Pigeon lover loses backyard loft, formerly home to 200 birds

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (AP) — It was on doctor's orders that South Jordan's self-identified "pigeon man" didn't go home on Tuesday.

Boris Majnaric, a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher, was recently hospitalized and advised to avoid the stress of seeing his handmade backyard home for hundreds of pigeons demolished.

Tuesday's demolition put an end to a four-year legal battle between Majnaric and the city of South Jordan, the Deseret News reported (http://bit.ly/1xFFc4M ).

The 384-square-foot, four-room loft was home to more than 200 pigeons of various colors and species — fulfilling his childhood dream of caring for "man's oldest feathered friends." The city, however, limits residents to 40 adult pigeons.

When officials told Majnaric that the birds had to go, he spent more than $40,000 fighting the city in court. But last week, a district judge did not sign an order to stop the demolition.

"I will feel very incomplete because pigeons have been part of my life," said Majnaric, who is also facing three misdemeanor charges related to his backyard birds. "It's going to be an empty thing for me. I don't think it's fair what they've done to me."

His conflict with the city began about four years ago, when neighbors noticed an explosion of pigeons and complained to the city about the birds "dropping things" on their property.

Kathy Brown, who lives across the street from Majnaric, said the birds didn't bother her.

"The pigeons are his children. He's taken good care of them," she said. "I feel for him, but you have to obey the laws, too."

On Tuesday, the flocks of pigeons were removed by South Jordan animal control officers and public works employees who gathered to watch the loft come down.

Yellow caution tape lined Majnaric's yard, and the Utah Disaster Kleenup company removed pigeon droppings and prepared to dismantle the structure.

The city has also given Majnaric 30 days to relocate a gazebo that served as a roosting place for dozens of the birds.

City officials say they decided to take down the loft after Majnaric failed to comply with multiple court orders to reduce his yard's pigeon population.

"We really, really tried to work with him and get the population under control," South Jordan spokeswoman Tina Brown said, adding the numbers never went down to the level they agreed upon.

Majnaric agreed last summer to move the loft and gazebo to a house in Cottonwood Heights, said John Walsh, his attorney. But his structures didn't meet the zoning requirements there.

Majnaric stopped keeping pigeons in mid-January, although some still visit his yard. He traveled to California and Oregon to find homes for some of his pigeons, spending thousands of dollars to move them.

Some of his favorites are starting a new life on a farm.

"This is how much I love these birds," Majnaric said of the cost of lawsuits and relocation. "I wanted to defend them."

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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

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