I attended the meeting tonight and recorded the entire proceedings. The most interesting part -- the part that Duke Behnke of the Appleton Post-Crescent came for -- was the public forum during which anyone can speak relating to topics that come before the committee.
Please note: the transcriptions below contain foul language. Mrs. Crane claimed that she quoted Mr. Rocke. You have been warned.
The quiet and dignified Mr. Crane was the first to speak during the public forum section of the meeting:
My name is Bill Crane and I live at 501 E. Wisconsin Avenue. I'd like to make a few comments about the rooster ordinance or chicken ordinance and some of the things that have led up to this.
I'm very sorry that this whole thing has come to this...required this much attention. I think it's rather ridiculous.
We tried to be thoughtful neighbors; tried to be helpful...and, unfortunately, it hasn't turned out that way.
Some things were said at the last Council meeting [Dec. 3rd] that were in error and I'd like to correct that so that you're dealing with correct facts.
One of the things was that the Rocke's yard is fenced. It is not fenced. You see a fence there that we put up in our yard, at our expense. We went, as good neighbors, we went to the extent of making it a two-front-sided fence. It cost me $6000. I picked the design features out to match the design of a trellis that Mr. Rocke put on the side of his garage so that it would be attractive to his house. I loaned him the saw to build the trellis. We babysat for his kid; I've loaned him [inaudible]; I've plowed his walk; and we've tried to be good neighbors. In return we've seen degradation in relationships.
I find myself now with things like soda cans thrown over the fence...
Mr. Rocke at this point burst out with, "Oh, please! I'm sorry, Bill. You have to stop right there!"
Chairman Rhoades interrupted Mr. Rocke with a firm, "Excuse me! He's got the floor right now. We'll let you address us later."
Mr. Crane continued:
I find corn cobs in the back yard. I don't have corn cobs, OK?
Our objective is to live in an R1 neighborhood. If you read the R1 ordinance, the objective of the ordinance is #1: low noise, low-traffic, single family...that's all we want. Low noise and we want no animals that are not ours in our yard.
We have been living in peace since the snows came; the rooster is in a garage. My objective is to address the noise problem before Spring comes. I would prefer that you not grandfather the rooster, or that you grandfather the rooster for a very short period of time allowing him to get rid of it. Because if he keeps it, then I will be forced into addressing strictly the noise ordinance; which means repetitive going to the police, repetitive getting in the paper and a bunch of things that I don't think any of us want to do.
I urge you to consider the purpose of R1; the recognition that roosters are nationally recognized as noisy. Cities across the country -- we've got a long list of them -- are banning roosters because they make noise, not because they're chickens. And I urge you to consider the situation we're in and listen to a noise that is unreasonable. Thank you.
Then it was Mr. Rocke's turn at bat:
Christopher Rocke, 505 E. Wisconsin Avenue. I apologize for my outburst, but this has become a personal issue with them. In terms of being a good neighbor, before I began any of my landscaping in my front yard, I came to them. I asked them if they felt it was appropriate. They made no comment. As soon as I began my landscaping project there's been nothing but slander. If you want...I mean I have documented cases. My wife wants to pursue a slander case against Carolyn [Crane], fighting her.
But I have been a good neighbor. I've never thrown a pop can in their yard. That's not what we're about. I agree the noise issue, and I think the proposal of the ordinance should be a noise issue, not a rooster issue. You're not addressing the problem. You can get rid of a rooster. I can play a rooster tape all day long. You're not addressing the fact that it's a noise issue.
My other issue: it's not the rooster that we're that concerned about; it's the fact that you're going to change a municipal code that has been on the book for God knows how many years based on the complaint of one documented person. It really goes more against taking away a right than it is about a silly rooster.
And then, the proposal really isn't your proposal; it's Madison's city ordinance 9.52. You've just arbitrarily picked another municipality's ordinance without...I mean, how did you come up with the "feet away", the number of birds? It's not yours. And no one...I'm also a little disappointed, that nobody from the City Council has been out to my property to actually see what's going on, to see the issue. The only way I know about these meetings is because the [Appleton] Post-Crescent calls me and tells me to come.
