Waukee council gives first reading to overhaul animal-control ordinance

Waukee ' The Waukee City Council introduced and approved the first reading of a comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 55 on animal protection and control, with staff and the police chief saying the changes clarify leash rules, set quarantine to match state law and shorten holding periods for animals without ownership markers.

Chief said the rewrite is "a fairly significant amendment to chapter 55 related to animal control," telling the council the ordinance "goes back to just strictly a leash law," so that an off-leash dog can no longer be considered "in control" for purposes of the code. He said the change aims to reduce unpredictable interactions between off-leash dogs and other animals.

The chief also told the council the ordinance aligns the quarantine period for animals that have bitten a person with state code by specifying a 10-day quarantine, and it changes hold times for animals with no collar, tags or microchip. "It is seven days for animals that appear to be owned or have some sort of domestication to them and then it's four days for the animals that do not," the chief said.

The rewrite also adds a pathway for residents who capture a cat to take that cat to a shelter with which the city contracts. City staff said they will return with a 28E agreement with a contracted shelter to provide services specific to cats; staff said dogs are already covered by existing arrangements.

Staff recommended approval of the ordinance's first reading; the motion to approve the first reading and title only passed unanimously. The item will return for a second reading and further council action at a later meeting.