Bird enthusiasts help defer Council bill

A bill that would place strict rules on owners of birds in Oahu’s residential neighborhoods was deferred indefinitely to allow aviary groups and Kamehameha Heights residents time to work out a dispute with a man who has about 150 birds on his property.

The City Council Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee shelved Bill 51 after more than a dozen bird enthusiasts and organizations spoke against it, calling it an unnecessary hardship on law-abiding pet owners since it appears the measure was targeted at a single bird owner.

Kamehameha Heights resident Alisha Leisek said the bill is needed to restore tranquility in a neighborhood that has become increasingly noisy over the years.

"Leisek said, “We can’t close our windows because of the heat, and we don’t have air conditioning … so it’s not like we can close the windows and block the sound out.”

The latest draft of the bill, introduced by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga, requires that bird enclosures on residential lots be at least 25 feet from a neighboring property, and calls for an as-yet-undetermined limit on birds “capable of producing loud calls.”

Bird enthusiast Clayton Cotton said because most Oahu properties are smaller than in other jurisdictions, a 25-foot setback on bird enclosures “would eliminate probably all bird owners.” It is unreasonable to set a general limit on all birds because they make sounds at different volumes, Cotton said.

Melissa Bayles of the Hawaiian Feathered Friends Network was one of several people to offer help to find a solution in lieu of the bill.

City Planning and Permitting Director George Atta also said he could not support the bill, in part, because his inspectors have neither the training nor the equipment to measure the noise levels of birds.

Kamehameha Heights resident Bruce McGonigal did not appear at the meeting, but submitted written testimony opposing the bill. McGonigal said in a telephone interview that he has about 150 birds, most of them rescue animals, that are used as part of a show he does at Sea Life Park. While he’s had some disputes with neighbors, he said, he is willing to work with neighbors to resolve their concerns.