Oreo's going to try to address, and if I can, aggregate the concerns and questions from that meeting into a single blog post to answer everything at once. Most were overlays of the TNR with the Chicken and the Bee thing, and while Oreo doesn't usually deal with agriculture which is a land use issue, there is a curious intermingling n the minds of the cat feeders, ( an amazing number of them follow Oreo ) so we'll go there :)
As an opening statement to those of you who questioned the sanity of the City of Sparks, please don't. I love Sparks, and while we do have a couple of flakes, we are on the whole, a very decent and fair city. We also care about every aspect of our citizens lives and want to be the best we can be. I know that has not always been apparent since the TNR thing came to town, but give us time. In Sparks we haven't always been the most " trendy", that said, we are proud of our honesty, it's in the DNA of our City. That makes our elected officials, and sometimes staff, vulnerable to people who look us right in the face and lie, we are just not hardwired to deal with liars but we will find our feet and get it sorted. The most common thread among every email was " property rights and safety" The County of Washoe stomped on our property rights with the cats and Council Member Ratti finished off what they had left us with her " Chickens and Bee's" brainstorm. I think I have heard from every licensed day care center in Sparks, and a few that just babysit.
The question of" can you protest bee keeping next to your babysitting business", I didn't see a place to do that, but it's a good question to ask at a Council Meeting when this comes up. I would consider a bee and chicken operation starting up next to an existing daycare business as detrimental. Same goes for those of you who have struggled with feral cats in your playground area. And, yes I have heard the WCRAS will not rent traps anymore.
Post a No Trespassing sign. As for what to do when NHS comes to your door to " explain TNR" do the same thing you do with the Kirby salesmen...
wish them well and shut the door. If they leave a cat make sure you have a video camera and document it, including the license plate of the person who abandons the cat. This will come in handy when you file a complaint for trespassing. Remember there is a complaint on file at the AG's office on the legality of the whole mess, so document and confirm.
Sparks has a contract with Washoe County, we do NOT have any business arrangement with the Nevada Humane Society, nor are they mentioned in the interlocal agreement. NHS is not any different than the guy who pulls up on your street and tries to sell you his" fresh fish" or overstock on any truck passing through:) I heard from several of you that you have been told they ( NHS ) are our " partner", complete lie.
Washoe County contracts with NHS, there is no " guilt by association"...Washoe County partners with lots of vendors that Sparks wouldn't deal with, so get your information straight.
Back to Bee's and Chickens for a minute, yes, if you have a smokey BBQ, it will tick off the bees, and yes Chickens draw flies, no matter how tidy you may think you are, chickens draw flies and they also carry parasites.... Last I heard they are governed by USDA, so hit that website for more information. Does anybody really believe that these chickens will not be slaughtered for consumption ? To the persons who asked why they (beekeepers and chicken folk ) didn't move to the country if they wanted to be farmers, good question, ask Julia.... Can't you just hear the farmer scream if we tried to throw a Wal-Mart up next door to them. ( but we're zoned rural )
Property Rights people, property rights and land use, that's all it comes down to. Zoning protects the rights of owners from land uses that negatively impact another. Please understand, we zone areas for specific usage so that like minded people can live together, if Council Member Ratti is in favor of inclusive zoning, start a new town and go for it....... I have lived in many towns with inclusive zoning that work well, because they all started on the same page.....however, you don't just throw farming in the middle of an urban area and say " play nice"..Council Member Ratti very quietly slid the Chicken and Bees right on through, soft sell, no big waves on Julia's plan, but it wasn't truly vetted because people didn't think it would be allowed in " urban" areas or the suburbs......Well folks there are no farms in the City limits unless you include " truck Farms " :)
Feral cat colonies are the worst offenders because they totally fall under WC giving someone else permission to use your land, and please know that this law will not " make you more liable" the latest fear mongering from the Pro TNR group, if you own land where these cats are allowed to live, you are already liable, to ban the colonies offers you some protection because you can file a complaint against the trespassers for performing an illegal act upon your property.
In parting, I have been asked this so many times, weary people, weary......I don't know why some council members do not study before they go behind the rostrum, instead of doing research they just ask a question that they should have asked before the meeting, and done their homework. In looking at the Sparks City Council meetings on video several times I have to admit, the City did seem more concerned with appeasement than protecting property rights, and that is ugly. Who cares if it's an emotional issue, it shouldn't be, are we going to tackle abortion next ? The City is in the land use and growth business, it should be in the public health and safety business.
Mayor Martini mentioned a desire to retain business, perhaps this would be the time to talk to the city about that. For every person who wants a stray cat, a chicken or a bee farm, there are 8 that don't want to live next door to that, so lets stop the PC garbage and take care of our citizens. When the TNR proponent came up for his presentation the rostrum did NOT ask him how long he was going to speak, and yet when our elected City Attorney came forward, they asked him...... pandering is new to Sparks and we don't do it well, or with grace.
