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Corinne council adopts animal-control amendments as resident disputes earlier enforcement over goats
Summary
The Corinne Town Council unanimously approved ordinance 25-04 updating animal-control rules (the ordinance addresses dogs; separate livestock rules to be set later). During public comment a resident said she is now "in compliance" after selling goats and disputed an earlier notice; enforcement staff said a prior letter may have relied on incorrect lot-size information but later contacts were prompted by reports of loose animals and resulted in citations.
Corinne Town Council voted unanimously to adopt ordinance 25-04, described at the meeting as a set of animal-control amendments focused on dogs. Council members agreed that livestock limits (goats, pigs, horses, cattle) are governed by a different local ordinance and directed staff to place livestock-related changes on a future agenda.
The most contested portion of the meeting came during the public-comment period when a resident, speaking about her privately owned goats, said she had sold two animals "so I'm now in compliance," and disputed an earlier enforcement letter. The resident said the first letter stated her lot was 0.45 acres while the ordinance threshold discussed was 0.5 acres, and she argued that the earlier notice was therefore invalid. "That said that I had 0.45 acres and I can only have those that had 0.5 acres," the resident said. "So anyway... I am within compliance." (resident, public comment)
Deputy Hopkins and enforcement staff responded that the initial letter may have been sent based on an incorrect assumption about the property's lot size but that subsequent enforcement contacts arose after multiple reports and observations — including a period when nine goats were present on the property. An enforcement officer said the town had documented "animals at large" and that citations had been issued; staff noted there were multiple violations on file, including an unlicensed dog. The officer told the resident that when he issued the first written warning he believed the property to be smaller and that the warning could be considered invalid in that respect, but that the resident had been made aware of the ordinance after that contact.
Councilmembers discussed the distinction between the dog-focused ordinance before them and separate livestock regulations, and they voted to adopt the animal-control amendments as written. The motion to adopt ordinance 25-04 was moved by Tom Little and seconded by Greg Harris; the vote was recorded as unanimous.
The meeting record shows both the policy action (adoption of the animal-control amendments) and a separate enforcement outcome: citations recorded by enforcement staff for animals at large and related violations. Council did not reverse or modify enforcement actions at the meeting. The council asked staff to schedule a separate agenda item to address livestock-specific rules.
What happens next: Town staff will place livestock ordinance changes on a future agenda and provide follow-up on outstanding citations as appropriate under the town's enforcement processes.
