There has been an increasing number of bear complaints within the town limits of Winter Park. The complaints involve bears tearing through trash. There has been eight complaints to the Winter Park police department so far this year.
In an effort to stop hungry bears from tearing through garbage within the town limits, Winter Park Town Council gave its qualified approval (4-3) at its Tuesday meeting to a proposed ordinance that would ban the feeding of wildlife including new rules on trash disposal. Before the ordinance goes into effect, it must go through a public hearing and receive the trustees’ approval during a second reading scheduled at the council’s next meeting on July 15.
The purpose for the ordinance is to “protect and maintain wildlife in the town of Winter Park and surrounding areas and to minimize the risk of dangerous interaction between humans and wildlife.” The ordinance states that feeding wildlife is prohibited. No person shall “intentionally or unintentionally” feed wildlife on private or public property in Winter Park. Bird feeders are allowed, but between the dates of April 15 to Nov. 15, “all bird feeders must be suspended on a cable or other devise so bears can not reach them. The area below the feeders also would have to be kept free from the “accumulation of seed debris.”If this proposal is passed residents will have to place their trash in either wildlife-resistant refuse containers, wildlife-proof refuse containers, or keep it inside containers within their homes, garage or a wildlife-resistant enclosure “at all times.” Residents with curbside pick-up would have to set out their approved trash containers outside after 6 a.m. on the day it gets picked up, and remove the containers the same day by 7 p.m.
So we will see what happens at the meeting on July 15th.
In an effort to stop hungry bears from tearing through garbage within the town limits, Winter Park Town Council gave its qualified approval (4-3) at its Tuesday meeting to a proposed ordinance that would ban the feeding of wildlife including new rules on trash disposal. Before the ordinance goes into effect, it must go through a public hearing and receive the trustees’ approval during a second reading scheduled at the council’s next meeting on July 15.
The purpose for the ordinance is to “protect and maintain wildlife in the town of Winter Park and surrounding areas and to minimize the risk of dangerous interaction between humans and wildlife.” The ordinance states that feeding wildlife is prohibited. No person shall “intentionally or unintentionally” feed wildlife on private or public property in Winter Park. Bird feeders are allowed, but between the dates of April 15 to Nov. 15, “all bird feeders must be suspended on a cable or other devise so bears can not reach them. The area below the feeders also would have to be kept free from the “accumulation of seed debris.”If this proposal is passed residents will have to place their trash in either wildlife-resistant refuse containers, wildlife-proof refuse containers, or keep it inside containers within their homes, garage or a wildlife-resistant enclosure “at all times.” Residents with curbside pick-up would have to set out their approved trash containers outside after 6 a.m. on the day it gets picked up, and remove the containers the same day by 7 p.m.
So we will see what happens at the meeting on July 15th.
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