There's a new dog ordinance in town. The license fees are set and residents can't raise chickens in their garages.
The New York Mills City Council approved and adopted at its July meeting an ordinance regulating the presence or keeping of animals within city limits.
All cats and dogs over six months old must be licensed and registered with the city. Pet owners must provide a certificate by a qualified veterinarian indicating the dog or cat has been vaccinated. No license shall be granted for dogs or cats that have not been vaccinated against distemper and rabies.
The 2-year license fee for dogs is set at $20 and $10 for cats, starting Jan. 1. Now until the end of the year the fees are $10 for dogs and $5 for cats. Starting Jan. 1, 2008 the new fees of $20/dog and $10/cat will go into effect. Upon payment the owner will receive a certificate and metallic tag for each cat and or dog licensed.
Licenses are dated for expiration at end of odd-numbered years. Current licenses issued in even-numbered years pay full license fee; licenses issued in odd-numbered years pay half of the license fee. No further pro-rating will be done.
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The license fee was previously $6 and, as stated at the April meeting when the council discussed the ordinance, part of the reason for the increase is the $6 no longer covered the cost of the tags and administrative costs associated with the licensing. The council did not approve the ordinance back in April (as stated previously in the Herald). The new ordinance was officially approved July 16.
Included in the ordinance:
- It is illegal for any person to own, possess, harbor, or offer for sale, any non-domestic animal within the city.
- Farm animals shall only be kept in an agricultural district of the city, on a residential lot of at least 10 acres in size, or for poultry, sheep, and goats, a residential lot of at least five acres in size, provided that no animal shelter be within 300 feet of an adjoining piece of property. Residential lots with farm animals may not include any commercial livestock activity. An exception shall be made to this section for those animals brought into the city as part of an operating zoo, veterinarian clinic, scientific research laboratory, or a licensed show or exhibition.
- Any unlicensed animal running at large is hereby declared a public nuisance and may be impounded.
- Habitual barking is a nuisance and defined as barking for repeated intervals of at least five minutes with less than one minute of interruption. The barking must be audible off of the owner's premises.
