Local News in Brief : Raucous Rooster to Be Night Owl No More

In a second attempt to settle a dispute between two Agoura Hills neighbors over a raucous rooster, its owner said Thursday that the bird will be cooped up every night to cut down on the noise it makes.

The rooster, Sir Lancelot, prompted the city of Agoura Hills to file misdemeanor criminal charges in March against its owner, Mary Lewis. Lewis was charged with keeping a nuisance after her neighbor, Andrea Lenert, complained to city officials that Sir Lancelot’s late-night crowing was keeping her awake.

Malibu Municipal Judge Lawrence J. Mira subsequently encouraged Lewis and Lenert to settle their differences, and Lewis tried to abate the noise in March by installing bamboo screening around the animal’s outdoor pen. But that didn’t work, said Carol W. Lynch, who is prosecuting the case for the city.

Mira continued the case Thursday to allow Lewis time to try another solution. Through her attorney, Lewis told Mira she will install a door on the rooster’s wooden coop and confine Sir Lancelot from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Lenert did not appear in court Thursday but had said earlier that nocturnal confinement of the bird would satisfy her.

The case is scheduled to be heard again in Mira’s courtroom June 8.