CAPE ELIZABETH – Complaints about a noisy rooster in Cape Elizabeth earlier this summer have prompted the town to consider regulations that would prohibit roosters on residential lots smaller than 40,000 square feet, or about 1 acre.

“It has put a damper on us wanting to live here,” said Crystal Kennedy, owner of Elvis, a white, 5-month-old Plymouth Rock rooster who rules a chicken coop in the Kennedys’ back yard at 17 Farm Hill Road.

The Town Council will review a recommendation from the ordinance subcommittee at its meeting on Monday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. The proposal is to amend the town’s miscellaneous offenses ordinance to add language about banning roosters on properties smaller than 40,000 square feet.

According to Town Manager Michael McGovern, the council is expected to set a public hearing on the ordinance change for Nov. 6.

“I think it’s important that everyone look at this based on the issue of roosters in small neighborhoods and not necessarily look at the specific case involving one specific rooster,” McGovern said.

Complaints this summer about a rooster crowing during the early morning hours in the Farm Hill Road neighborhood prompted the town to revisit whether to adopt an ordinance banning roosters. The Town Council considered regulations in 2011, but the discussion was dropped in 2012 after a so-called “rooster in question” disappeared. The latest flap centers on neighbors’ concerns with the Kennedy family’s rooster.

“Some people are trying to personalize it as a dispute within one neighborhood over one rooster, and I don’t think that is very productive,” McGovern said.

He said the committee’s proposal would apply to all roosters on lots under 40,000 square feet and that there is no grandfather provision that would allow the Kennedys to keep their rooster.

“The town is dealing with this issue in a very similar fashion to what most other suburban communities have done,” McGovern said.

Patrick and Crystal Kennedy said the complaints about their rooster came to light in July, when the couple had just returned from vacation and they were visited by a police officer.

The Kennedys do not disagree that Elvis’ crowing is loud, but the couple said that they would go to the necessary lengths to appease the neighbors and that they refuse to give up their rooster.

“He’s part of the family,” said Crystal Kennedy.

After a Town Council meeting on Sept. 8, Patrick Kennedy said, “If there’s going to be a regulation, it should be an across-the-board, decibel-level regulation.

“I don’t think there should be a ban,” he said. “I think it should be a permitting thing. I think that it has to do with noise, not lot size. To me, it’s not fair to say that it’s excessive and not have a definition of what excessive is.”

Earlier this summer, the Kennedys got rid of their two loudest roosters, and they have taken other measures to address the complaints, including clipping Elvis’ wings to prevent him from escaping over the fence, insulating and soundproofing the coop, and purchasing a rooster collar to lower his volume, Crystal Kennedy said.

“But it wasn’t enough,” she said. Elvis wore his collar, which helped, she said, but, “I am not going to make him suffer if (the Town Council) is going to have us get rid of him anyway.”

After soundproofing the coop, Crystal Kennedy said Elvis’ crowing dropped 15 decibels, from 74 to 59. She said Elvis tends to start crowing around 7 a.m., and it only lasts for about 5-6 minutes.

Joe Gajda, who lives at 15 Farm Hill Road next to the Kennedys, requested that the town consider an ordinance banning roosters on small lots saying Elvis would start crowing at 5:30 in the morning or sometimes earlier and continue for several hours.

In an email to the Town Council in August, Gajda said that he was “interested in exploring the addition of a simple, clear rule that bans roosters by lot size, which would offer people in tight neighborhoods the ability to enjoy their properties in a reasonable manner.”

On Monday, Gajda said he was glad the town has heard the neighbors’ concerns, and that it is considering his request to regulate roosters by lot size.

“I’m happy about it. It’s been a tough situation in the neighborhood,” Gajda said.

Gajda said that his family has kept chickens in their back yard for the past few years, but when he ended up with a rooster, he got rid of it because he didn’t want its crow to disturb the neighborhood.

“I didn’t want to subject my neighbors to that,” he said.

He said 40,000 square feet is a “reasonable amount of space,” and he is confident the regulations will be adopted. “I don’t want to go through this again,” he said.

Referring to the noise, Gajda said, “If your neighbor has a rooster, you do too.”

He said his home is situated about 50 feet from the Kennedys’ coop.

“All it takes is something like this to drastically change the whole environment,” Gajda said.

The ordinance subcommittee voted 3-0 on Sept. 19 to refer its recommendation to the council. According to committee Chairwoman Katharine Ray, Town Planner Maureen O’Meara provided committee members with a map depicting lot sizes by color to help determine what properties would be affected by the ordinance change.

“We had quite a long discussion about determining the age of roosters, when they start to crow and (property) setbacks from the lot line,” Ray said.

Also at the meeting, the committee heard public comment about roosters and discussed a variety of potential restrictions and how to enforce the ordinance.

“We circled around with other thoughts on where else we might go and how we can control this,” Ray said.

Crystal Kennedy said Monday if the Town Council approves the ordinance this fall, then the Kennedys might have to consider finding Elvis a new home, as much as they would hate to.

“It’s crazy that a rooster can be such a big issue,” she said. “It’s in the committee’s hands at this point.”

This story has been updated to fix the date of the public hearing, which is set for Nov. 6.

Crystal Kennedy of 17 Farm Hill Road in Cape Elizabeth holds her rooster, Elvis, whose loud crowing has been the focus of complaints in the neighborhood.