Under other circumstances, the room off Scott Nellis's entry-way in to his split level Coon Rapids home might be used as an office or a den. Nellis uses it to house some 70 boa constrictors and pythons.
They live in cages stacked floor to ceiling along all four of the room's walls; a row running down the center cuts the room in two. Peering through the glass doors are snakes of all sizes. The smallest weighs less than a pound. The biggest - an Argentinean Boa and one of Nellis's favorites - weighs 28 pounds and runs about seven and a half feet from tongue to tail.InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality,
Throughout the house, Nellis has about 360 snakes. Most live in clear, plastic dresser drawers stacked on top of each other in the basement. Each is carefully labeled with the specie's name, sex and the date Nellis bought it, creating a gigantic filing system of snakes throughout the lower level.
The UPS driver also has 60 lizards, about 250 rats and mice and two huge tubs crawling with cockroaches.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. The rodents and roaches are feed for the reptiles. The snakes and lizards are personal pets and inventory. Nellis - a snake breeder - sells them at reptile expos across the Midwest.
The years-long gig - he started in 1996 but ramped things up in 2004 - ran uninterrupted until October,xcel Mould is a Custom Mold Making, when the city found out about his unusual roommates when a neighbor complained of a foul smell coming from a pile of discarded wood-shavings in Nellis' backyard.
Now Nellis finds himself in a fight with Coon Rapids officials who say his 700-plus animals have rendered his home unsafe and unfit for human habitation. They ordered Nellis to get rid of them.
He's hoping to convince city officials otherwise at a meeting Friday, March 23.
"This is my private life we're talking about," Nellis said. "It's my contention the city has no business whatsoever trying to dictate what I do legally inside my house."
When it comes to health and safety, the city begs to differ, said City Attorney Stoney Hiljus. He said a search of Nellis's home in October uncovered several potential risk factors.
Among them, inspectors found a web of extension chords used to regulate lighting and temperature for the reptiles that pose a fire hazard, Hiljus said.
Officials also said his setup in the upstairs room - cages creates two narrow passageways and partially blocks a set of windows - is hazardous for potential firefighters responding to a call in the house. Last, a check of air quality in the residence found ammonia levels in excess of 20-parts per million, Hiljus said. Animal waste creates ammonia. Most homes register less than one part per million. In high levels, the substance can cause respiratory issues, Hiljus said.
To top it off,Injection molding and Plastic molding supplier， the city's 2010 revised domestic animal ordinance prohibits private ownership of pythons and boas. Nellis is also technically not allowed to operate a business out of his home without a conditional use permit.
"I understand Mr. Nellis's standpoint that this is his home and he should be able to do what he wants within his own four walls, but we can't ignore what we see," Hiljus said, explaining that without the neighbor's complaint, Nellis might have been able to continue his business and hobby for years.
The neighbor, Ken Botzet, could not be reached for comment.
"Now that we're aware of these code violations we have no choice but to get involved," Hiljus said.
What that involvement will mean is still unclear.
The City Council voted earlier this month to table action on city staff's order that Nellis clear his house of all his animals. Instead, they've advised staff to try and negotiate with the snake-lover, who developed a fondness for reptiles after chasing around frogs and garden snakes at his grandparents' lake place in Mahnomen County in northwest Minnesota.
To Hiljus, a successful negotiation would mean Nellis getting rid of all his pythons and boas. In addition to the exotic snakes, Nellis also has over a hundred Colubrid snakes that aren't forbidden by city ordinance. Those numbers would be whittled to a "reasonable amount," Hiljus said.
Nellis says he has invested about $40,000 in to his snakes and equipment over the years, with most the money tied up in his pythons and boas. To get rid of them would be tough, particularly in this economy, and would impact his ability to successfully breed.
Even more so, it would hinder his hobby.
"This is what I do. I enjoy interacting with reptiles. They're different. They're calming. I enjoy watching their behaviors," he said.
To compromise, Nellis said he'd buy an air purifier to help ammonia levels and reduce his snakes to around 260 or 300. He doesn't want to let all his pythons and boas go though and feels its unfair of the city to demand it, particularly because he purchased most while the city's ordinance still allowed them.
Instead, he said he'd like to see the city change its ordinance back, a move Nellis said makes a lot of sense considering the city already allows pet stores to sell them. He also points out that neither species is venomous.
