By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities
Quite often I read promotional advertisements for master planned communities that brag about their environmentally friendly design — bicycle-friendly streets and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, nature trails, tranquil lakes, and preserved forests, prairies, or wetlands.
It all sounds so idyllic: residents can view wildlife from their kitchen windows or backyard decks. It’s life in harmony with nature, right?
Well, not so fast.
Fox 31 News reports that Stonegate Village homeowners’ association board in Parker, Colorado, recently exterminated hundreds of nearby prairie dogs, without any advance notice to residents.
Also, according to the report:
Some animal loving homeowners say that the prairie dogs could have been relocated, rather than fumigated.
HOA Board members said several other residents complained that the animals were a nuisance, and that the association has no obligation to consult homeowners before spending their money to kill the wild animals.
Parker residents upset over not being notified of prairie dog extermination
10:01 PM, APRIL 2, 2018, BY JULIE LEONARDI
Fox 31 KDVR
PARKER, Colo. — Residents in Stonegate Village in Parker were upset to learn their homeowners association dollars were spent on exterminating prairie dogs near their homes.
One resident said they learned about the fumigation process after the damage had been done.
Board members of the Stonegate Village Metropolitan District fumigated 600 colonies after some residents complained they roamed too close to homes.
“They are in open space where there’s not going to be any development. They weren’t bothering anyone and they used my HOA money to fund this killing and I had no knowledge about that,” resident Bard Jedele said.
Jedele said she moved to Colorado from Chicago to enjoy the wildlife in her backyard.
Read more (video):
And in Southington, Connecticut, the Record-Journal reports that Spring Lake Senior Living Community has voted to euthanize dozens of Canadian geese, after a great deal of heated debate among residents.
The HOA cited numerous complaints from residents regarding goose feces (poop) in and around common areas and nearby residences. The board says it attempted other methods of getting rid of nearly 80 geese, but none were effective.
However, local Humane Society expert, Ann Hornish, says the HOA’s efforts were inconsistent, and that killing dozens of geese this year will only temporarily address the problem, because new flocks of geese are likely to return to the same site in the near future.
Many homeowners and residents remain unhappy about spending HOA dollars to kill the birds.
DEEP representatives suggest that the HOA cracks down on residents who may be feeding the geese.
Southington senior living complex residents vote to euthanize geese
April 12, 2018 05:21PM
SOUTHINGTON — Residents say the Spring Lake Village senior living community has voted to euthanize Canada geese residing around the complex’s lake after weeks of “contentious debate.”
“There are still a lot of people who are very upset about it, but there’s not much we can do,” said resident Susan Sullivan.
Sullivan said the decision to euthanize the birds was announced at a Tuesday Roads and Recreation Committee meeting, the village board which drafted the proposal.
State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman Chris Collibee said Thursday the agency received an application this week from Spring Lake Village to euthanize the geese. The application has yet to be reviewed.
Lee Sawyer, of DEEP, previously told the Record-Journal euthanization would need to be approved by the state. He said the department has cooperated before with other condominium associations in exterminating Canada geese.
According to a notice from the committee sent to residents last month, the number of geese and their feces have generated many complaints within the complex. The notice stated that 80 Canada geese had been counted residing around the lake and ended with a ballot where residents could vote “yes” or “no” on a plan to euthanize the birds.
“It’s gross, it’s disgusting, but that doesn’t mean we have to kill the geese,” Sullivan said of the feces. “It doesn’t smell, it’s just messy. You don’t kill something just because it’s messy.”
She said non-lethal efforts to manage the geese outlined in the notice were conducted too sporadically to be effective.
“I applaud their efforts at trying to block their round-up,” said Connecticut Humane Society Director Annie Hornish, who advised residents opposing the proposal. “Killing is a very temporary fix, all that does is create a cycle.”
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