Madison County Board denies special-use permit for chickens at Granite City property

The Madison County Board denied a request to keep chickens on a residential lot at 1709 Courtney Boulevard in Granite City, voting 20–8 on Oct. 19 to uphold the Building & Zoning Committee’s recommendation to deny the special-use permit and related variances.

Joseph Feyerabend, who spoke to the board in support of the request, said he and his wife sought the permit on behalf of the property owner to keep hens for eggs and to teach self-sufficiency to their family. “Were just asking if we could have approval for our special use permit to keep our chickens,” Feyerabend said, adding that he had reduced his flock to five birds to comply with the countys limit if a permit were granted.

County zoning staff told the board the property is in an R-4 single-family residential district and that chickens require a special-use permit in unincorporated Madison County. Planning staff said the lot is small and that an adjoining neighbor had filed a complaint. Zoning official Chris Doucleff told the board, “Its not allowed in residentially zoned areas. It has to be a special use permit, and you can have up to five.”

Board discussion focused on neighborhood context, lot size and two variance requests: permission for more than five chickens and reduced setbacks for a coop and run. The petitioners originally sought variances to keep seven birds and to place the coop within eight feet of the east property line and five feet of the north property line, instead of the 20-foot setback required by county code. Committee members and staff said the lot dimensions and the neighbors complaint weighed against approval. As one board member observed, “By state law in Illinois, the adjoining property owners have a legitimate say.”

The board adopted the Building & Zoning Committees recommendation to deny the petition (Resolution Z22-0071). The committees record notes that a complaint was received from the contiguous neighbor and that the lot is an established, mature subdivision with relatively small lots. No new action to permit chickens on the property was authorized at the meeting.

What this means: The denial leaves the property subject to existing zoning rules; the petitioners or property owner could pursue alternative remedies such as modifying the proposed coop/setback or filing a new petition. The transcript records that staff and committee members discussed the possibility that reducing the coop or number of birds would affect compliance but emphasized that a special-use permit is required even for five birds in unincorporated areas.

Provenance: Transcript of Madison County Board recessed session, Oct. 19, 2022 (public comment by Joseph Feyerabend; Building & Zoning committee discussion and final board vote).