City Council Meeting on Updating Chapter 5: Animals and Fowl (Dec 15, 2025)
City Council Meeting on Updating Chapter 5: Animals and Fowl (Dec 15, 2025)
The City Council convened for its final pre-2025 session on December 15, 2025, to review a comprehensive update to Chapter 5 (Animals and Fowl) proposed by the Board of Health and the Public Health and Human Services Department. Presented by Rebecca Roslin, Dr. Tom Rose, and Kevin Myers, the presentation outlined efforts to align city ordinances with county processes, clarify definitions, address animal neglect and tethering, revise feral cat colony management, and introduce a mechanism for households exceeding the four-pet limit.
Consent Calendar
- No items were processed on the consent calendar; however, Council was notified that three items (one bill and two resolutions) had been pulled from the standard agenda pending the receipt of supplemental memos or wording updates.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Counselor Inquiry on Education: A Council member inquired about the public education and outreach strategies planned for both before and after the ordinance's adoption, noting that residents are often unaware of existing limits or definitions regarding feral cat colonies.
- Feral Cat Community Input: Staff noted that prior to this presentation, the Board of Health held specific community engagement sessions (including on "Be Heard" and social media) where significant public testimony was received, particularly focusing on feral cat colonies and tethering requirements. Council members expressed a desire to ensure residents with pets are alerted to the changes.
Discussion Items
- Alignment with County Processes: Staff explained the intent to align city processes with county standards, specifically regarding the classification of dangerous/aggressive animals. Currently, the city uses the court system for adjudication, whereas the county utilizes a "Vicious and Nuisance Dog Advisory Board" for hearings. The proposed changes aim to introduce a hearing process for owners to contest classifications before citations are issued.
- Animal Quarantine Protocols: Discussion centered on Section 5.3 regarding animals involved in bites. Staff proposed allowing owners to quarantine dogs at home for the mandatory 10-day rabies observation period if the dog is licensed, vaccinated, and has no history of biting, rather than impounding at the Humane Society or a vet. This aims to reduce costs (avoiding $20/day boarding fees) and shelter overcrowding. Council expressed concern about the "honor system" nature of at-home quarantine and liability, though staff emphasized that strict compliance instructions are given and extensions occur if a bite happens during quarantine.
- Tethering and Animal Neglect: Staff recommended adding specific provisions for tethering animals during inclement weather (requiring adequate shelter) and updating definitions to include "animal neglect" alongside "animal abuse." The proposal aims to ensure animals tethered outside have the same level of care as those in fenced yards during weather advisories.
- Pet Limit and Multiple Pet Permit: The current limit of four dogs/cats combined (excluding puppies under six months) is proposed to allow for a "Multiple Pet Permit." This permit would be discretionary, primarily triggered after a complaint or a specific circumstance (e.g., a family member being hospitalized), rather than as a proactive application for expansion. Permits would require proof of vaccination, licensing, microchipping, sterilization, and property owner consent, with an annual fee of $50 per animal over the limit. Council discussed whether to differentiate limits for small dogs/cats versus large dogs or set a maximum cap, but concluded that existing discretion and inspection authority would suffice.
- Feral Cat Colonies: Section 5.112 proposes relaxing requirements for registered feral cat colonies. Proposals include removing the mandate for annual recapture and testing (relying instead on one-time vaccination and ear-notching) and eliminating microchipping requirements. The definition of a "feral cat colony" is updated to any group of five or more feral cats cared for at a single location. Staff noted that while costs for annual testing often prevent compliance, the city currently has only two registered colonies despite likely many unregistered ones.
- Advisory Board Composition: Council raised questions regarding the composition of the proposed "Vicious and Nuisance Dog Advisory Board," specifically noting that current Board of Health members (Dr. Rose, Kevin Myers) serve on the county board and may face conflicts of interest or eligibility issues serving on a city board while testifying.
