Following revisions discussed at length earlier this month, Lakeway City Council continued discussions of changes to its city code that now require dogs and cats to be either tagged, tattooed or microchipped in what has been redefined as a mandate for "traceable identification."

Lakeway police Chief Todd Radford said a policy shift from an initial proposal requiring all dogs and cats to be microchipped made more sense moving forward, especially given recent resident feedback.

"All we're really asking is for people to be responsible with their animals," Radford said of the more flexible animal identification proposal.

City staff made several more clarifications to the animal ordinance following the initial Aug. 12 city discussion.

Those include the deletion of references to licensing animals, adding parrots and macaws to the category of domestic animals, and deleting size restrictions on reptiles. Another change made by city staff included reinserting a section prohibiting animals inside food establishments unless they are service or police dogs.

Unchanged in the code are the $50 general impound flat fee for animals without traceable identification, the $50 per day fee for first offenders and the $100 per day fee for repeat offenders.

The change to the city code also solidifies other policy revisions discussed during an Aug. 12 council session item that brought forth definitional expansions of what constitutes a public nuisance or vicious animal and the conditions through which they can be removed from the city.

The updates also seek to define acceptable care and living conditions for animals; develop permit systems and regulations for commercial facilities such as kennels; regulate acceptable animal restraints, including leashes; define how many animals are permitted per owner; regulate enforcement guidelines for animals left in hot cars and tethered outside in extreme weather; clarify the differences between domestic versus wild animals; and even define fencing and enclosure requirements for pets.

No official action was taken, and Mayor Sandy Cox said a third examination of the animal portion of the city code will be forthcoming but did not specify a date.