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At the first Three Forks City Council meeting of 2024, the governing body will, on January 9, conduct a public hearing for the first reading of an ordinance that would make several changes to the Police Regulation/Animal Control Code. Among the proposed changes would be clarifying the definition of a “Kennel,” adding definitions for “Additional Dog Permit” and “Doggy Day Care,” and editing the requirement of residents to obtain an Additional Dog Permit.
The changes came after several complaints about one Kennel permit, which prompted the City Council to conduct an Ordinance Committee Meeting.
According to the draft ordinance, available online at http://www.cityofthreeforks.org, an Additional Dog Permit would be obtained by a resident who harbors more than three but not more than four dogs. The draft ordinance defines a Doggy Day Care as a business that keeps/cares for animals for pet owners throughout the day, but not overnight.
According to the draft, a Kennel would be defined as a commercial business in which one keeps animals for pet owners, which includes overnight stays, typically with an exterior fenced property to prevent dogs from getting loose off the property and interior fenced individual dog runs, which may be indoor and/or outdoor, and a larger exercise area. This would include Doggy Day Cares, which do not house animals overnight.
As far as additional requirements to obtain an Additional Dog Permit, the draft states residents must fill out an application provided by the City that must be accompanied by an applicable fee to be set via resolution by the governing body and submittal of a complete signed application is an agreement between the applicant and the City to perform an inspection before any decision.
The draft states the application fee will be used to cover the cost of creating and mailing notice to the property owners within three hundred feet, excluding streets and alleys, in any direction from the applicant’s property, of a hearing scheduled before the governing body to decide on an Additional Dog Permit application.
City employees began tracking kennel license numbers in 2013, and in that time, ten kennel licenses were applied for and granted, and six have relinquished the licenses.
A second public hearing on the ordinance changes is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, at City Hall.
The City will accept public comments at the hearing or written comments before the hearings if they are submitted by 5 p.m. on the day of the hearing. Comments can be delivered in person to City Hall at 206 Main Street or by email to cturner@threeforksmontana.us or ksmith@threeforksmontana.us.
Both hearings will occur at the regular Council meetings scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
