A bird of a different feather

Writing from our vacation rental home on Sanibel Island, Toucan House, I am happily and whimsically surrounded by Toucan

"memorabilia" ..... paintings, some photos, various trinkets. Some might say it is over-Toucanized, but we love it. Just as we value Sanibel for its unique environment in Florida, and in the country overall.

Looking at all these Toucans with their enormous beaks, I am struck by how deceptive the size of the beak is. One would think that the poor Toucan would not be able to keep its balance given the ratio of beak size to bird size. But the trick of Toucan balance is that the beak is essentially a fine and light honey comb within a fairly delicate shell. The weight and shape of the bill enables the Toucan to sit in branches that support it, while reaching out for berries on much smaller branches.

Balance, for the Toucan, is a natural occurence. Balance in legislating must be constructed.

The note to Paul Tractenberg from West Orange Councilman Reynard Barnes is more than reasonable when the councilman expresses appreciation for all the effort put forth to craft an acceptable tree ordinance that will offer balance. With seeming understanding and sensitivity to the frustration caused by the long deferred ordinance, Councilman Barnes states that any ordinance adopted by the township must take into account the individual home owner: "Despite our desire to save as many trees as we can, we must still balance this interest against a person'a (sic) property interests, a fundamental interest that must still be afforded protections. "

Councilman Barnes has been assured by Professor Tractenberg that the tree ordinance as created and revised " eases the burdens on individual property owners, but still makes protecting trees and regulating their removal the ordinance's primary thrust".

On Sanibel Island where restrictions to protect the environment are the consistent thread in Island management, there is understanding and agreement among elected officals and residents on such issues as conservation. Were real Toucans to live here, none of us would want any Toucans falling out of trees. More importantly, we would want to make sure that they, indeed, have the trees from which not to fall out of. I would like to think that the deliberate judgement of this little island in the Gulf of Mexico has some application to the town of West Orange.