Hiljus said the city modeled its animal ordinance off others in the state and said it would be up to the council to change it. He's hopeful a "reasonable" solution can be reached within the confines of the ordinance, he added.
They live in cages stacked floor to ceiling along all four of the room's walls; a row running down the center cuts the room in two. Peering through the glass doors are snakes of all sizes. The smallest weighs less than a pound. The biggest - an Argentinean Boa and one of Nellis's favorites - weighs 28 pounds and runs about seven and a half feet from tongue to tail.InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality,
Throughout the house, Nellis has about 360 snakes. Most live in clear, plastic dresser drawers stacked on top of each other in the basement. Each is carefully labeled with the specie's name, sex and the date Nellis bought it, creating a gigantic filing system of snakes throughout the lower level.
The UPS driver also has 60 lizards, about 250 rats and mice and two huge tubs crawling with cockroaches.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. The rodents and roaches are feed for the reptiles. The snakes and lizards are personal pets and inventory. Nellis - a snake breeder - sells them at reptile expos across the Midwest.
The years-long gig - he started in 1996 but ramped things up in 2004 - ran uninterrupted until October,xcel Mould is a Custom Mold Making, when the city found out about his unusual roommates when a neighbor complained of a foul smell coming from a pile of discarded wood-shavings in Nellis' backyard.
Now Nellis finds himself in a fight with Coon Rapids officials who say his 700-plus animals have rendered his home unsafe and unfit for human habitation. They ordered Nellis to get rid of them.
He's hoping to convince city officials otherwise at a meeting Friday, March 23.
"This is my private life we're talking about," Nellis said. "It's my contention the city has no business whatsoever trying to dictate what I do legally inside my house."
When it comes to health and safety, the city begs to differ, said City Attorney Stoney Hiljus. He said a search of Nellis's home in October uncovered several potential risk factors.
Among them, inspectors found a web of extension chords used to regulate lighting and temperature for the reptiles that pose a fire hazard, Hiljus said.
Officials also said his setup in the upstairs room - cages creates two narrow passageways and partially blocks a set of windows - is hazardous for potential firefighters responding to a call in the house. Last, a check of air quality in the residence found ammonia levels in excess of 20-parts per million, Hiljus said. Animal waste creates ammonia. Most homes register less than one part per million. In high levels, the substance can cause respiratory issues, Hiljus said.
To top it off,Injection molding and Plastic molding supplier， the city's 2010 revised domestic animal ordinance prohibits private ownership of pythons and boas. Nellis is also technically not allowed to operate a business out of his home without a conditional use permit.
"I understand Mr. Nellis's standpoint that this is his home and he should be able to do what he wants within his own four walls, but we can't ignore what we see," Hiljus said, explaining that without the neighbor's complaint, Nellis might have been able to continue his business and hobby for years.
The neighbor, Ken Botzet, could not be reached for comment.
"Now that we're aware of these code violations we have no choice but to get involved," Hiljus said.
What that involvement will mean is still unclear.
The City Council voted earlier this month to table action on city staff's order that Nellis clear his house of all his animals. Instead, they've advised staff to try and negotiate with the snake-lover, who developed a fondness for reptiles after chasing around frogs and garden snakes at his grandparents' lake place in Mahnomen County in northwest Minnesota.
To Hiljus, a successful negotiation would mean Nellis getting rid of all his pythons and boas. In addition to the exotic snakes, Nellis also has over a hundred Colubrid snakes that aren't forbidden by city ordinance. Those numbers would be whittled to a "reasonable amount," Hiljus said.
Nellis says he has invested about $40,000 in to his snakes and equipment over the years, with most the money tied up in his pythons and boas. To get rid of them would be tough, particularly in this economy, and would impact his ability to successfully breed.
Even more so, it would hinder his hobby.
"This is what I do. I enjoy interacting with reptiles. They're different. They're calming. I enjoy watching their behaviors," he said.
To compromise, Nellis said he'd buy an air purifier to help ammonia levels and reduce his snakes to around 260 or 300. He doesn't want to let all his pythons and boas go though and feels its unfair of the city to demand it, particularly because he purchased most while the city's ordinance still allowed them.
Instead, he said he'd like to see the city change its ordinance back, a move Nellis said makes a lot of sense considering the city already allows pet stores to sell them. He also points out that neither species is venomous.
Hiljus said the city modeled its animal ordinance off others in the state and said it would be up to the council to change it. He's hopeful a "reasonable" solution can be reached within the confines of the ordinance, he added.
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