ORANGE : Couple Crow Over Change in Bird Law

A couple who were forced to sell about four dozen pet cockatiels because they violated a city ordinance may get to keep the remainder of the birds after all.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to change an 18-year-old ordinance that prohibits Orange residents from having more than five birds as pets.

“They did just what we wanted,” said Dolores Palush of the council’s 5-0 vote. “You could say it is about 48 cockatiels too late, but as long as it’s changed, we’re happy.”

Palush and her husband, Lou, had to sell four dozen of the 65 cockatiels in their back-yard aviary after city officials cited them for the municipal code violation in August. But after selling most of them, the couple decided to tackle what they described as an outdated law.

Citing other “progressive” city codes governing aviaries, the Palushes last month succeeded in getting the council to consider their request to change the code.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the city’s planning administrator, John Godlewski, said the city had received a surprisingly large number of telephone calls from across the state supporting a change in the ordinance.

A first draft of the proposed new ordinance is expected to come before the council Dec. 1, he said, adding that city officials will consult experts before determining what species of birds could be kept by residents. He also said the city may choose to enforce the new law “on a complaint basis.”

“We are not the pigeon police,” he added.

Palush said she and her husband are “thrilled” about keeping their remaining cockatiels.

“We always kept birds as a hobby, not a business,” she said. “And we’re glad that the city is righting a wrong and changing with the times.”