CYPRESS : City Readies Law to Allow Pigeon Coops

Homing pigeons in need of a home may soon find one in Cypress, as the City Council this week took initial steps to allow pigeon coops in residential neighborhoods.

In a 4-to-1 decision, with Councilman Walter K. Bowman voting against the proposal, the council put the finishing touches on an ordinance that will make it legal for residents to keep the birds.

The action comes in response to a complaint filed last November by George Hatfield, who claimed that his neighbor’s pigeons were noisy, dirty and reduced his property value.

“The issue here is bird droppings,” Hatfield, armed with videotape of five days’ worth of droppings, told the council in November.

However, after a rigorous debate, the council finally sided with the birds only to discover that there wasn’t a city ordinance addressing homing pigeons. So they ordered that one be drawn up immediately, which was done this week.

Under the proposed law, which will be formally considered for adoption later this month, residents are allowed to keep 100 racing pigeons in a back-yard coop. Several restrictions are placed on the owners, including allowing only 40 birds to be let out at a time for exercise and other maneuvers.

In addition, each owner must apply for a special permit from the city, which could further limit the pigeons.

David Nagle, whose prize-winning Molokai Drive homing pigeons prompted the stir, thanked the city for not making him get rid of his hobby. However, Nagle, like others harboring illegal coops, will still have to apply for a permit.

But not all were happy with the decision. Councilman Bowman argued coops would decrease property values. “If Nagle wants to race pigeons he can cart them out to the boonies and race them,” Bowman said. “I don’t think they belong in residential neighborhoods.”

Robert Wallace, who owns an apartment complex in back of Nagle’s, agreed with Bowman. “I am not criticizing Mr. Nagle. The issue is the pigeon coops are going to decrease my property value.”

However Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson, a supporter of the pigeons, countered that she interviewed 70 residents in the area, including Wallace’s own tenants, and most didn’t know that the birds were even there.

Although Hatfield, whose complaint started the controversy, didn’t speak at this week’s meeting, his wife, Beverly, did. She chided the council for not listening to the “voice of the people” and vowed to get a petition opposing the law.

The pigeon ordinance is expected to be formally adopted at the council’s Jan. 27 meeting.