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Neighbors tired of noise from backyard bird breeder
By TIM GRANT ODESSA -- What used to be a tranquil lakeside community off Boy Scout Road has become a noisy battlefield. The problem: Don Warner is raising up to 140 exotic birds in his back yard and their constant squawking and screeching is disturbing his neighbors around Garden Lake. "It's hard to come out in the yard and talk at times," said next-door neighbor Dell Clark. Warner has a state permit to raise birds on his property, but neighbors are trying to press county officials to revoke it. Hillsborough code enforcement supervisor Jim Blinck said the county is conducting noise tests to determine whether Warner should be cited for a violation. "I'm looking at this as a public nuisance issue," Blinck said. "Even though he has a permit, he can still be a nuisance. If he's violating the noise ordinance, it's a public nuisance." Blinck said the noise survey results should be analyzed in about two weeks. Meanwhile, 24 of the 30 homeowners around Garden Lake have signed a petition asking that the birds be removed. Neighbors say Warner has stopped talking to them. Warner also declined to be interviewed for this report. "Go Away," reads the doormat in front of his house at 12241 Garden Lake Circle. According to Clark, Warner and his wife, Rita, decided to breed exotic birds for a retirement income. The business, however, has cost the Warners some longtime friends. "We've lived out here for 20 years and enjoyed a peaceful life," said Nancy Smith, Warner's other next-door neighbor. "I feel this is detrimental to our property values and it's affected our quality of life." Mrs. Smith said Mrs. Warner talked of plans to breed birds, but said they would only get two pairs instead of 17 because, as Mrs. Warner joked, "We don't want the neighbors to hate us." But when the birds arrived in February, Mrs. Smith said it took seven trips to transport all of them in a rented Ryder truck. "I asked her why they changed their mind and got so many birds? She told me they did it because of the money," she said. Mrs. Smith said Warner told one neighbor that at any given time he has up to 140 exotic birds in wire cages in his back yard, some of which are worth thousands of dollars. Jay Peters, who lives across Garden Lake, said the birds caught him by surprise. "The very first day they brought those birds I thought it was a woman screaming," Peters said. "I ran outside and starting looking for where it was coming from. Since then, it's been nonstop." Peters is convinced that the birds have ruined opportunities to sell his house. "One of my prime buyers came by one afternoon and the birds were going nuts," Peters said. "The buyers kept making comments asking "what is that noise?' I just shrugged it off and didn't answer." The deal fell apart. "Those birds are a real pain. Nobody is required to have the peace of their home violated." The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which issued the permit, does not consider issues such as zoning and noise during the permitting process, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the agency in Lakeland. Morse said the state agency is only concerned with issues that involve the bird cages and the safety and care of the birds. If valid county zoning and code violations exist, he said those could override the state permit. "We do issue a permit, but that doesn't mean zoning will allow them to have it," Morse said. Lydia Gladwin, who lives across the small lake, led a petition drive against Warner and got the county to investigate the problem. "I could see if he was on 40 acres all to himself, but this is a subdivision," Gladwin said. "We are requesting that he either keep the birds inside his home or get rid of them." - Reach Tim Grant at 226-3471 or by e-mail at grant@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
