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Clemmons council debates overhaul of animal and nuisance rules, directs staff to draft revisions
Summary
Council members, the village attorney and planning staff discussed an omnibus approach to animal- and noise-related complaints, directing staff to prepare UDO and nuisance-code revisions and to pursue short-term process changes to improve enforcement.
The Village of Clemmons council spent the bulk of its meeting debating a proposed rewrite of local animal rules and how the village enforces noise and nuisance complaints.
The draft ordinance before the council, labeled Ordinance 2025-O-5, would leave Forsyth County Chapter 6 (Animals) in place while adding village-specific provisions in Chapter 90 and placing setback and lot-size rules in the Unified Development Ordinance. "Regulating animals is an optional power," Village attorney Bernie Benshaw said, adding that the village originally adopted Forsyth County's ordinances when it incorporated in 1986 and has amended only a few sections since.
Council members expressed frustration that existing county ordinances and the county noise ordinance have not produced enforceable results for residents. One council member described two recent complaints — involving a dog and backyard fowl — that residents said went unresolved, and asked whether the village can take more immediate action.
Benshaw said the draft tries not to duplicate the…
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