LA PALMA : City to Consider Ban on Pigeon Feeding

Inclement weather, holidays, neighborhood complaints and police requests haven’t stopped Carol Heckerman and Sharon Cain from feeding the pigeons at Central Park every afternoon for the past four years.

But tonight, the law might.

At the behest of park neighbors who are annoyed by pigeon droppings dirtying their driveways, patios and rooftops, the City Council will consider adopting an ordinance banning animal feeding in the park as one of several options in resolving the controversy.

The council, which may also appoint a subcommittee to find a solution, is scheduled to discuss the matter at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 7822 Walker St.

“It’s a selfish thing for them to do,” Mayor Eva G. Miner said of Heckerman and Cain. “I know they are feeding pigeons and all, but it’s not fair that they won’t desist. We’ll see what action we can take legally.”

But the two women, who said they have spent more than $2,500 of their own money to feed the birds bread, argue they are helping the birds.

“How can you stop feeding the pigeons when you’ve been doing it for four years,” said Heckerman, 51, who lives in Cypress and drives a school bus. “I can’t stop, and don’t ask me to.”

“With everything going on in this horrible world, it makes me feel good,” added Cain, 45, a Buena Park resident.

Neighbors, however, whose Pembury Drive homes abut Central Park, aren’t taking such a charitable view of the women’s deeds. In a petition signed by 26 residents, park neighbors said they are “fed up” with the pigeons who have damaged roofs, nested in chimneys and even flown into homes. They contend that if the women are forced to stop the afternoon feedings, the birds will look for food elsewhere.

“We are just really tired of it,” said Charlene Sugarman, who signed the petition. “I believe in ecology and caring about animals . . . but these pigeons are driving us out of our minds, plus they leave a mess.”

Heckerman and Cain, who plan to attend the council meeting, said they will stop only if the city passes a law.

If the pair are banned from feeding the pigeons, some neighbors would be sad to see the tradition halted.

“We got shootings every day--you can’t even walk around the streets anymore,” said Lloyd Bergman, a retired attorney who lives across the street from the park. “And then they are going to harass these women on the grounds of feeding pigeons. It’s ridiculous.”