UPDATE: Tonight at 7:00 is the public meeting in Lantana about pigs.

“A service animal assists someone with a legally recognized disability.”

—Coastal Star reporter Mary Thurwachter quoting Lantana Town Attorney Max Lohman explaining the “big difference” between an ADA-recognized service animal and what’s called an ‘emotional support animal’.


Have you seen the news (see below) about little pigs in The Coastal Star? This is not a joke. This is actually a serious public policy issue. Learn more below why the Town of Lantana is trying hard to keep a little issue from becoming a very large issue.

News about miniature pigs and micro pigs
and little tiny teacup pigs too!

Briefly, the news about pigs would have made for an interesting story in The Palm Beach Post today about the Town of Lantana — but unless it’s a shooting or other crime, vehicular crash or breaking news about the mayor and a neighborhood traffic calming device — Lantana doesn’t make the Local ‘B’ print edition very often. There are only six (6) Special Cities that get featured every week in the Post and each has their very own special day. To learn more about this look in the right-hand column for, “Keep the faith Lantana, Greenacres, and Palm Springs.”

Why the City of Lake Worth is special but the Town of Lantana is not has never been explained by the editor(s) at the Post. But Delray Beach isn’t special either and Delray even has their very own beat reporter, her name is Lulu Ramadan. So at least there is a little consolation for the folks in Lantana that Delray isn’t special either.

You’re probably wondering by now, “What’s
all the kerfuffle about little pigs?”

The problem is little pigs grow up to become big pigs. And then what do you do? Click on this link to learn more about the Town Council members in that outstanding municipality just to the south of our City of Lake Worth.
 
Two weeks ago posted on this blog a legal notice from the Town of Lantana, a public notice about an upcoming meeting that was published in the The Lake Worth Herald. Didn’t think much about it at first. Just thought the topic of little pigs would be interesting for readers of this blog.

But ends up little pigs are quite controversial. Later on following that public notice is an excerpt from the news by reporter Mary Thurwachter at The Coastal Star that explains quite well what is happening in Lantana, an article headlined, “Little pigs can stay in Lantana — until they are no longer little”.

To explain all this, first take a look at the
public notice published in the Herald. . .

Have you seen the latest front page
in The Lake Worth Herald?

About little pigs. Excerpt from a legal notice:

The Town Council of the Town of Lantana will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, June 11, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall of the Town of Lantana, Florida, 500 Greynolds Circle, Lantana, Florida, or as soon thereafter as possible which may be continued from time to time and place to place as necessary in order to consider the following proposed Ordinances on second and final reading and the following proposed variance:


ORDINANCE NO. O-02-2018 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LANTANA, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 4. ANIMALS. OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF LANTANA, BY REPEALING SECTION 4-5. KEEPING OF CERTAIN ANIMALS OR BIRDS PROHIBITED. AND READOPTING THE SAME, AS REVISED IN ORDER TO PERMIT THE KEEPING OF MINIATURE PIGS, MICRO PIGS OR TEACUP PIGS WITHIN THE TOWN [EMPHASIS ADDED], PROVIDING A CONFLICTS CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND AUTHORITY TO CODIFY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Now to the news in The Coastal Star,
the opening five paragraphs:

An amendment to an ordinance that would allow miniature pigs to live in Lantana squeaked by the Town Council on May 14 — but not without trepidation.
     While council members were sympathetic to the call from resident John Park to keep his pet mini pig when the topic first came up in April, further study of mini pigs, or teacup pigs, had the council concerned about how portly the little piggies could become.
     Council member Malcolm Balfour shared his remembrance of an issue Key West had with a pig in the past, when Balfour was a journalist covering a story there.
     “These pigs grow,” he said. “They grow very, very big. There was a man in Key West who had a pig next door and the pig was enamored with his Harley-Davidson. The pig destroyed the Harley-Davidson.”
     There was huge outcry over the issue, he said.


To read the entire article by Mary Thurwachter click on this link. And remember, per the public notice published in the Herald, the final vote on this new ordinance is coming up tonight (Monday, June 11th). Here’s the final sentence in The Coastal Star:


Passage will mean [resident John] Park won’t have to give up his pet pig or pay a fine — unless the animal tips the scale at more than 35 pounds.


Should another city, town, or village here in Palm Beach County have to deal with the issue of little pigs the Town Council in Lantana has provided one possible solution to this public policy question in an urban environment: How to keep little pigs from becoming a very big problem?