Monday, March 22, 1999
Fort Wright might rein pets
Residents' views sought
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT WRIGHT — To put more teeth into its animal control efforts, Fort Wright may soon join a growing number of Kenton County cities that limit the number of pets a resident can own.
Fort Wright officials decided to look into the issue recently after receiving complaints about the noise and smell at a couple of dog owners' homes, City Administrator Larry Klein said.
However, before passing a law to limit the number of pets, city officials want to hear from residents. In this month's Fort Wright newsletter, residents are asked to call 331-0380, enter the number “1” and leave a message for the administration with any comments on the issue.
“So far, we've had five or six calls, mostly against the limit,” Mr. Klein said.
If Fort Wright does pass a law limiting the number of household pets, the city would join an increasing number of Kenton County communities that have done so in recent years. They include Bromley, Crescent Springs, Elsmere, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, Lakeside Park, Ludlow, Park Hills, Taylor Mill and Villa Hills.
The limits range from three to five pets per house hold.
Kenton County officials also are looking into stricter animal control measures for unincorporated areas, Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson said. Interest in tougher animal control was prompted by complaints about a resident who's allegedly keeping hundreds of dogs on her rural Kenton County property.
“When the problem was brought to me, I pulled out the county ordinances and realized we had virtually no regulation,” Mr. Edmondson said.
Mr. Edmondson said the proposed legislation — which has not yet gone before Kenton Fiscal Court — deals with a number of animal control issues.
“As rural areas become urban, animal control is becoming a problem,” Mr. Edmondson said. “You've got a mixture of farms and hunting dogs clashing with the subdivision next door. (Government's) task is to balance these competing interests.”
In Villa Hills, it took a woman with a houseful of cats to trigger pet limitations in that city four years ago.
“We had a case where a woman was harboring 60 cats, and it was becoming a nuisance for her neighbors,” said Villa Hills Clerk Sue Kramer. “The cats were running all over the place, getting in the mulch and the bushes.”
The woman's neighbors complained they couldn't sit on their porches because of the smell, and their children couldn't play in their sand boxes because of the mess, Ms. Kramer said.
Although the woman's neighbors called the health department, they were told the matter was outside the department's jurisdiction because the problem originated inside the house.
And while Villa Hills had blight laws on the books, they dealt only with unsanitary conditions on the outside of the house, not on the inside, said Villa Hills Detective Joe Schutzman.
After Villa Hills passed its pet limitation ordinance in 1995, other Kenton County cities soon passed their own laws, as a preventive measure.
And while other cities, such as Covington, Crescent Park, Crestview Hills and Edgewood, don't limit the number of household pets, they have laws on the books regulating such problems as animal odor and pets running at large.
Although pet owners occasionally complain about stricter animal control measures, a Kenton County animal control officer said laws are needed to protect the general public from nuisances such as excessive barking or odor.
“That way, when you find people who are keeping 30 or 40 cats in the house, you've got a law on the books,” said Junior Creekmore, an animal control officer with the Kenton County Dog Authority. “That lets (authorities) go in there and check out the situation.”
Kenton County cities that limit pets
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