Help needed Please!!!

[becca623]

My parents received this letter in the mail yesterday.

Dear Mr. Parsons,

The Zoning Office has received many calls complaining about the loud squawking of your Peacock Birds. I actually heard them while on the phone with one of your neighbors at 10:00 pm.

It is my opinion that these birds are a nuisance to your neighbors in that area. If this squawking continues I will ask the township Trustee's to officially declare them a nuisance and have them removed at your expense.

Thank you,
Pleasant Township Zoning Inspector
Dwain Williams



First of all, my parents do not have any peacocks. They have 2 female moluccan cockatoos that I gave them when I found out that I was deathly allergic to them. It is only one neighbor who is complaining. My parents live in the country on about .8 acres. These people moved in about 10 yrs ago and have been nothing but rude. My parents have lived there for over 30 yrs. These people live in a house at least 2-3 acres behind my parents. The birds are usually kept in my old bedroom which is at the very front of the house. In warm weather, the birds take turns spending time in an outdoor aviary right behind the house. My mom left one of them outside for a couple days because the weather was nice and the birds eat better and are much happier outside. I'm the one that encouraged her to let the bird stay outside. That had to be when the woman complained.
My mother called this Dwain guy who said that they can and will come shut my parents down. Then confiscate the birds. Okay, shut what down? My parents have two female birds. They don't do any breeding or selling. He told my mom she needs to keep them in the house with all the windows shut from now on. Even with the windows open I can barely hear the birds yell when I am in my parents front yard. It is impossible that they can hear the birds yell in my parents house from inside their house. My mom likes to open the windows to give the birds some fresh air. The one bird does sound off between 8 and 10 pm at night depending on what time the sun goes down.
This couple has planted trees all around my parents yard that my mom has to trim to keep them from killing her bushes that were there first. They sprayed poison all over the back portion of my parents property without even telling them. Their dogs come into my parents yard. The one is a large rot and has recently charged my mom in her yard on 2 occasions. My mom has a long list of issues that she has never complained about because she isn't that kind of person.
These people have a lot of money. The husband is the local fire chief. Our first introduction to them was a phone call at 10:30 pm one night threatening to call animal control and the sheriff because one of our dogs was barking. They have 3 large dogs that bark and run free. I personally saw one of them come well into my parents yard to steal a tennis ball.
My parents only have one other close neighbor. That neighbor owns a farm and has no problem with the birds. They have been there even longer than my parents. My parents have never had any problems with any neighbors before. 2 other families have lived in the home that these new people bought. The other neighbor (the wife) knows these people from church and has even apologized to my parents for their behavior saying that she had no idea these people were such trouble makers. Her husband knew these people were looking for a home in the country and did not want them moving in near him because he apparently had enough experience with them to know that they were like.
Is there anything my parents can do? Lots of people allow their parrots to go outside. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? Have any of you with aviaries had complaints like this? Are there any laws to protect my parents and their birds? It isn't fair that they are being bullied in this way. We could really use some advice. My mom is terrified that the birds will be taken from her. I am very angry. Because my parents aren't rich and these people are, the township is going to do what these people want. That's the way it works there unfortunately.
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated and is needed. What happened to all Americans having equal rights? There is NO reasoning with these people. My mom and I both tried to years ago about the dogs. When it was mentioned that their dogs bark and come into my parents' yard, I was called a liar.
Thank you, Rebecca

[sodakat]

What a mess. I think it's safe to say the zoning officer really did think it was peafowl he heard during the phone call. To me, that is the only reason a zoning official would be involved (keeping livestock in an area not zoned, maybe). Now it seems the issue is if there is a noise ordinance that is broken when the birds are loud. There must be members on the forum that have dealt with noise complaints who will have advice.

My one real suggestion is that you accept the fact that the birds can be heard by these neighbors, regardless if it was only once (when they likely said holy cow the neighbors bought some peacocks!). Now that they have heard them once, they'll be waiting to hear them again.

Time for your parents to get a copy of the local noise ordinance, and pay special attention to the hours and consequences.

Good Luck! I'm sure they will prevail.

Kathy

[SisterBlue]

My suggestion would be to buy one of those little closed circuit TV surveillance systems (I see them at Costco) and set cameras up around the house, to catch the neighbors dogs in the act when they come in your yard. At least that way you defend the "liar" thing with proof and have some return ammunition.

I would also consult an attorney to find out exactly what your rights are in your own home, in case the birds are confiscated illegally. Here in Phoenix we have a TV news station with a show called "5 On Your Side" and you can ask them to do a story if you feel you are being treated illegally, or discriminated against, cheated, etc. Do you have something similar where this story could be exposed to the public? A letter to the editor in the local newspaper similar to what you posted here? I bet you'd have people rallying behind you and it would be tougher for them to gang up on you based on just their status in the town.

Otherwise, it just sucks. I have dogs, who bark occasionally, as dogs do. We live in the Phoenix area where houses are on top of each other, and my dog hating neighbor has called the police on us because our dogs barked for like 5 minutes at 8pm. We didn't get a ticket because as the cop was standing in our driveway talking to us, about 5 other dogs around the neighborhood were barking as well. We've been in our house over 6 years, and the neighbors about 2 years. I think they are the only house on the street without at least one dog.

