City of Orange trying to restrict family canine and cat numbers
Published 8:46 pm Tuesday, February 27, 2024
City leaders are transferring towards an ordinance modification that might restrict the variety of dogs or cats that one residence might maintain inside Orange municipal limits.
Present metropolis council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to restrict the numbers of dogs or cats to 5 per home. That quantity additionally contains combos of dogs and cats.
To change into official metropolis ordinance, the modification should cross a second studying approval at a later date.
The vote Tuesday adopted three impassioned pleas by native residents throughout the assembly’s “citizen comments” portion during which complaints of extreme canine housing was turning into a nuisance for space residents.
The residents stated steady loud barking, disgusting stenches and inhumane situations have gotten all-too-common issues in some neighborhoods with irresponsible pet house owners.
City council members overwhelmingly agreed, as elected leaders voiced little opposition to the town staff-recommended ordinance modification.
Mayor Larry Spears Jr. harassed he didn’t need the brand new regulation to result in a rise in animal deaths throughout the metropolis.
“My main concern is if someone has ten dogs and we’re limiting it to five, we’re not wanting to get rid of those dogs,” Spears stated. “We need to make sure we have some place for those dogs to be rescued or adopted. Lets make sure we continue to work with the entities that are here to make sure we can do something more for the city. I don’t want it to turn into: now we’re just disposing of animals.”
City Attorney Guy Goodson known as the priority a health-and-safety difficulty.
“They are going to work with pet owners, and do it in a manner that is not a health-and-safety issue,” he stated of the Orange’s enforcement plan.
According to City Manager Mike Kunst, the aim of the adjusted ordinance is just not punitive however is solution-orientated.
“If somebody says they have more than the five (pets), we’re going to ask our animal control department to get with them to work on lowering (the number),” Kunst stated. “We’re going to ask the two parties to work together.”
He stated metropolis employees purposely didn’t write a deadline into the ordinance.
“Just like other codes with violations, all the time we work with that property owner or tenant to try and get in compliance,” Kunst stated.
There are exceptions written into the ordinance for harbors, breeders and fanciers.
There can be a ready interval included for pets which have puppies or kittens.
If accepted, the City of Orange Animal Control officer could be approved to implement the ordinance.
Violations could end in fines, warnings, impoundment of extra animals or different penalties outlined within the metropolis’s Animal Control Ordinance.