So, that's just...you know, grandfather or not grandfather, it's not a big issue; it's the fact that a right or a privilege that's been there is being taken away; and that I just don't think that you're really addressing the true issue which is the sound issue. Thank you.
And the third emotional presentation of the evening was made by Mrs. Crane:
My name is Carolyn Crane and I live at 501 E. Wisconsin Avenue.
We'll start with the yard because he claims that that's where it started. He did show us...we were very...we did have a good relationship and I think that...I personally don't think that this issue should be even discussed here, but it looks like it has to be. He drew the front yard; we saw the plans and things and we said, "Yes, go ahead and do it." You know, we asked him what he was going to plant. And he would always say to us, "I don't know." Now, we were concerned and are concerned because he has planted and blocked our view of the rest of the block and park. He claims that...that is his excuse for doing things to us for the last five years. Now he also claims that we have told people that we don't like his yard. I admit: I have. But I have had as many people come to me and say, "What is going on in their yard?" This is not an issue that needs to be discussed here.
We're down to the fact that we have a rooster that, at the last meeting, at the City Council meeting, when the meeting was over -- we left early -- John Davis stayed. He's the neighbor that came in our behalf. He stayed at the meeting and left after we did. Chris followed him out. Chris stated to John the reason why he kept the rooster was to get back at us because we do not like his front yard. You can call John. John called us and told us that. We knew that but had never heard that verbally.
As far as slander goes, the second time we called the police for the noise, in late August, they told us -- we called at 11 o'clock in the morning -- they told us that they couldn't get out there until evening because the policeman had something else going on, but that he would get out there as soon as he could. No problem. He came out, discussed it, went up to Chris', I guess, and came out and left. Bill and I were going to go for a walk, so we came out the front door. I came out my front door and Chris was on his front porch. I stepped one foot out and I heard, "Carolyn!", and I looked over and I said, "Yes, Chris." And about that time I stepped down one stair because Bill was coming out behind me, and he...Bill didn't know anything, and neither did I, really...and so Bill stepped out behind me, and Chris looked over at Bill -- and I want you all to excuse the language that I'm going to use -- he said: "Bill Crane, your wife is a fuckin' son of a bitch." And from there he went on, and he discussed that we had retired too early; we should get jobs; we don't have a life; we tell people that we don't like his front yard; that, lets see, that I can't "grow anything but god damned hostas"; and one of the last things he said, he said, "Why didn't you talk to me before you called the police?" My husband said, "Unfortunately, we can't talk with you. You're very immature, and we don't know what your reaction is. The only thing we can do is go legally through the system." And he yelled back, "You're immature!"
Then he went on and on, and one of his last comments, with a drink in one hand, flipping me off with both fingers, was, "You're a cunt!"
Now, I was kind of offended by that whole thing. And two days later, Bill...then it was Labor Day weekend...Bill was gone with my son camping, and Rockes were gone, and they had someone come in that put the chickens in the coop during the day and then came at night and put them away. I kept hoping that the rooster would stop, but it started at about 7 o'clock when she came and put them out, and it crowed till about 3:30 in the afternoon. So I finally called the police and I said, "You don't need to come out because they're not home." But at that same time, I did report the verbal abuse that we'd had. I never saw anything in the police blotter on that either.
So that's a little of the background. The rest of the background, you can pass these pictures around. The Rockes' idea of a fence is this...I'm going to show it to you and then I'm going to flip it over, you can see it better, in the snow, there's a hole in the fence here and there's in this fence here. That hole, both of those holes were in the fence for at least two weeks before the rooster attacked me. Ok? You can pass those around.
This is the idea of what he has for a back fence; it goes half way across the yard. The other side is the chicken coop that is normally kept...it roams around the yard...but a lot of the time it's between...comes up and down between here. And this is his back fence. I am not aware that that is a legal fence. There's no fencing on the side, so when the chickens are let out to roam, they are out.
