Agenda - Council - 11/23/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE # ADOPT ORDINANCES TO AMEND CHAPTER 5 (ANIMALS AND FOWL; DOG REGULATIONS) AND CHAPTER 9 (ZONING AND SUBDIVISION OF LAND; DEFINITIONS) OF THE RAMSEY CITY CODE By: Zoning Administrator Sylvia Frolik Background: Ramsey City Code currently restricts the number of adult dogs allowed on a single parcel of land without a special permit from the City to 2. To have more than 2 adult dogs (more than 6 months of age) on a parcel requires a conditional use permit. Per the Council's direction, City Staff researched regulations for keeping dogs in other communities. Observations: The information was presented to the Planning Commission and they directed City Staff to draft an ordinance to consider increasing the number of dogs allowed on a parcel from 2 to 3. Staff drafted the ordinance and a public hearing was held on March 16. The proposed ordinance also provided definitions for commercial and private dog kennels and permits necessary for legal operation of these types of us'es. At the hearing, some citizens and commissioners raised concerns that perhaps the number of dogs allowed on urban parcels should remain at 2. The Planning Commission amended the proposed ordinance to state that 3 dogs would be allowed without a special permit from the City on parcels exceeding 25,000 square feet in area. The Commission then forwarded the proposed ordinance to City Council for adoption. On April 13, the City Council introduced the proposed ordinance. Because the ordinance affects two chapters of City Code (5 - Animals and Fowl; 9 - Zoning and Subdivision of Land), and because it takes a 3/5 vote for amendments to Chapter 5 and a 4/5 vote for amendments to Chapter 9, staff separated the amendments into two separate ordinances. The amendment to Chapter 5 would have allowed 3 dogs without a special permit on parcels exceeding 25,000 square feet in area and established the new and amended definitions for boarding, dog, dog owner, commercial kennel, and private kennel. The amendment to Chapter 9 would eliminate the definition of dog kennel currently found in the Definitions section of the Zoning Chapter. On April 27, the City Council expressed concern with increasing the number of permitted dogs to 3. After some discussion, the Council directed the Planning Commission to consider an ordinance amendment that would provide for an administrative license that would permit 3 dogs on a property contingent upon meeting certain criteria. Per Council's discussion, Staff made some amendments to the proposed ordinance and scheduled a public hearing for September 7.