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Residents in the District of North Vancouver have gone to court seeking the ouster of two councillors in an escalating dispute over a recently enacted pigeon ban that the local newspaper characterized as the “pettiest of pet issues.”

At the core of the dispute is an allegation that the councillors failed to declare fully conflicts of interest and “conspired together” to pass the pigeon bylaw last month to benefit one of the councillors who lives next door to a pigeon coop owner.

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“I’m abhorred at the fact a couple of councillors might conspire for their own benefit — using the integrity other voters have given them and potentially misused it,” said Wayne Messenger, one of 11 residents who signed a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday seeking a declaration that the two councillors are “disqualified from holding office.”

“It’s what you expect car salesmen to do.”

If I have erred in any way, I assure council and the community that it was done inadvertently

The two councillors in question — Betty Forbes and Lisa Muri — both declined invitations by the National Post to comment on the situation, citing an ongoing review.