Update: St. Charles Family Hopes to Get Approval for Miniature Pet Pig

At Monday night’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Kerrie Meyers pleaded with the commission to allow her family to keep their Juliani pig.

The Juliani pig is a rare miniature pig breed that ranges from 25 to 35 pounds. Meyers said her family bought the pig, Pepper, for her two youngest children, Heidi and Blake. Heidi and Blake are allergic to cats and dogs, so the Juliani pig was a hypoallergenic alternative.

When Meyers moved to St. Charles from Lake St. Louis two years ago, she was unaware that residents are not allowed to keep miniature pigs as pets.

Kerrie Meyers' said Pepper will be trained as an emotional support animal for her children, which recognizes the pig under the American's with Disabilities Act.

"Not only is Pepper loving and emotionally supportive to our own children who have had difficulty dealing with their parents divorce, he will be able to offer emotional support to other members of the community and will have his first visit next month at a local nursing home to brighten the residents' day."

Meyers said Charlevoix Health Care Center, a nursing home on Boonslick Road, has agreed to let Pepper visit to complete his therapy pet certification training.

Meyers said she wants to keep Pepper legally while he is still in training. City Councilman Tom Besselman, Ward 2, spoke in support of Meyers’ pig.

“There were extremely different circumstances,” Besselman said. “When she (Meyers) started talking about the therapy that the dog does now and the service...that’s it.”

Besselman also said Meyers does not have any neighbors who oppose the pig because Meyers lives next to a graveyard.

The proposed amendment to the ordinance would allow households to keep one Juliani pig as long as they applied for a conditional use permit for the pig. Some commission members opposed the amendment because then all Juliani pigs would have to be approved by planning and zoning on a case-by-case basis.

Commissioner Mark Hopkins made a motion to allow all animals going through therapy service training to live in the city. Hopkins said this would help owners of nontraditional pets in the process of therapy training to keep their pets without allowing all residents to keep miniature pigs in the city.

The revised amendment will be brought back to the planning and zoning commission in one month.

Man With Indian Food Cart Tries Again

A man who wants to sell Indian food out of a concession stand is applying for a conditional use permit again after his by the city council.

Gaurang Bhavsar first applied for a permit for an Indian food cart in the parking lot of West Clay Package Liquor in May. The planning and zoning commission recommended the city council grant the permit, but the council voted it down 2-5. Three council members were absent from the meeting.

Council members who opposed the permit argued that temporary food vendors do not have to put as much of an investment into the city because food cart vendors do not have to pay property taxes like restaurant owners do.

On Monday night, the planning and zoning forwarded Bhavsar’s permit on to the city council for approval a second time.

Council Liason Mary Ann Ohms, Ward 1, said she believes the city council should re-address the issue.

“We did not have a full council the last time, and I think he’ll be able to present his request to a larger audience,” Ohms said. “He probably will have a good likelihood of success.”

Bhavsar said he is confident that the council will approve his permit for an Indian food cart this time. Bhavsar intends to open a restaurant if his business does well.

Note: A correction was made changing the term "service animal" to "therapy animal" after a reader alerted Patch to the differences between the two terms. http://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-ada-training-requirements.html.