Granville council reviews leash-law amendment, asks staff to prepare villagewide and narrower bike-path versions

Granville Village Council members and residents debated an amendment to the village’s leash ordinance, Ordinance 10-2025, on whether to expand leash requirements beyond downtown to the village’s bike path or to the entire village and on how to incorporate service-animal exceptions.

The ordinance to amend section 505 (leash rules) was introduced and seconded; the council also moved to declare an emergency. Councilors and members of the public spent extended time weighing enforcement, public safety and consistency with existing rules on the TJ Evans bike path.

The issue drew an extended public comment. An unnamed resident urged council to amend section 505.01 to require leashes on all public sidewalks and gate pads across the village, saying the change would “ensure safety” for residents, pets and people who feel fear around unleashed dogs. The resident also asked that the ordinance apply beyond downtown because increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic raises the risk for unleashed dogs.

Council discussion focused on three practical questions: the geographic scope (downtown only, downtown plus the bike path, or the entire village), enforceability where the path crosses township lines, and service-animal accommodations. Council member Mikkelsen requested removal of specific language in paragraph 505.01(b) and proposed explicitly adding a service-animal definition drawn from federal regulations. The council discussed language that tracks the Americans with Disabilities Act implementing regulations (28 CFR 35.104) defining a service animal as a dog “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability,” and stating that a leash would not be required when it “interferes with the individual’s disability” or handler’s ability to perform tasks.

Council members noted that the TJ Evans board previously adopted a leash requirement for the TJ Evans bike path requiring leashes not to exceed 6 feet; councilors discussed making village rules consistent with that existing bike-path rule. Several members asked staff for data on dog-related incidents; one councilor said there had been “a handful” since Jan. 1 but the exact count was not specified in the meeting record.

Rather than immediately broadening the ordinance to cover the entire village, councilors asked staff to prepare two draft ordinances for the next meeting: one that applies villagewide and one that keeps the current downtown boundary while expanding coverage to include the TJ Evans bike path (and Newark‑Granville Road) and that includes the drafted ADA-based service-animal language in both versions. Council members emphasized enforcement limits where the bike path crosses township jurisdiction and requested more incident data before taking broader action.

No final vote on substantive expansion was recorded at the meeting; the formal action recorded was the introduction of Ordinance 10-2025 and the decision to bring two revised drafts back for council consideration.

Council directions and next steps: staff will return with two ordinance drafts (villagewide and downtown-plus-bike-path), incorporate the proposed ADA-based definition for service animals, and, where possible, provide incident data going back multiple years to inform enforcement discussion.

For residents: if council advances an ordinance at future meetings, code amendments will require a formal council vote and, where noted, signage updates along the bike path and downtown.