SPANISH FORK — Animal lovers in Spanish Fork have won the right to have up to four house pets — an increase over the city's previous limit of two.
Residents who asked for the change welcomed the news when the Spanish Fork City Council recently approved the ordinance, but some city employees are approaching the change cautiously.
"From my perspective, more animals mean more animal problems," said assistant city attorney Christine Johnson. "I don't say that to disparage animal owners, because I am one myself . . . but I do foresee it will mean a lot more work."
Johnson said the emotional nature of animal-related cases make them particularly difficult to handle.
"It's a time-consuming thing to work through the animal issues," she said.
But supporters of the new ordinance say such concerns are overstated.
"I don't think that everyone is going to jump up and say 'We can have four dogs, ' and go out and buy four dogs," said Ginger Fenton, a resident who pushed for the change. "I think what they're going to see is people going out and registering the dogs they do have, paying for the kennel permit and creating more revenue for the city. If anything, I think you'll see more money, not more dogs."
Spanish Fork Animal Control Officer Mark Byers said he has received positive and negative comments regarding the new ordinance, which mostly regulates the number of dogs and cats per household, but said he didn't know if it would automatically result in more problems.
"As far as the calls, they are going to come," he said. "I just don't know what that will mean in terms of violations and citations."
Spanish Fork residents initially asked the city to reconsider its two-pet policy at a city meeting last month. City leaders asked Byers and city attorneys to draft a new ordinance, and they responded with one that would allow residents to obtain a residential kennel permit for a $25 fee.
That permit would allow homeowners to have up to four animals, but only if the homeowner had at least half an acre and only if the animals were kept 100 feet from any neighboring residence and 50 feet from any street.
Pet owners who asked for the change said the proposal was too restrictive, so the council allowed them to work with city staff in drafting an alternate version.
That version — the one approved earlier this month — removed the acreage and distance requirements. It also added a provision that any animals kept beyond the original limit of two must be spayed or neutered, and any animal violations would result in a loss of the pet owner's kennel permit.
The ordinance reflects the argument of pet owners that the problem is not the number of animals in a home, but the irresponsibility of some owners.
Council members pointed to the process as a sign that they are willing to listen to residents, and since some are likely to be upset with the new ordinance, councilman Matthew D. Barber said the situation needs to be closely monitored.
Barber wants Byers and Johnson to keep detailed records of the number of animal infractions reported and the costs associated with enforcing the ordinance, adding that the ordinance is "not set in stone" and could be reviewed.
"I think we need to be aware that there are a lot of other increased costs associated with this," he said.
E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com