Panel Rejects Appeal on Emus, Ostriches

A city panel has denied a Chatsworth couple’s bid to override a zoning decision that drastically reduced the number of emus and ostriches allowed on their Northridge Road property.

The Planning and Land Use Committee turned down an appeal filed by David and Monica Mohilef, who sought to make their case for housing as many as 195 fowl at their Danielle Michelle Farms.

Contending that the city had no basis for deciding that the ostrich farm had become a public nuisance, the couple sued the city in 1995 after being ordered to remove about 800 flightless birds from the property.

A state appellate court ruled last October that the Board of Zoning Appeals lacked jurisdiction when it ordered all birds off the property, city officials said.

As a result, the panel agreed to allow no more than 24 birds at a time at the farm.

At the Planning and Land Use Committee’s hearing late Tuesday, Jay S. Bulmash, an attorney for the Mohilefs, asked that only adult fowl be restricted in number, allowing hatchlings of breeding birds to remain on the property until they are large enough to be placed elsewhere.

“By keeping it to only 24 birds, you’re making it financially unfeasible to operate,” he said.

The farm recently housed nearly 200 birds, which he said is adequate for the business.

Bulmash also asked that the committee consider sending the issue back to the zoning administrator to conduct hearings, at which the Mohilefs hope to prove that the farm is not a public health problem in its Monteria Estates neighborhood.

Neighbors had complained that the farm was contaminating the area with odors, dust and airborne feathers.

The committee denied the appeal, and the matter is scheduled to go before the full panel Feb. 24.