Chicken sculpture fuels controversy over Sonoma County makeover

SONOMA, Calif. (KGO) -- An effort to spruce up a portion of Sonoma County has gotten people talking. Some might call it controversial. Others describe it as good business. At the heart of it all is a sculpture of a chicken.

Most love it. A few hate it. Nobody can miss it.

Rico Martin has transformed a two mile stretch of Highway 12 in Sonoma County near Boyse Hot Springs.

Sonoma County funded a project to improve the facades of local businesses and it becames an art experiment.

Martin he calls it the branding of a region. At businesses like Plain Jane's Consignments, it's paying off, as well.

"People see it. They notice us. And they think we have fun stuff because of it," said Paula Resing, with Plain Jane's Consignments.

Then there is the chicken. It's wings, on springs, flap when the wind blows.

It's been called gaudy, gauche, whimsical and wonderful.

Basically, it's a way to get recognized and acknowledged, and with the bump in business, it seems to be working.