Editorial: It’s a bird, it’s a … man with no permit

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

We have no advice for the Clark County neighbors of an illegal pigeon loft, except, perhaps, to begin raising falcons or bobcats. Seriously, though, we do have advice for county officials -- be strong in following through on the citations issued to the loft's owner. The loft, on a ranch-estates property near Interstate 15 and Warm Springs Road, is sized for 1,000 homing pigeons. About 600 of the birds were used in a race this past weekend. More than 500 pigeon enthusiasts, eager to see the birds return from a release point in Arizona, converged on the neighborhood.

Raising homing pigeons and racing them is fine -- providing, of course, that all necessary permits have been applied for and received. In this case, the race organizer, who lives in California, simply moved onto the property a couple years ago, built the loft, and began training and racing the pigeons. When he finally did apply last month for a race permit, it was denied by the Planning Commission. Despite that, and despite neighbors' objections to the weekend disruption and the year-around droppings, he held the race anyway. An events permit, a use permit and a zoning variance were needed at a minimum. County officials acted correctly, although a bit late, this past weekend in issuing two misdemeanor citations to the organizer. We're a growing urban area with codes in place to protect residents, not the Wild West where anything goes.