Boca Raton Animal Feeding Ordinance Reignites Neighborly Dispute Over ‘Hundreds’ of Pigeons

The 300 block of NW Spanish River Boulevard, where a dispute between neighbors over pigeon feeding helped give rise to an animal feeding ordinance. (Google Earth)

When Boca Raton adopted a new ordinance prohibiting the feeding of nuisance animals, news reports focused on its inclusion of iguanas – but the measure originated with a resident who said his home has been plagued by the presence of hundreds of pigeons attracted by the feeding activities of a neighbor.

The dispute has long been known at city hall in Boca Raton, and neither party has been silent about the dispute. Both came to the city council meeting last month where the ordinance was ultimately adopted, with one resident saying the pigeons attracted by his neighbor’s feeding efforts have destroyed his roof and outdoor furniture, and the other acknowledging the allegations and lambasting her neighbor at the microphone. Two weeks later, fresh code enforcement complaints have been filed with the city, and new inspections have been scheduled in the coming weeks.

Mark Stahlbaum, a resident of NW Spanish River Boulevard, said before the vote that there was nowhere to turn in order to get the feedings to stop. (Aerial photography in the area of the homes in question is prohibited due to its proximity to Boca Raton Airport).

“I’m not the first person to have suffered this, and there is no outlet to do anything about it,” said Stahlbaum. “You can’t go to the police, you can’t go to Florida Wildlife, you can’t go anywhere.”

Similar disputes in other towns have led to similar ordinances being passed. Royal Palm Beach, Daytona Beach and Coral Gables have passed them. Locally, Palm Beach County adopted a similar ordinance for the unincorporated areas of the county. Boca Raton had no such ordinance until Aug. 25, when the council finally adopted it in a 3-2 vote, about two years after it was first adopted.

The vote didn’t come without a debate – Stahlbaum’s neighbor, Lily Perez, spoke out against the ordinance, and Councilwoman Yvette Drucker spoke at length about “wasting time on one single issue.”

“I don’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed by this or why it was brought back to us,” Drucker said. “Are we going to have our code enforcement people monitoring these animals? It is one residents’ complaint versus another residents’ complaint. If this was an issue with multiple residents throughout the community, we would have heard about it.”

A pigeon in flight. (Credit: Alexis Lours – Own work, CC BY 4.0)

Stahlbaum said the ordinance was to ensure other neighbors do not have to suffer property damage and the presence of a buildup of animal feces on their lawns.

“This isn’t a funny thing,” he told council members. ” It isn’t something that is just weird – it’s something that is really happening in our community.”

Perez, for her part, pledged she would continue feeding pigeons.

“I have a lot of pigeons on my roof, and they have been there for a lot of years in Boca,” she said. “They were there before us, so I continue to feed the pigeons in my backyard.”

She openly stated she would violate the ordinance if it were to be passed.

“If you want to charge me $100, I will keep up with feeding those birds,” she said. “If you want to start fining me now, let’s do it.”

Stahlbaum countered that the situation goes far beyond a single person feeding pigeons.

“It’s upwards of 150 to 200 pigeons in this case,” he said. “They’re around all the time, dive-bombing me, my house, pooping on my car, and the person who is feeding them is overfeeding them by far.”

The ordinance itself covers several species, including iguanas, rats and mice. The inclusion of iguanas made the most news, garnering television news segments and articles in numerous print newspapers. City officials said the new ordinance was narrower in scope than a similar measure considered two years ago.

“It’s actually much more limited,” said Mayor Andy Thomson, addressing Drucker’s comments. “You mentioned it’s a waste of our time, but some things we deal with here have real significance to [individuals], some have universal significance, and some things are smaller. Not everything we do is landmark legislation – it involves issues affecting our residents. When residents come and bring up an issue, it is up to us to see if it merits relief.”

Brandon Schaad, the city’s Development Services director, said the new ordinance was limited in scope.

“There was a version of this that was prepared about three years ago, so we spent quite a bit of time then. This time it was just making a few adjustments,” said Schaad, confirming that the ordinance does not penalize the simple feeding of animals, such as bird feeders or the occasional throwing of a piece of bread to a duck at a pond.

An iguana “chills” in a parking lot in Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

“Typical activities are not a problem,” said Schaad. “This is to address extraordinary situations where many, many animals are being attracted to a location and are causing a public nuisance.”

The 3-2 vote to adopt the ordinance saw Thomson, along with council members Stacy Sipple and Jon Pearlman, voting in favor. Drucker and Councilwoman Michelle Grau voted against the ordinance.

Records from the city’s code enforcement database showed a fresh complaint was filed against Perez’ property Sept. 1, with no active feeding found when an officer arrived, and a further inspection has been scheduled later this month.