Brier City Council to consider ban on roosters, other animal ordinance changes

While the proposed animal ordinance changes being considered by the Brier City Council on Tuesday bans roosters and modifies the number of dogs and cats a household can have without further city approval, there are no changes to the regulations affecting horses, such as these, in the city.
While the proposed animal ordinance changes being considered by the Brier City Council on Tuesday ban roosters and modify the number of dogs and cats a household can have without further city approval, there are no changes to the regulations affecting horses, such as these, in the city.
Brier, a community built upon a rural agricultural history, may lose a bit of its rural nature this week as the Brier City Council considers changes to its current animal allowances.

The council is scheduled to consider a resolution at its Tuesday, April 26 meeting that primarily eliminates duplicate city codes concerning animal control, but would also change the number of dogs and cats a household could keep without a kennel license and disallow any ownership of roosters within the city limits.

The city’s Planning Commission gave its final support to the changes on April 20, recommending that the City Council approve the resolution on Tuesday.

Brier horses, welcome sign 006The city has been considering updating its animal ordinance for years. A number of public hearings have been held during the time, giving residents an opportunity to voice their concerns. In April 2011, residents testified both for and against any changes; no one attended last week’s Planning Commission public hearing to testify.

City officials note that the ordinance is necessary to address redundancies in city code, but also to make a couple of notable changes. “The major change is suggesting to eliminate the keeping of roosters, as other cities have done,” said Brier Mayor Bob Colinas. “Crowing roosters has been an issue in the last few years.”

The proposed ordinance, Title 6 Section 20.090, would make it “unlawful for any person to harbor a rooster in the city.”

The proposal also clarifies the number of cats and dogs a household may own without having to purchase a kennel license. Current Brier code states no more than “three cats or three dogs or three of each” are allowed; the new regulation would allow no more than three cats or three dogs, or any combination of up to five.

Pet owners wishing to own a number of cats and/or dogs over the limitations may still do so with a city conditional use permit and the purchase of an annual kennel license.

City officials stress that there are no changes being considered to current city code that addresses the ownership and care of horses, livestock, fowl, small and exotic animals.

“We wanted to (consider) regulations that continue to support Brier as an agricultural community,” said Brier City Planner Nicole Gaudette.

The Brier City Council meets on Tuesday at Brier City Hall at 7 p.m.

— Story and photo by Doug Petrowski

  1. I hate to be this person, but there are numerous grammatical errors in this article. If you want people to consider your site to be a credible source of news, proper proofreading and editing is not only important, but absolutely essential.

    1. We always appreciate readers letting us know about typos. I corrected the one I saw in this story. If you — or anyone else — sees others, please email me directly at info@mltnews.com. Thank you.
      Teresa Wippel, Publisher

  2. Re-home?! Oh please, no! The grammar police will flay you publicly for your editorial indecency. Please, if you must relocate your roosters, let them be driven and dispossessed, expatriated, displaced, refugeed, but never “re-homed.”

  3. Re-home or relocate, the sentiment and meaning is clear. Why so critical? This is a local BLOG not an English class.

    1. I agree, it was meant as a joke on a local blog, not an English lesson. Apologies for any offense caused. Please, re-home away.

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