It’s official — cock-a-doodle-don’t feed the chickens.
Key West officials on Feb. 2 made it illegal to feed the island’s wild chicken population. Whether the handout is from a 50-pound bag of feed or a leftover French fry, it’s illegal.
The outlaw ordinance passed unanimously and with little discussion at the City Commission meeting. The new law received endorsement from the Florida Keys SPCA, and it makes exceptions for those who own and keep chickens safely cooped on private property.
“Unattended food used to feed poultry can attract insects, pests and rodents; and poultry within the city can create a nuisance disturbance, carry and spread diseases, destroy property and cause copious amounts of fecal deposits on public property,” the new ordinance states. “The city has received complaints from its residents regarding the feeding of poultry by persons and the nuisances it creates.”
The new law will be enforced by code officers who must be called when someone witnesses a violation. The ban becomes effective as soon as the mayor signs the law this week.
Phone chat
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners decided they needn’t be told, in writing, to refrain from using their cellphones during commission meetings. Commissioner Sam Kaufman initially proposed, then withdrew, a resolution that would have prohibited commissioners from using their phones during meetings. Kaufman said he wanted to discuss the matter, but was willing to withdraw the proposal when it failed to draw support except from Mayor Teri Johnston, who emphasized that the question was an ethical one.
Commissioners recently participated in an annual ethics course, which, Johnston said, specifically suggested that it is unethical for a commissioner to receive and read text messages or other communications during a public meeting, as the information may not be sent or available to all commissioners or the public.
“It was clearly stated in the ethics course that we are not to take communication that’s not available to everyone while in a meeting,” Johnston said. “I get text after text from staff and constituents during meetings. We even have the chat feature on Zoom meetings. But the ethics course states we’re not to receive communications that aren’t available to everyone.”
Johnston added that her concerns are a matter of transparency and public trust.
Commissioner Clayton Lopez pointed out that phones are now a common replacement for laptops or tablets and are regularly consulted for calendar planning, factual information relevant to a discussion and other uses.
“I think this might be unnecessary overreach,” Lopez said. “Checking our own notes on a phone is no different than having a laptop or tablet in front of us. We know that anything we put on the phone is subject to public record requests.”
Commissioner Greg Davila agreed, saying, “Eliminating cell phones is eliminating a tool and hindering our decision-making abilities,” he said. “No one is texting me during a meeting telling me which way to vote. Plus, at one point, my mother was sick. And I have kids, so my phone will be on silent, but I’m not going to turn it off.”
“Madame Mayor, you called me out during a meeting a few weeks ago for looking at my phone,” Lopez said, “when in reality, I was consulting my calendar as we made plans for a follow-up meeting.”
Commissioners also pointed out that they are well aware the contents of their phones are public record, and anyone can request whatever contents a commissioner consulted during a public meeting.
Kaufman said he appreciated the discussion, then willingly withdrew the resolution. Commissioners encouraged the mayor to continue to start each meeting with a reminder to silence phones and remain focused on city business.
Waterfront housing
Lawmakers, city managers and planning experts are focused and working quickly to build consensus and assemble a plan — once again — to put housing, retail space and other community development activities at Truman Waterfront.
The 3.2 undeveloped acres there have long been designated for the benefit of the adjacent Bahama Village neighborhood. City officials on Feb. 2 approved a zoning category for that space — Historic Neighborhood Commercial. Transient lodging will be prohibited on those 3.2 acres and the density — or number of units allowed per acre — has been increased to 40 units per acre to enable affordable housing.
City Manager Greg Veliz told the commissioners on Tuesday that he met with Scott Pridgen of AH Monroe and asked Pridgen’s team, which has created more than 100 units of affordable housing in the city, to design a preliminary plan for the waterfront parcel.
Tha plan will be presented to the Bahama Village Advisory Board, which was initially formed nearly 20 years ago in part to review early plans and identify priorities for that waterfront parcel, and then to the City Commission with plenty of public meetings offering opportunity for input.
“But there’s got to be a moment in time when we make a decision,” Johnston said, reminding the commissioners that these meetings and discussions have been occurring for nearly two decades with no action.
Veliz, who was not city manager during the previous discussions, assured the commissioners, “We’re trying to move this project forward and not let it drift around for years,” he said.
