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Resident urges Wellsville to address rooster noise; council to explore ordinance change
Summary
A Wellsville resident told the City Council that roosters on nearby properties have repeatedly woken his household. Councilors agreed to investigate treating roosters as nuisance animals and directed staff to explore ordinance language and local enforcement options.
A Wellsville resident told the City Council on July 2 that roosters on neighboring properties have been waking his household and disturbing family members’ sleep, and asked the city to intervene.
The complaint prompted councilors to discuss whether roosters should be covered by the city’s animal-control rules. Council members and staff said Wellsville currently has no ordinance that specifically bans roosters; barking-dog enforcement exists and is complaint-driven. Councilors asked staff to examine whether the barking-dog enforcement process could be adapted for roosters and other poultry that create a nuisance.
"I'm here to complain about, I guess, roosters," the resident said, describing repeated early-morning crowing and other animals that have disturbed sleep in his home. He said the noise has affected a household member with medical issues and wakes small children during daytime naps. The resident identified the area of concern as the center of the block on First West between Main Street and First South and named a property owner in that block.
City staff noted that the current approach has been complaint-driven and that, for barking dogs, the complainant must be willing to sign a citation. "It's complaint driven, and the complainant has to be willing to sign the ticket," a city staff member said, explaining how existing enforcement works. Councilors discussed using a similar process for roosters so the city would act only where a documented nuisance exists.
Councilors also assigned immediate informal follow-up: two city representatives said they would visit the neighborhood and speak with the property owner to try to defuse tensions. No formal ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; councilors directed staff and planning and zoning to draft possible language for the council to consider.
The council did not set a timeline for any ordinance changes. Councilors noted that any change would go through the planning and zoning process and that a drafted ordinance would return to the council for official action.
Ending: The city will begin staff-level work and neighborhood outreach; any regulatory changes would require a formal drafting and public-review process before becoming enforceable.
