The ordinance has been treated as a sort of working document since it first came up for a vote in July. Since receiving an initial approval in July, stakeholders, residents and city officials have held several meetings to shore up the ordinance.
What you need to know
Among the highlights and changes, the new 28-page ordinance does not put a limit on how many pets, particularly dogs and cats, a person can have. However, those with seven or more pets at one time on a property less than an acre in size within 50 feet of another home or business must register with the city, according to the ordinance.
The purpose of this is to help the city know who is operating as a rescuer in case a complaint comes through. City officials are expected to amend the language in the ordinance from requiring a “permit” to requiring “registration.”
Officials also said they will try and create a system that allows residents to register online.
As was the case with the previous ordinance approval, pet owners are required to register their individual pets but if they are under the seven-pet requirement, do not have to register themselves as a rescuer, according to the ordinance.
A few other changes to the wording of the ordinance could come ahead of the second and final vote for the ordinance, which is currently expected to take place Oct. 7, Mayor Dan Davis said at the Sept. 16 meeting.
One such change could be removing the requirement for pet owners to spay or neuter their pet within a certain timeframe.
What they’re saying
Despite the ordinance receiving approval, several officials said the ordinance likely will not make everyone happy, as several stressed the policy was a series of compromises, but many also said it was more important to move forward with something.
“There’s just so much at stake,” council member Crystal Sarmiento said. “People are not going to be happy and some of us are going to be happy. But we just have to do the responsible thing.”
Some, including Sarmiento, also expressed concerns about the city's trap, neuter and release, or TNR, policy, as a few residents had complained that their pets were picked up, neutered and returned back to them without their permission.
Officials said the goal of the TNR policy, which is allowed by state law, is to manage feral, abandoned or unowned cats within the city.
How we got here
In July, City Council approved a version of the ordinance in a 6-1 vote but cut several portions of it, including regulations about kennels, catteries and permitting requirements for animal rescue groups, due to concerns from residents.
The item has been mentioned in city updates at meetings since but up until the Sept. 16 meeting had not gone up for a new vote.
In July, the version of the ordinance City Council approved created several provisions geared toward pet ownership, including pet registration, spaying and neutering, microchipping, hearings and punishments, and rules for animal sellers and petting zoos.
The new ordinance replaces one the city had on books that dated back to 1997, officials said at the meeting. Starting earlier this year and up until the Sept. 16 meeting, officials pushed to replace it, saying it didn’t do enough to address the growing problem of stray and abandoned animals in the city.
