A pair of 6-foot-tall tin roosters on an Ogunquit family’s front porch has become the center of a dispute between a local family and town code enforcement, after the town ordered the decorations removed and issued hundreds of dollars in fines.
In a CBS 13 News report, Max Williams said the roosters started as a decoration outside the home of David and Sara LaBlanc, owners of The Omelette Factory in Ogunquit, Maine. But for the LaBlanc family, the birds have become much more than porch art.
The family says the roosters help their adopted daughter, Piper, who has autism, feel safe and connected to home.
Now, the town says the roosters violate local signage rules because the family’s home is on the same property as the restaurant. The LaBlancs say the roosters were bought for their house, not the business, and they do not plan to back down.
A Restaurant, A Home, And Roosters Everywhere
Williams described The Omelette Factory as more than just a restaurant to many people in Ogunquit. For the LaBlancs, it is also part of their family’s daily life, since they live next door to the breakfast spot they own.
Roosters are already part of the family’s identity. Williams noted that the birds appear throughout the property and even on the LaBlancs’ shirts.
“Birds have always been our thing,” Sara LaBlanc told CBS 13.
That detail helps explain why the decorations may not have seemed unusual at first. A breakfast restaurant with rooster-themed decorations is not exactly surprising, especially in a town where small businesses often build their charm around personal touches.
But the two large tin roosters on the front porch became different from the rest.
To the town, they appear to have raised a code issue. To the family, they became part of a child’s sense of stability.
Piper’s Birds Became A Source Of Comfort
Williams reported that David and Sara LaBlanc adopted Piper three years ago.
Piper is now 6 years old and has autism. According to Sara, Piper spent 11 months in foster care before joining their family, and she needed something that felt permanent.
“She is a little different, but insanely smart,” Sara said in the report.
The roosters helped Piper make transitions between spaces, the family said. They were familiar markers, something she could count on when moving from the house to the restaurant and back again.
“They are her birds, and they help her transition into the house and into the restaurant,” Sara told Williams.
That small detail is what turns this from a simple zoning dispute into something more personal. For many children with autism, predictable objects and routines can offer comfort in a world that may feel overwhelming or difficult to process.
A town official may see two oversized metal birds. A child may see something steady and safe.
That does not automatically settle the legal question, but it does change how the dispute feels. Rules can be necessary, yet their impact often looks different when they land on a specific family and a specific child.
The Town Says It Is About Signage
According to Williams, Ogunquit Code Enforcement has fined the family hundreds of dollars multiple times and asked them to remove the roosters.
The town’s position, as explained in the report, is that the family’s home sits on the same property as the restaurant and that Ogunquit has strict rules about signage.
That appears to be the heart of the dispute.
If the roosters are treated as business signage or advertising connected to The Omelette Factory, the town may view them as subject to local sign rules. If they are treated as personal decorations for the LaBlancs’ home, the family believes they should be allowed to remain.
Sara said she bought them for the house, not the business.
“I physically bought them for the house, not our business,” she told CBS 13.
The distinction matters because small towns often have rules meant to preserve a certain look, limit commercial clutter, or prevent businesses from using large displays that act like signs. But the line between a business decoration and a family decoration can become blurry when a home and restaurant share the same property.
That is where this case becomes interesting. The law may be written for signs, but the object in question is also tied to a child’s daily comfort.
“You Are Hurting A Little Kid”
David LaBlanc made the family’s frustration clear in the report.
“You are hurting a little kid, my little kid,” he said.
That comment puts the emotional weight of the dispute in plain terms. The LaBlancs are not describing the roosters as marketing tools or tourist bait. They are describing them as part of Piper’s routine and sense of belonging.
It is easy to understand why the town may want to enforce rules evenly. If one business or property owner is allowed to keep a large display, others may ask for the same treatment, and local officials may worry about where the exception ends.
But it is also easy to understand why neighbors would see this as a situation where strict enforcement feels heavy-handed.
Not every code dispute is just about the object. Sometimes it is about the story attached to it, and in this case the story involves a child who found comfort in something simple, bright, and familiar.
The family says the roosters helped Piper feel at home after a difficult start in life. That makes the order to remove them feel much larger than a basic decoration problem.
Neighbors Rally Behind The Family
Williams reported that the LaBlancs have received support from many people in the community.
Some neighbors have even allowed David to place roosters on their own properties, showing public support for the family and pushing back against the town’s effort to remove the original birds.
“It feels good is what it does,” David told CBS 13. “It just feels right.”
That community response says a lot about how the dispute is being understood locally. For supporters, the roosters are not a nuisance or a rule-breaking advertisement. They are a symbol of a family trying to help their daughter feel safe.
The reaction also reflects how quickly a small code dispute can become a public issue when people believe a rule is being applied without enough compassion.
Towns depend on rules to keep neighborhoods orderly, but communities are held together by something softer than code books. Neighbors often respond to fairness, kindness, and common sense just as strongly as they respond to official regulations.
A Fight Over More Than Metal Birds
The LaBlancs say they do not plan to back down.
Williams reported that the family has been fighting for months to keep the roosters in place, even as fines continue.
The town’s concern appears to be rooted in signage rules, while the family’s concern is rooted in Piper’s well-being. Those two positions may both make sense on paper, but the conflict between them has left the family feeling targeted over something they say helps their child.
For now, the roosters remain more than decorations. They are part of a child’s transition routine, part of a family’s identity, and now part of a larger debate over how local rules should handle unusual personal circumstances.
The dispute in Ogunquit shows how a small object can carry a much bigger meaning once people understand why it matters.
To some, the roosters may simply look like oversized porch decorations. To the LaBlanc family, they are Piper’s birds, and that is why the fight to keep them has become so personal.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
