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Task Force delivers draft Ordinance 11A limiting pets; county attorney to redline, commissioners set follow-up
Summary
A volunteer task force presented a community-drafted Ordinance 11A that would cap dogs and cats at three in specified development districts and use a one-acre threshold for exceptions; County Attorney Morgan Smith will redline the draft and commissioners tentatively scheduled further discussion in about four weeks.
Jeffrey Miles, chairman of the Domestic Animal Task Force, told the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission on Jan. 13 that the group has delivered a completed draft Ordinance 11A responding to prior Commission direction under Ordinance 277. "I come to you with a final report," Miles said, summarizing the task force's work to define district boundaries and enforcement scope.
The draft ordinance sets a default limit of three dogs and cats combined in the development districts covered by the plan and includes emergency provisions and case-by-case authority for enforcement outside those districts. "By the scope, yes sir," Miles said when County Commission Chair Kevin Hart asked whether the three-animal limit applied. Miles said the task force debated different lot-size thresholds and settled on a one-acre delineation after consulting department heads.
Commissioners praised the task force's effort but signaled the draft needs legal and policy refinement before any vote. Commissioner Ed Beaudette told Miles the draft "is fair, it's reasonable," and commended the volunteers’ work. County Attorney Morgan Smith asked for time to redline the document before Commissioners consider amendments or a vote. "I need an opportunity to redline this, and I think it's going to take a pretty good chunk of time," Morgan Smith said, adding the county should set a date to keep the process moving.
CEO Bill Everett also thanked the task force for its work and described the community as "very opinionated" on animal rules, making compromise difficult.
Next steps: Chair Kevin Hart said he expects the item to return to a future work session in about four weeks to allow commissioners and the county attorney time for review; no formal motion or vote was taken on Jan. 13. The commission also opened the floor for public comment but received none at that time.
What remains unresolved: the draft removes a kennel-license mechanism that would allow the county to authorize additional animals on a case-by-case basis; the task force said it avoided a kennel license because of concerns about the ordinary definition of a kennel as a for-profit enterprise and enforcement capacity. The county attorney’s redline will determine whether the commission moves forward with approval, amendment, or a request that the task force reconvene to revise the draft.
