Photo: Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Moment / Getty Images
(Des Moines, IA) -- The Des Moines City Council is voting to pass an ordinance on rooster noise. Those who own them within the city limits will have to get written consent from neighbors who share their property lines.
Suzanne Overton is a resident who raises them, and spoke at Monday's meeting after the passage of the ordinance.
"The guy that thinks there's a four wheel track in his backyard and runs it all the time. Are we eliminating him?" Overton says. "The huskies that live three blocks away and bark when they don't get out like they're supposed to and attack my chickens. Are we eliminating them? Roosters are being singled out."
Resident Adam Burh agrees that roosters are just one part of a larger noise issue.
"Do you ask your neighbors when it's okay to mow your lawn? When it's okay to blow leaves from your driveway? When it's okay to blow your snow in the winter?" Buhr asks.
The ordinance is a result of ongoing discussion from this summer. The council initially proposed banning urban farming in totality, but protests shifted their focus specifically to noise. As a result, Councilwoman Linda Westergaard moved to waive the usual second and third readings of the ordinance.
"I think we've had a lot of discussion about this," Westergaard says.
The vote passed 6-1, with Ward 4 Councilman Joe Gatto voting against it. Rooster owners will have until the end of December 2026 to get permission from their neighbors.