- Rabbit Ordinances: A brief, informal exchange occurred regarding house rabbits, with a Council member noting that a separate ordinance of four rabbits exists; the discussion confirmed rabbits are covered under Chapter 5.
Key Outcomes
- Recommendation for Full Council Review: The Board of Health and staff have concluded their review and presented findings to the Council as an informational update. The updated ordinance text (marked up) will proceed to a regular City Council meeting on the "Old Business" agenda, not the consent calendar, to allow for a public hearing and further testimony.
- Public Education Plan: Staff committed to developing a communication plan to educate residents on the new ordinances once passed, potentially integrating key animal laws into "Welcome to Columbia" materials for new utility customers and neighbors.
- Discrepancy/Nuance Note: The transcript identifies a potential conflict regarding the composition of the new Advisory Board, as staff (Rose, Myers) currently serve on the county board. The Council requested clarification on city eligibility rules for these individuals before finalizing the board structure.
- Next Steps: The Council is expected to direct staff to incorporate the public outreach plan and clarify the Advisory Board composition into the memo accompanying the ordinance for the next reading.
Meeting Transcript
All right, I'm gonna go ahead and call our final pre-council of 2025 to order. December December 15th, 2025. We have one item on the agenda and an opportunity for if there are other items that council wants to discuss. So our one and only agenda is from our Board of Health, Public Health and Human Services Department. Updates to Chapter 5, Animals and Fowl. So Rebecca Roslin, I'm gonna kick this over to you. Okay, thank you. Dr. Tom Rose, who is a member of the Board of Health will be here shortly to walk through the presentation. Just to just a reminder to council. We came to count the Board of Health came to council at the end of last year asking for counsel's direction to review chapter five animals and fowl. That request was initially came about because we had had an individual come to council who had more than four cats, which are currently allowed in chapter five, and there's not a provision in chapter five allowing the health department director to grant any type of variance as there are in other sections. I I can give a variance for livestock in the city limits, but not for five cats. So and then upon looking further into chapter five, there were some other things that staff recommended the Board of Health look at and consider updating. So the process, uh, we started this in January. We looked through the ordinance, um, our animal control supervisor who's behind me, Kevin Myers, he really um marked through the items that have been issues over the years and then as from his perspective. And we identified that there were going to be four topics that we felt the community was going to be most invested in giving input on. And so we intentionally separated those out into four separate meetings. So it would be noted on the agenda that this was the topic we were going to be covering. We promoted that on Be Heard as well as our social media so that individuals that were very passionate about that particular topic would be aware that that was the time that they could come and speak. Although, of course, they could come and speak at any time on any topic. So just for your awareness, those four things were changes to the feral cat ordinance, um, the vicious and nuisance dog hearings, which we'll talk about that more, and some changes to tethering requirements in the city. And then the fourth one was of course the number of dogs and cats that could be allowed in any one household. So tonight's presentation, we've got the PowerPoint, which is a high level overview, and then we shared with everybody the edited or the marked up chapter five. This has been reviewed by legal as well. So we can talk about any questions you might have in the full edited, um, but the we're gonna hit the main highlights with the PowerPoint, and then each slide has the page number for this document that corresponds to those recommended edits. Um any questions on that before we get started or on the process or anything. No, I appreciate the detail process and community engagement. Thanks, Melinda. Go back. Yeah. Okay, so as we walk through this, there are some definitions that we just change throughout the document. They're very minimal in impact. For example, Columbia Police Department's dogs are mentioned multiple times. We just changed that to law enforcement. In case it's a highly patrol dog or MUPD had a dog. Um, we also changed citizen to person every place that you see that, just so there's no question about that use of language, other minor changes you'll see throughout. So the first one. So on page one of your definitions, is this close enough to my mouth? Yep. Okay. Am I screaming? Yeah, okay. Sometimes people use the microphone, you still can't even hear them. So if you sit back, it will be too far. It will be too far. Okay. Thank you. Okay, so page one on the definitions under uh dangerous or aggressive animal advisory. So this is something we're gonna talk about a little further down the road.
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