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Bluffs bans farm animals, wild animals, fowl
By WAYNE AYERS
Article published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
BELLEAIR BLUFFS – Responding to complaints about a resident who kept chickens in his yard, the City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance at Monday night’s meeting that, in City Attorney Thomas Trask’s words, “deals with wild animals, specifically chickens.”
The ordinance as originally presented prohibited farm animals, wild animals, fowl and reptiles from being kept within the city. The commission decided to strike reptiles from the banned list after Commissioner David Shimkus said that many people keep snakes as pets. Commissioner Troy Krotz noted that turtles are reptiles. Resident Suzy Sofer was heard to comment she would have to give up her pet turtle.
A weight limit on the animals was also briefly considered but was turned down after Krotz pointed out the difficulty of determining an animal’s poundage.
“Will we have (public works director) Robert David going around with a scale?” Shimkus asked.
The problem that the ordinance was created to deal with has apparently already been resolved. Robert David said after the meeting that the resident with the chickens has gotten rid of them. A special master hearing on the matter has been canceled, he said.
The chickens’ owner, James Johannessen, said in an e-mail correspondence to the Bee that he had given them up at the request of his landlord. He went on to say that many urban communities are embracing chickens as pets and he enumerated the benefits of keeping them. He said they are fantastic weed pullers and insect eaters and give free eggs. Johannessen went on to characterize Belleair Bluffs residents as “the most judgmental, least tolerant and un-understanding group of people I have ever had the misfortune of knowing.”
City to split area streetlight costs with county
An ongoing dispute with the county over who will pay power and maintenance costs for new street lights being installed along West Bay Drive in connection with the bridge project was resolved by an agreement to split the expense.
The commission approved an interlocal agreement with Pinellas County that commits Belleair Bluffs to pay the electricity and upkeep for 17 decorative lights. The county is planning to install 31 lights within Belleair Bluffs from the center of the new bridge to the municipal boundary line just past Indian Rocks Road and West Bay Drive. The city is paying the cost difference to upgrade 17 of the fixtures along West Bay to a more attractive design, which also include posts for banners and sockets for holiday lighting. That cost will be $205,000.
The commission originally wanted the county to pay the electricity costs for all 31 of the fixtures since West Bay Drive is a county road. David said he thought he had an agreement with the county to pay the whole bill until earlier that afternoon when he was given an ultimatum by Ivan Fernandez of the Pinellas County public works department.
“I was told, ‘If you say no to the agreement, (Belleair Bluffs) will pay for it all,’” he said.
That action prompted Commissioner Hunt Brand to accuse the county of “a word that begins with ‘e’ and ends with ‘tion.’”
The commission approved the agreement splitting the costs by a 4 to 1 vote. Shimkus voted no. Following the meeting, Shimkus said he has been in favor of the decorative lighting, but did not like the ultimatum or the questions that still remain surrounding the agreement.
Mayor Chris Arbutine said the county will match color schemes and accents on the bridge to coordinate with the decorative lighting.
Inclusionary housing and green city action
The county is considering a mandatory inclusive housing ordinance that would require new or substantially redone housing developments with 20 or more units to set aside a portion of their units for moderate income residents. Participating communities would receive a 50 percent density bonus as an incentive.
County Commissioner Karen Seel, speaking before the commission, said affordable housing is critically important to Pinellas County, as many workers are having to commute to Pasco and Citrus counties to find a place to live. Communities with mostly single-family homes, such as Belleair Bluffs, can adopt an alternative to the program, such as making a donation to a land trust, she said.
Cities would be expected to participate in the program unless they opt out by passing an ordinance stating their intention, Seel said.
A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 4, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Largo Cultural Center to gather feedback on the program.
Seel also discussed the Mayors Green City Action Accord, which calls upon Florida cities to take action “to advance alternative energies and a cleaner environment.” Seel said she would like to see a countywide effort to promote green issues. The county is considering using more energy efficient fleet vehicles and commuter devices to save energy and improve the environment.
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Article published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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