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Council delays action on draft ordinance to prohibit feeding wild animals, asks staff to refine language
Summary
Council heard a draft ordinance restricting feeding of certain wild animals and debated scope—birds, squirrels, feral cats, lot-size exemptions and trapping—but voted to take no action and asked staff to return with tightened language.
Council discussed a draft ordinance that would prohibit the feeding of certain wild animals within city limits and make violations misdemeanors. The draft listed raccoons, skunks, opossums and coyotes as examples and explicitly preserved bird feeding unless it generated a nuisance or health concern.
Doug (staff) described the draft as an initial version created in response to a citizen complaint and said it would give code enforcement a tool to address public‑health or nuisance problems. Councilmembers raised concerns and asked staff to clarify several points: whether squirrel feeders or deer corn should be allowed, how feral cats would be handled, whether lot‑size exemptions (for properties of one acre or more) should apply, who would determine if feeding constituted a nuisance, and whether trapping for nuisance animals should be excepted.
Councilmember Brandy Bailey moved to take no action on the ordinance that evening so staff could return with tightened language addressing list clarity, acreage exceptions, trapping and enforcement mechanisms; Councilmember Troy Hill seconded. The motion passed 6–0. Staff said it will return to a future meeting with revised language.
