CHATSWORTH : Neighbors Say Ostrich Farm Fouls Their Air

The proverbial feathers flew at times--as did insults--at an unusually lively zoning hearing Monday concerning a controversial ostrich farm in Chatsworth.

At one point, an audience member stood and called the attorney representing the farm a “total moron” and threatened to sue him for defamation.

Neighbors of Danielle Michelle Farms--also known as Mohilef Farms--have complained for several months, saying a smelly, dirty and dangerous zoo has been installed in their posh and exclusive back yards in Monteria Estates.

Associate Zoning Administrator Daniel Green was at the Sherman Oaks Women’s Club Monday to hear testimony from both sides before deciding whether the farm is a commercial operation, and if so, whether it is a nuisance.

The testimony was decidedly lopsided, as neighbor after neighbor took to the podium to complain. They told stories of urine odor so overpowering that outdoor parties were moved inside, of filthy, feather-clogged swimming pools, and of respiratory problems they blamed on the dust and excrement stirred up by some 400 ostriches, 400 emus and a couple of hundred other animals at the farm.

The stench is “like rancid mutton fat or wet sheep wool,” said one woman.

The ranch is on about seven acres in Monteria Estates, a private and pricey compound in north Chatsworth where the least-expensive homes list for about $2 million.

According to residents and others just outside the gated community, farm owner David Mohilef has had numerous exotic animals on the property for years. There were few problems, they said, until last year, when hundreds of ostriches and emus--a large, feathery relative--began appearing.

While farm opponents made a greater show of numbers at the hearing, Mohilef brought in a book full of scientific data and the scientist who compiled it to shore up his argument that the agriculturally zoned property is clean and safe. Mohilef testified that the farm is primarily a place of research, not commerce.

Jay L. Stern of a Bell Gardens company called Applied Biogenics Inc. said recent tests of air samples taken from the area failed to show abnormal levels of particulates associated with the birds. Those tests did, however, detect methane, he said, which could be emanating from the nearby Monteria Lake and could be responsible for the reported odors.

Stern said air samples taken at his company’s headquarters were quite similar to those taken at Monteria Estates, and that some of the substances detected are also found in “strawberry essence and cocoa,” a statement that brought a roomful of chuckles.

Though residential properties are not generally subject to nuisance laws, commercial properties are, and can be shut down if they are unable to appease neighbors. Mohilef, who lives at the farm, testified that he makes his living as an exotic animal trader, but that the farm is not a commercial operation because he is not selling the ostriches and emus directly. He is doing research, he said, on the most efficient ways to raise the birds, which are becoming increasingly popular around the world for their meat, leather and feathers.

Greg Butts, whose property adjoins Mohilef’s, said, “If that’s not a commercial operation, I don’t know what is.”

Quiet “boos” and muffled cat-calls were heard throughout the hearing, but the crowd became especially vociferous when attorney Jay Bulmash, representing Mohilef, described neighbors’ financial dealings and past run-ins with the farm. He said that the controversy had little to do with smells or health concerns and more to do with neighbors’ “own agendas.”

Green said his report will be completed in about two weeks. But, he warned, that won’t likely end the ruckus.

“I will make a decision that I can guarantee you will be appealed,” he said, first to the Planning Commission, then possibly the City Council and civil courts.