Playing CHICKEN with the law

WOODLAND PARK - Why did the chicken cross the parking lot?

Because the city of Woodland Park ordered him to.

A Wild Wings ’n Things store owner in this Teller County city is fighting city hall over Chicken Man, an employee in a costume, and her right to have him stand along U.S. Highway 24.

The city told her to bring him inside. She refuses.

It’s a story that has ruffled a lot of feathers in Woodland Park. It has become a focal point in a community debate about how far local government should go to enforce sign laws and about how much this rapidly growing mountain town should try to cling to its rustic charm.

These days, Chicken Man waves an American flag instead of a sign enticing drivers with wings and beer.

“I’m an American. I live in the United States of America. That’s why he’s carrying the flag,” owner Lisa Branden said Wednesday.

Having Chicken Man along the highway violates sign laws designed to maintain the town’s “mountain grandeur,” city manager David Buttery said.

At stake, Branden said, is the survival of her business and the jobs of two employees who dress as Chicken Man.

“He is my main source of advertising,” she said. “He is my primary method for letting people know I am here.”

She opened the store in September in the Safeway shopping center on the east side of town, and Chicken Man was part of it, as it is with all the Wild Wings ’n Things stores.

Buttery said that the job of code enforcement officer was vacant from 2003 to September, and that many illegal signs went up around town. Plus, he said officials weren’t sure they had the authority to regulate activity along the side of a federal highway.

But city officials concluded that they could, and that Chicken Man was illegal under the sign law. Branden was told Chicken Man had to be cooped up.

“Things like that were starting to get out of control based on the opinions of city council,” Buttery said, adding that the law “does not say specifically that costumed characters are not allowed. It says if it is not specifically permitted, it is specifically prohibited.”

Chicken Man’s plight, meanwhile, has caused a stir. Branden has collected 1,100 petition signatures to save Chicken Man. Chicken Man has been on the front page of The Mountain Jackpot, the local newspaper, twice. Some other businesses have put up signs of support.

“I think it’s crazy,” said Mike Morris, who founded the first Wild Wings ’n Things in Colorado Springs in 2004. There are now 12 franchises.

“I think it’s a freedom of speech issue. I think we should be able to walk down the street in any costume we want,” Morris said.

“I think some of the reasons I’ve heard for pulling him out of there are ridiculous,” said Tom Carmody, cutting hair at Great Clips for Hair, also in the shopping center. “It’s a funky town. It’s a funky chicken.”

“The short version of the story is, ‘Leave him alone,’” said Lonnie Womack, owner of PDQ Mail and More, a few doors down from Branden.

“He’s not a threat to anything. He’s not a danger to anybody. Leave the Chicken Man alone.”

Others say Woodland Park is trying too hard to maintain a tourist destination appearance.

“This is not a destination town. It’s a bedroom community and people passing through on their way to Breckenridge or Monarch, and how do we pull them in? Through advertising,” said Ron Clausen, coowner of Banana Belt Liquor.

Who is next, they wonder? Santa Claus? Ronald Mc-Donald?

Chicken Man would not comment. Said Branden: “He does not talk. He’s a chicken.”

For now, city officials say they are focusing on education and don’t plan to cite Branden, though Buttery said they could.

“As the code is written now, she’s not in compliance,” he said.

He said officials will wait until a new sign law is passed. Under a draft, costumed characters would be limited to 90 days of display a year, which Branden does not support.

The city’s planning commission is set to discuss the new ordinance at a workshop at 7 p.m. tonight at Woodland Park City Hall, 220 W. South Ave.

Branden plans to attend. And so does Chicken Man.