City staff present draft animal-control ordinance; council questions three-dog limit

Eric Anderson, the city's economic and community development specialist, presented proposed updates to Chapter 3 (animal control) at the June 29 council meeting and described the draft as aligning the city with state models and offering clearer enforcement language.

Anderson told the council the department counted about 120 lost-and-found dog calls in the sampling period and that the draft renames and clarifies the animal-control chapter. He said the planning board held a public hearing on May 14 and voted to forward the draft to the council for consideration.

Councilors pressed staff on a proposed limit of three dogs per household. Members raised concerns about exemptions for working teams, breeders and kennels and asked staff to clarify geographic or zoning exemptions (for example, R3/rural properties) and to draft permitting paths for bona fide business or working uses. One councilor asked the staff to "build the DOT compact zone" language into the ordinance conversation to avoid repeated reclassification disputes.

Next steps: Eric Anderson said staff will refine the language, address the scope and exemptions, and return with a draft in ordinance form ready for introduction and a public hearing schedule. No ordinance was introduced at the meeting; councilors asked staff to bring the revised draft back for formal introduction and public notice.