TUSTIN : Fowl Owner Has Reason to Crow

Hidden by 50-year-old avocado trees and fruit-laden orange and nectarine trees is the jewel of Jeff Thompson’s one-acre property in the heart of Old Town.

It’s not much to look at, but Thompson fought City Hall last year to keep his chicken coop and his prized possessions--two roosters.

As he fed his fowl last week, Thompson said he felt that the fight was worth it and that he would gladly do battle again if the city tried to take his roosters away.

He need not worry. The council decided last week that Old Town residents can keep their roosters, as long as there are no complaints from neighbors and the rules are followed.

“This issue has put Tustin on the map,” Councilman Thomas R. Saltarelli said in jest at last week’s council meeting.

In an effort to keep the rural flavor of Old Town, the council last July passed an ordinance that allows Old Town residents to keep roosters and hens. The council reviews the ordinance every six months to ensure that there are no complaints and that restrictions are being followed.

Thompson and a neighbor, Bill Collins, who spearheaded the drive for the ordinance, had argued that roosters crowing in the early morning give their neighborhood an old town feel. They clinched the argument by presenting a video to the council which showed that airplanes flying overhead caused more noise than roosters.

Under the ordinance, the birds must be put in a coop that is more than 100 feet from any dwelling. The coop must be enclosed with materials that restrict light and muffle noise. In addition, owners must have a lot size of at least 15,000 square feet.

Assistant City Manager Christine Shingleton said Old Town residents can also keep up to 10 chickens.

Old Town, which has been designated by the city as a “cultural resources district,” is bounded by Prospect Avenue on the east, 6th Street on the south, Costa Mesa Freeway on the west, and 1st Street on the north.

Collins, who grew up in a farming community in Long Island, N.Y., has five egg-laying hens. However, a bantam he got as a birthday present three years ago died recently. He said he plans to buy another one soon.

“We like the country feeling,” said Collins, 46. Besides, he added, children love to come and watch the chickens. He lives in a 100-year-old Victorian house at 430 W. Main St. with his wife and 2-year-old son.

Thompson, 29, whose property on the 400 block of West 6th Street comprises two half-acre lots, has 10 hens and two roosters.

For Thompson, a civil engineer, keeping the farm atmosphere of his property is a “release” from the pressure of urban living, he said.

“It’s really a release for me,” he said. “It’s relaxing and fun.”