Good luck,
-SB

[jdlilfan]

Oh dear...I'm so sorry your parents have C.A.V.E neighbors...Citizens Against Virtually Everything. They are soooo aggravating. Good luck to you! I hope it all gets straightened out.

[Lotis9]

I agree with setting up surveillance at their house so you can document their dogs and be able to defend yourself against at least that issue.

That really stinks. I have been blessed with tolerant neighbors in many different places, so I can't offer any experiential advice however I did look into the noise ordinance in my area as I have been thinking about putting up an outdoor aviary for my two. In my part of the woods the ordinance states that if the "noise" can be heard in such a way as to be a nuisance or creates discomfort 300ft beyond my property line than it is considered to be a nuisance violation. I believe it also has to be something that happens repeatedly. But look into your local laws.

[r2rusmc]

I'm sorry to hear this Becca.

If I had gotten that letter I would have told them to come and get my peacocks. They'd have shown up with a confiscation order for peacocks and couldn't have done a thing.

I find it interesting that your neighbors have direct contact with the zoning officer at 10pm.

As for the neighbors. You can't do much when you have a neighbor that doesn't share your love of birds except follow the local laws.

Get a copy of your local noise ordinance and follow it. You know the birds squawk in the evening. Take them in. As a courtesy to your neighbors, don't subject them to excessive screaming. An M2 scream at 10pm is excessive. Hell it is barely tolerable at 2pm.

Now as for how to deal with that neighbor in the future. Well turn about is fair play.

Sorry.

[Lori~D]

Maybe It was peacocks,lol. MIne are still missing! Oh sorry. That really sucks. I live in the country and we get renters like that next door. Its like hey - take your friggin city butt BACK to the city if you dont like my horse POOP!

[GlendaNS]

First thing I would do is file a restraining order against them. Let the trouble makers be on the defensive.

Do you have leash laws? If you do, tie the dog up and call animal control to come get it, next time it comes on the property.

Also, do need to be considerate about the noise. A Too screaming outside at 10pm is a bit much.

[NotEnoughTime]

This is an issue with the increasing urbanization of North America... I live in Canada - but we face similar issues as neighbours change and population densities increase.

I live in a neighbourhood that is zoned "Large Lot Rural Residental" and almost all my neighbours have dogs (barking dogs!) as pets. I don't get disturbed by this since I chose to live in a more "rural" setting - but a recent development just "down the road" has been put in that is zoned "Rural Urban." The lots are much smaller and "city folk" have come to inhabit our peaceful rural neighbourhood.

Our bylaws read: "No person shall own, keep or harbour any animal or bird which by its barks, cries or sounds unduly disturbs the peace, quiet, rest, tranquillity of the surrounding neighbourhood or the public at large" and are 24x7 - which means someone can complain at any time that a dog or bird is making too much noise.

As a result of this there is tension in our neighbourhood....

I have talked with bylaw officers in the late evening - so I find it quite believable that this may have happened... But I would probably call the bylaw officer and chat with him - in a nice non-confrontational way - prior to making any decisions. Try to find out the concerns and what would be needed to satisify them.

I would also check your local bylaws to see whether there is any merit to the noise complaint. My feeling is that there is merit - but your bylaws may not be 24x7 and may have an "hour and decibel" restriction instead.

I know, however, that when my windows are open I can hear my green cheek a very long way away - over a couple of rural blocks - if she decides to call. Fortunately only I know her calls - so the neighbours can't tell the difference between all the other birds calls and my girl's call...

Your parents can get into a bylaw war with their neighbours - but what purpose would that serve? The bylaw officer can mediate if there is a personality conflict and it is likely that there is a solution that would satisfy everyone...

[Chief's Mom]

You can normally find your local noise ordinance on your city or county website, if available. If not, the local planning or permits department should be able to get you a copy by fax or mail. Generally in most rural/semi-rural municipalities, it's no 'nuisance noises' between the hours of 10pm and 6 or 7am. This usually includes construction sounds, lawn mowers, dogs barking, and now, I guess, M2s expressing their joy to be outside In most places, other than between those hours, law enforcement can do nothing unless you are violating another law (as in, if they were breeding peacocks in an area not zoned for livestock). If I were you, I'd get a copy of the local ordinance and read through it throughly. Make sure that the noise ordinance is the only one that was being violated. Then make sure your parents put the birds in the house at 9:45 pm every night (or 15 minutes before the cut-off time).

Most of the places I've had projects in (I'm a civil engineer and did a lot of site planning projects), the law was the noise had to be louder than 60 decibels standing outside of your property line to be considered a nuisance. That's actually pretty loud, and from the way you explain where their neighbors are located, I don't think this will be an issue as long as your parents put them in the house every night. I sure hope that you guys can figure something out with these crappy neighbors. I've had my share of the stubborn ones, so I know what it feels like .

If you do get a copy of the ordinance and don't have a 'legal' friend to look over it, I don't mind giving it a look, if you'd like. I'm not a lawyer or anything like that, but let's just say, it's not the most interesting reading experience Over the years, I've learned what to look for, so just let me know if I can help