GILBERT, AZ — Cows have become an unwanted part of one Gilbert community.
The livestock is eating front yard landscaping, leaving behind stains on the sidewalk, and there’s fear someone could get hurt if they're not dealt with soon.
Adriana Dixon had to cover up her front yard plants to keep cows from eating more than they already had. She said she was “heartbroken” to see her plants eaten overnight.
”So much money! It took me years to grow. They were so luscious,” she said.
A stampede of videos filled ABC15’s inbox from Adora Trails residents showing the cows in various places around the community.
One video showed them coming through a loose barbed wire fence along the edge of the neighborhood. Many show them slowly strutting the streets overnight, slowing down traffic.
A major concern for many was what they left behind - the stains from cow patties many don’t want to step over, see, or smell.
Some homeowners like Chuck Seeley wake up and have to clean them from their pavers.
"I shovel it all up and take it over [to] the pasture, then I scrub it off,” he said.
Many residents said they avoid going to the park with their children because of the number of “landmines” left behind.
ABC15 reached out to the Gilbert Police Department and the Town of Gilbert. We’re still waiting to hear back from them.
Many in the community tell us they’re organizing a meeting slated for later this month to figure out what to do next.
Some residents shared that the livestock has impacted their home value, while another group says the cows were there before the neighborhood.
Part of the issue involves something called "no-fence districts."
Many older neighborhoods allow cows to roam free without fences. The Adora Trails neighborhood isn't one of them, but just down the street is a no-fence district.
Maricopa County pointed us to a law where a community can petition the Board of Supervisors to dissolve a no-fence district, but it takes gathering up lots of support. The exact amount of signatures needed is unclear.
”I want to see the problem go away,” said Seeley.
The fear is someone could get seriously hurt if not careful around the cattle. What may have been cute has become a conundrum.
A representative of the Adora Trails Community Association provided the following statement to ABC15:
“The Adora Trails Community Association is a large scale community association that borders the Gila River Indian Community. A cattle ranch lies nearby on Gila River Indian Community land. The Association is not gated and is surrounded by public land that is owned by the Town of Gilbert that is largely ungated and unfenced. Public streets owned by the Town of Gilbert also run throughout the Association.
Cattle from the ranch cross over onto Association and the residents’ property through the Town’s ungated border and through the public streets.
The Association seeks to minimize the potential for cattle to access Association property, but doing so requires the joint cooperation of both the Town of Gilbert as well as the Gila River Indian Community. Specifically, the Association has requested that the Town of Gilbert strictly enforce its cattle related ordinances. The Association has further determined that it could be of benefit for the Town of Gilbert to revise its cattle ordinance so as to prohibit cattle from roaming at large. The Association encourages its residents to express their support to the Town of Gilbert for this change to the ordinance.
The Association also seeks the support of the Gila River Indian Community to prevent the cattle from exiting the ranch onto Association property.
In the event any Association residents encounter cattle at large, the Association urges residents to avoid interacting with them and requests that they report their presence to the Gilbert Police Department.
In the meantime, the Association continues to monitor the situation.”
