Is it my house or fence line that&#39;s considered adjacent residence for a minimum distance to a rooster pen?
<p>Is there anything I can do about my neighbor that has a rooster that is annoying and wakes me up before dawn everyday?</p>
<p>My neighbor has a rooster in a chicken pen that's located about 15 feet from the fence that divides our property. My house is approximately 30-35 feet from our fence, making the total distance from my house to his pen ~40-45 feet.</p>
<p>In my county there is an ordinance: <a href="https://library.municode.com/ca/ventura_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=DIV4PUHE_CH4AN_ART9RO_4494-3ROKE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">roosters</a> and code 4494-3 section (c) says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(c)Rooster enclosures shall have a minimum set back from adjacent residences of forty (40) feet.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question</strong> - Is there anything I can do or does this mean he can have the chicken pen located where he has it because the pen is approximately 40-45 feet from my house, or does this code mean the adjacent residence is our fence line?</p>
<p>It seems if the adjacent property meant the house, it would say something like adjacent residential dwelling or adjacent residential structure or adjacent residential building, but it just says adjacent residence.</p>
<p><strong>FYI</strong> - He often lets his chickens roam outside of the pen and they roam right up next to our fence.</p>

<p>There is probably nothing that you can do.</p>
<p>Usually the term &quot;adjacent residences&quot; is going to be interpreted to mean a neighboring house instead of a neighboring fence line. If the property line was the place to start measuring from, it would usually say from &quot;the property line&quot; or from &quot;the adjacent property&quot; rather than from &quot;adjacent residences&quot;.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He often lets his chickens roam outside of the pen and they roam right
up next to our fence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ordinance appears to regulate the location of the enclosure, not the location of the chickens themselves.</p>

united-states california noise local-ordinance