TRIBUNE CHRONICLE (Warren, Ohio) 21 August 03 Niles attempts to limit pets (Ron Selak Jr.)
Niles: A city resident can have a cat, a dog, a snake and a hamster inside their home.
But if an ordinance is approved by City Council in September, residents will be prohibited from owning more than three cats or dogs.
Residents could still own more than three snakes, hamsters or birds because cats and dogs are the only animals spelled out in the ordinance, which made it through a first reading Wednesday night.
''City Council has determined that it would be in the best interests of the community as a whole that maintaining more than three dogs or cats by the inhabitants of a dwelling unit be declared a nuisance, and should be prohibited,'' the ordinance states.
Anyone in violation would be guilty of a minor misdemeanor, which is punishable by a maximum $100 fine. Each day the ordinance is violated would be deemed a separate violation, the ordinance states.
Stephen Papalas, D-at large and chair of the Safety Committee, said his committee introduced the legislation because of residents complaining about dogs and cats running through back yards and flower beds. He said the ordinance also is meant to clamp down on renters who tend to collect animals and leave them unattended.
''It will take care of the situation where a resident has many dogs that bark into the night,'' Papalas said.
Papalas asked council members to consider the ordinance and speak to their constituents. The ordinance must pass three readings to become effective. Council next meets at 6 p.m. Sept. 3 in the Safety/Service Complex, 15 E. State St.
Thomas Scarnecchia, D-at large, called the intent of the ordinance fantastic but said the city already has nuisance ordinances. He added that before council realizes it, ''It might come up with an ordinance that tells people how many kids they can have.''
Papalas responded by saying that an ordinance might not be a bad idea and that ''some people should be banned to having one (child).''
The ordinance states that people would be prohibited from housing more than three cats or dogs, except where litters have been born to a residing animal. In that situation, the ordinance allows for a four-month grace period to sell or give away the young once they have been weaned.
Also, the ordinance states that residents who already have three or more cats or dogs will be given a year after passage to find homes or get rid of the pets. It also does not grant consent for the establishment of a kennel in a residential neighborhood.
Niles attempts to limit pets