From the age of 9, birds have been a big part of Lyle Snavely’s life.
He has a particular fondness for racing homing pigeons. Snavely, who moved to Forest Lake in April, didn’t anticipate ruffling any feathers with his request last month that the hobby be allowed under the city’s ordinance.
Snavely, 54, was tagged by the building department the very same day he placed a specially designed coop, often called a pigeon loft, in his back yard this past spring.
The Forest Lake City Council, except for lone Council member Jim DuFour, balked at changing the language that already exists regarding animals kept within the borders of the municipality.
“We have not received any direction from the council,” said City Attorney Dave Hebert.
But as chance has it, the winds may have shifted for Snavely. The council directed staff to research the matter and bring it back to them at a later date.
And at Monday’s meeting, DuFour expressed his frustration with the developing situation.
A Costly Hobby
The councilman stated that now Snavely’s been told the fee for a text amendment is $1000 and that he would need to hire a lawyer to go over paperwork.
“I just think it is ridiculous,” DuFour said.
Snavely told the council he wants to keep as many as 100 birds on his property at 647 SW 2nd Ave. He has the support of neighbors as they signed a petition. Snavely’s birds are at a location in Mora.
Even the 72-year-old gentleman who lives next door built a deck to watch the pigeons dive down through the trap of the pigeon house. Snavely exercises the birds for one hour every day. There are two racing seasons for the younger pigeons and the older ones. Both racing seasons are over for the year.
Feeling defeated after the Aug. 9 meeting, Snavely put his home on the market. He didn’t foresee having difficulty getting the city code change; White Bear Lake passed a similar ordinance at his request several years ago.
“I hate to leave Forest Lake just because I can’t race them,” he said to the council this week.
And he’s put in a considerable investment to have the birds by removing six trees to make room for the pigeon palace. What Snavely has in mind is no shanty.
The pigeon loft would have siding that matches the exterior of the house and garage. In addition, the living conditions for the birds must be clean in order for the pigeons to be in good health for racing.
Counterpoints
Mayor Stev Stegner said there are two issues – that DuFour thinks the fee for a text amendment is too high, despite Willowbrook Community Church paying it as the congregation is planning a temporary move to the Treasure Trove site at the Lake Shoppes until a new facility is built in the future.
As for the other issue at hand, Stegner said, “I just don’t know if we want livestock...in a residential area.”
Councilwoman Susan Young said she is concerned that the city does not charge its residents a fee to consider a change to other city codes, like the noise ordinance, but they do when it comes to zoning.
However, Young believes that Snavely’s request needs to go through the proper process.
“We really do need the planning commission to be our recommender,” Young said.
DuFour, who is familiar with the hobby and knows some of Snavely’s fellow members of the Viking Racing Pigeon Club based in Roseville, didn’t take kindly to Stegner’s comparison of the birds to domestic livestock.
“Don’t get angry with me,” Stegner said to DuFour.
While the councilman said it is not like keeping chicken or pheasants, Stegner said mockingly, “some may argue they’re the same” since both lay eggs and live in houses.
Source: Forest Lake Times
