About 20 pet owners told the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday they don't want to be punished for the sins of a few irresponsible residents who don't properly care for their animals.
The pet owners spoke against proposed changes to the city ordinance that regulates how many pets each house can have.
Current limits allow for two dogs and two cats per house, but tentative changes would allow up to four pets per house as long as there were no more than two dogs or two ferrets — up to four cats would be allowed. Cat licensing also is part of the proposal.
"We are randomly deciding people's capacities to care for and love members of their families," Cara Lingstuyl said. "People who do not care for their pets . . . are not the people who are inclined to want more animals in their lives."
The City Council does not have a concrete proposal about pet limits or cat licensing — it wanted to hold a public hearing before settling on numbers, Councilman Sren Simonsen said.
Pet owners said they were concerned about lower limits, prompted by ill will toward careless owners, that would require them to get rid of beloved pets.
"One pet can be far more troublesome than five pets," said Nancy Cantor, a dog and cat owner. "It just depends on the owner."
Several residents who spoke confessed to harboring more than the current legal limit of animals.
"I've rescued hundreds and hundreds of animals," said Verrall May. "It's the irresponsible people who are making us look bad. It's kind of hard to do the right thing when we're getting blamed for people doing the wrong thing."
A three-member council subcommittee likely will discuss the public comments and then forward its recommendations to the full council before another formal meeting on the ordinance.
In another public hearing Tuesday, the City Council heard from taxicab drivers eager to recoup cash they spent filling their cars after last fall's Hurricane Katrina-induced spike in gasoline prices.
The day after oil prices hit a record high, drivers and taxi patrons told the council their businesses need an extra 25 cents per fare — now, more than ever.
"The real impact goes to a cab driver who fills that car up every day, seven days a week," Mark Hatch said.
The quarter-dollar increase would be per fare, permanent and in addition to the $2 base rate and $1.80 per mile. All of the increase would go to the drivers.
The City Council, which regulates Salt Lake's Yellow Cab, Ute Cab and City Cab by ordinance, approved the fare increase with the intent to revisit the issue again in six months.
In other business:
The council gave final approval to more than $4.7 million in city money for nonprofit groups. The money went to programs ranging from homeless shelters to home repair for low-income house owners to neighborhood improvement and beautification.
The Leonardo at Library Square soon will have more than $10 million in city money that came after the group raised a matching sum from private donors. The City Council approved selling $15.6 million in general obligation bonds that voters approved in 2003 for the art and science center. Some of that $15.6 million also will help buy open space.
Small parks throughout Salt Lake City will now close one hour earlier to give neighbors a break from noise. Council members approved changing the closing time of so-called "pocket" parks, which are five acres or less, from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. For a list of the parks affected, visit deseretnews.com/photos/0419parks.pdf.
The City Council also changed the wording in its transportation ordinances that refers to people with disabilities. The council removed the words "handicapped" and "disabled" in favor of "persons with disabilities" which came at the recommendation of ADA Coordinator Barry Esham.
The council appointed Dale Lambert, a former council member, to sit on the open space lands advisory board, which makes recommendations to the mayor and City Council about which land to purchase for open space. The council approved Lambert, who left office in January, for a four-year term.
E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com