shall keep chickens without first obtaining a license issued
by the City. Any pen, coop or other enclosure used for the housing of hens may be erected
only after obtaining a building permit from the - Code Enforcement Division.
(2) Process. An applicant for a license for the keeping of chickens or for a building permit
for any pen, coop or other enclosure used for the housing of chickens must submit the
following to the Planning Director:
(a) Completed applications and forms provided by the City.
(b) A plat of survey accurately depicting the potential location of the proposed
structure housing hens on the applicant's property.
(c) The required license fee for a license for the keeping of chickens in the amount
of thirty dollars ($30.00) plus the required building permit fee.
(d) A license for the keeping of chickens and a building permit for a structure for
the keeping of chickens shall not be transferable or run with the land and shall
terminate and become invalid upon the licensee no longer occupying the property for
which the license and permit were issued.
(e) Once granted, a license to keep chickens must be renewed annually, including
an inspection. The annual renewal fee shall be $30.
(3) Suspension or Revocation. In addition to any other penalty which may be authorized
by this chapter or other city ordinances, the Planning Director may suspend or revoke any
license issued pursuant to this chapter for:
(a) Failure of the licensee to comply with any provisions of this chapter, any other
applicable ordinances, the laws of the state, federal laws or other applicable legal
requirements; or
(b) Finding that the licensee knowingly furnished false or misleading information or
withheld relevant information in any application for a license for the keeping of
chickens or for a building permit for any structure for the keeping of chickens.
(h) Removal of Structures. Structures housing hens including any pens, coops or enclosures
shall be removed upon a licensee no longer keeping chickens, upon a licensee no longer occupying
the property for which a license for the keeping of chickens was issued or upon a licensee for the
keeping of chickens having been revoked.
(i) Conflict with Private Covenants. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit the
keeping of chickens when such activity is prohibited by private covenants, conditions or restrictions
governing the use of property.
(j) Penalty for Violation.
(1) Any person violating any of the provisions or failure to comply with any of the
mandatory requirements of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense. Any person convicted
of an offense under this chapter, in addition to other legal and equitable remedies available
to the City, shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than
seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).
(2) Any person shall be guilty of a separate offense for every day during any portion of
which any violation or provision of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by any
such person, and such person shall be punished accordingly.
(k) Other Restrictions. Notwithstanding the above provision for chickens, the keeping of all
other farm animals (swine, llama, goats, cattle, etc.) is prohibited in all residential zoning districts
unless a conditional use has been granted for that agricultural operation on that property.
(l) Severability. If any provision, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this chapter or
application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall for any reason to be adjudged by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, said judgment shall not affect, impair or
invalidate the remainder of this chapter and the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the provision, clause, sentence, paragraph,
section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been
rendered and to the persons or circumstances involved. It is hereby declared to be the legislative
intent of the City Council that this chapter would have been adopted had such unconstitutional or
invalid provisions, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof not been included.
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