Bird sanctuary designation passes in Terrebonne

Responding to residents that said they are bird lovers more than law lovers, the Terrebonne Parish Council offered a 5-to-4 vote last Wednesday to designate the Allemand subdivision, including Royse, Darlene and Allemand streets as a bird sanctuary.

“You saw what went on there,” Councilman Billy Hebert said regarding the four council members that he noted were prepared to rubber stamp the measure until they heard from residents opposed to having another law added to the books.

The law ended up bringing their unincorporated neighborhood, just outside the Houma city limits, in line with a municipal code that prohibits the shooting or trapping of birds and wildlife within that designated area.

“No matter what you might think, you have to go with what the constituents say,” Hebert said following the council meeting that focused primarily on this issue from and agenda that contained 12 general business and public hearing items.

The appeal for a bird sanctuary designation came from resident Teri Ferguson, who said her intention was to prevent the unincorporated neighborhood from becoming subject to hunting practices common to more rural areas and to enhance both environmental and quality of life conditions.

“It will instill pride,” Ferguson said after the final vote was taken and the ordinance passed. “There are still some little boys that have BB guns and I would like their parents to teach them [not to be shooting at the birds]. I’m pleased with the way it voted. We either do it now or it will be too late.”

Following an appeal of support offered as public comment by Ferguson, other area residents voiced their opinions on the matter, mostly in opposition.

Many responded to a petition that had been circulating in their neighborhood that erroneously claimed that passage of the bird sanctuary ordinance would prevent residents from trimming trees and using insecticides to fight fire ants and other pests.

Becky Lirette was among those that voiced resistance to the bird sanctuary designation. “I am against having an ordinance of having a bird sanctuary in my neighborhood,” she said. “I have a signed petition of over 40 residents … who are against it also. I’ve lived in this neighborhood 26 years and see no need for an ordinance. I believe there are sufficient laws in place without adding another one.”

Lirette revealed that she is involved in a lawsuit against Ferguson regarding an argument over removal of a cypress tree between the two homeowner’s properties then entered into personal attacks against Ferguson and Councilwoman Teri Cavalier.

“This ordinance is not about conservation,” Lirette reasoned. “It is about two feuding neighbors and one of them is trying to drag a neighborhood and a parish council into their fight.”

Ferguson said that her concern and motivation behind the ordinance is targeted at human population growth encroaching upon wildlife. She said she wants people to be good neighbors for migratory birds.

Councilman Kevin Voisin said he would not support the ordinance measure because he did not want to get dragged into a personal fight or questions about life safety issues involving concepts that tree branches could not be trimmed because of protected birds. “This is exactly the unintended consequence I was afraid of in committee,” he said. “What I dislike about this [ordinance] is the manner in which this was presented. I really believe the whole neighborhood is living what this is. Nobody is trapping birds. Nobody is shooting at birds.”

“This was presented to me as a representative of your area,” Cavalier, who represents this portion of District 4, said to attendees speaking in opposition to the ordinance. “One of the people who signed that petition was told by someone who passed it that they could not cut down trees any longer. The people who passed that petition did not tell the truth. All we are trying to do here, and Mrs. Ferguson brought it up, was to make us aware of the fragile state of our environment.”

Cavalier said that part of her concern regarded people shooting at birds from neighboring neighborhoods into the ordinance-designated area and disrupting not only wildlife but residents and their property as well. “I am endorsing this,” she said. “I am for it. I do not believe it is going to infringe on [any] rights.”

“The fact is, [the new ordinance] is not going against anything that is already covered in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” Ferguson said. “That covers over 800 birds. It’s a matter of pride and attention.

“We want to make people more aware of the habitat we are losing,” she said.

In other matters, Councilman Joey Cehan showed photos of grass trimmings in roadways along Martin Luther King Boulevard after state mowing crews passed over the area and called on the council to take a stand.

Joined in this argument by council members Alvin Tillman and Arlanda Williams, Cehan called upon parish administrators to fine the state at the same level residents would be fined for leaving clippings out where they could eventually clog sewer drains.

“There is no excuse for this,” Cehan said prior to the meeting while revealing his concern. “We need to hold the state accountable.”

Other agenda matters included council approval of holding an election on Nov. 19, that could authorize a renewed 10-year, 10 mill tax to help finance the Bayou Blue Fire Protection District.

The council passed with no discussion an ordinance to amend permit fees for the shoring and elevating of structures. Under the new plan a flat fee residential permit for elevation will be $500. Previously, because multiple permits were involved the cost averaged $575. “It just became cumbersome with so many permits involved,” Planning and Zoning Director Patrick Gordon said. “This way they have one fee that applies to elevating and that’s it.”

The flat fee set for commercial property is $750 and is higher than residential costs because of the nature and size of structures generally involved with commercial buildings

The parish council also approved without question naming Christian Lapeyre to join the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners in the seat being vacated by Matt Armand.

Terrebonne Parish Councilmen Billy Hebert, left, and Joey Cehan listen to arguments for and against a proposed ordinance to amend the parish code and designate the Allemand subdivision, just outside the Houma city limits, as a bird sanctuary. MIKE NIXON