Resident urges Glendale to follow parks master plan on Saguaro Ranch Park peafowl management

A resident told the Glendale City Council on Sept. 9 that the city did not follow the parks and recreation master plan when it considered relocating peafowl from Saguaro Ranch Park and asked the council to place the issue on a future agenda for public input.

Stacy Dimitio, a resident who said she started a petition opposing peafowl relocation, told council that the city’s cited population estimate of 300 birds was not supported and that the city’s survey did not account for predation by coyotes, raptors and feral cats. Dimitio referenced the parks and recreation master plan’s public-survey and community-input language and asked the city to implement the plan’s recommended measures, including controlled feeding, population monitoring, public-education signage and egg addling, rather than a large-scale relocation.

Dimitio said the 2019–20 parks and recreation master plan calls for public input when major park changes are proposed and that residents should have a chance to review and comment on any relocation proposal in a formal agenda item. She also said the park received high satisfaction ratings in the master plan and that the living features, including the peafowl, are part of the park’s character.

Council did not take action on the request during the meeting; the speaker asked that staff bring the issue back through the council agenda process so the community can be heard.