His wife does watch them carefully; but the day that they attacked me -- I had come home from the grocery store -- they were...you can see this picture...they were down here, which means they had to go around the fence and then come down. The chickens and the rooster were here. I have seen them in the yard just kind of shoo them; that's what I tried to do, just "Shoo, shoo, shoo" them back. The chickens did; they went back over to their side, on their property. The rooster, he stayed right here; and I was like, "OK, shoo!" Because I was gonna bring groceries in and I don't know what he's gonna do. I wanted him out of my yard. So I was going, "Shoo!" like this at him. Well, he took one hop at me and then he jumps up, chest height on me with his talons up, ready to scratch my face. It's frightening! So I backed up, and backed up, and looked to see if there was anything that I could get to protect myself from this rooster; because now I'm between my garage, which is right here, and the fence. I didn't have anything, and I'm screaming to Chris to come out and get his chickens. Then I'm screaming, "He's attacking me! Get him outta here!" Still didn't come. He jumps up and does the same thing again at me, so now I'm going behind the garage. Chris finally runs out the back door, runs behind the fence and said, "I'm sorry, Carolyn!" I said, "Don't ever let it happen again!"
I am concerned that we don't have the issue of the rooster in the yard again. At first it was just noise, but I don't want it in my yard again; I don't trust it. I told Chris, "It's mean." And I don't know if he's had experience with that; maybe because they raised it, it's not mean to them. I was not mean to that rooster at all. I was trying very nicely just to shoo it back. I know what roosters can do. I didn't want it hurtin' me. And I stayed back away from it because I didn't want it close enough to scratch me.
Do any of you have any questions? Do any of you want a rooster living next door to you?
When Chairman Bruce Rhoades asked if Mrs. Crane had anything else for the committee:
I have a list of cities in the United States that have rulings, ordinances, if you want to see that, I can give you those. They're all over the United States.
The City Attorney, James Godlewski, said to the chairman that what Mrs. Crane had would probably be good for the record. Mrs. Crane continued:
There's one city that allows roosters and that's Chicago, but there's an alderman that's trying to get rid of that. But other than that there's California, Colorado, Wisconsin, New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Brainerd, Minnesota, Portland, Oregon...all of them. I have articles that go with them and there's two web sites; I've got copies of these if you'd like. And they all came from, there's two web sites that are above there...back yard, chickens...it's written on there. The two web sites are at the top of the page. Some of the things are from them, some of the things are from articles that people have sent us from all over the country.
Chairman Rhoades thanked Mrs. Crane. As a measure of the emotional release provided by her impassioned presentation and of the frustration she'd endured for so long, Mrs. Crane said one last thing to the committee: "Can I, could I do a slander thing with that verbal language?" Mr. Crane immediately voiced a low and urgent, "Carolyn!", at which Mrs. Crane sheepishly said, "I'm sorry," and sat down.
Alderman Marge Bates raised an issue from the city ordinances that might have a bearing on the current conflict. She also wondered about exotic animals and whether they are prohibited. She also pointed out that other cities had better luck listing the permitted animals only rather than leaving the issue open to claims of, "Well, you didn't say I couldn't have a cross between a tiger and a lion!"
Alderman Mark Lange spoke up regarding allowing roosters but removing their ability to crow.
During Mrs. Crane's presentation, I wondered whether Mr. Rocke would be allowed to rebut any of the very strong statements she made about him. Both of the Cranes spoke, but Mr. Rocke's wife wasn't there to offer a re-rebuttal, so to speak; so Mr. Rocke raised his hand to request permission to speak once again. Chairman Rhoades said, "Mr. Rocke, I'm gonna allow you some time but I want to remind everybody that the issue before us specifically is roosters and the noise. So, a lot of these other issues...I'm glad you had an opportunity to air them, but that's the issue before us in the committee. Go ahead."
I was then flabbergasted to hear that all Mr. Rocke said was, "Just in regards to her [Marge Bates' comments]...there is a code against exotics that's fairly well stated." Absolutely nothing else! I guess he saw the writing on the wall.
Subsequently the committee voted to recommend that the Common Council approve the proposed chicken coop ordinance addition with one important amendment. It all boiled down to what the city was going to do about grandfathering. Judy Zaretzke moved that a period of 30 days from the date that the ordinance goes into effect be granted to any owner of a rooster in order for it to be removed. The amended ordinance passed unanimously.
The amended ordinance will now go to the Council for its approval on Wednesday, February 4th.