Ordinance committee advances changes to dangerous-dog rules, creates kennel-license framework for Cambridge City

The Cambridge City Ordinance Committee on a motion by Councilor Nolan voted to forward to the full City Council a proposal to amend the city’s dangerous-dog ordinance and establish a kennel licensing program to align Cambridge City law with recent changes in Massachusetts statutes.

Assistant City Solicitor Diane Pires, who led the presentation to the committee chaired by Vice Mayor McGovern, said the “purpose of these amendments is to bring the vicious dog ordinance into line with the state law” and to create a kennel licensing ordinance consistent with state requirements.

The proposed ordinance would: replace the city’s terminology “vicious dog” with “dangerous dog,” update definitions to mirror chapter 140 references cited in the presentation, revise fee amounts tied to noncompliance and ownership transfers, elaborate hearing procedures and the authority available after a dangerous-dog determination, and create a new kennel-licensing regime consistent with chapter 140 requirements discussed at the meeting.

Pires told the committee that the city’s existing local ordinance was last updated in 1989 and that the related state statutes had been revised since the city’s changes; the proposal therefore aligns Cambridge City definitions and procedures with the state law citations discussed during the presentation (chapter 140 cross-references raised in the staff slides). She said municipalities are allowed to provide more protection than state law requires but that the draft primarily brings local language into conformity.

The kennel-license provisions discussed mirror statutory changes described by staff. The draft requires commercial boarding and training kennels to maintain records of individual dog licenses, to ensure dogs older than six months wear rabies and license tags, and to submit to inspections. Pires said the licensing authority must specify license types and maximum animal counts, which the animal control officer (ACO) and licensing authority would determine, and that kennels cannot receive a license without passing an initial inspection. The draft also establishes an annual inspection requirement and a process for suspending or revoking kennel licenses for noncompliance.

An ACO speaking to the committee said, “Currently, we have 4,” when asked how many kennels operate in Cambridge City. The ACO also told members that officers have been distributing informational materials to kennels and answering questions since September, before the law took effect in December.

Councilor Nolan stressed that the changes are required to ensure compliance with state law. “So I think it's important that people understand that is really something we need to do no matter what,” Nolan said, and asked whether the city was adding requirements beyond state minimums; Pires responded that the draft brings local code into alignment and that a kennel licensing ordinance is now required.

Staff warned the committee that the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is expected to promulgate regulations by June 2026 under the cited state provisions; those future regulations could require later amendments to the local ordinance.

On a motion by Councilor Nolan to forward the ordinance amendment and kennel-license draft to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation, the committee recorded five affirmative roll-call votes and four members recorded as absent; the clerk announced the motion as moving forward to the City Council.

The committee did not receive any public-comment speakers during the meeting. Staff said they will continue outreach to local kennels and the ACO will perform inspections as required once the local licensing regime is adopted and implemented.