Council has passed an amended Mountain View County animal control bylaw.The bylaw regulates the number of dogs allowed on properties within the county (working farm dogs are exempted) and the number of livestock units allowed on parcels under 10 acres.The amended version, adopted by council on May 16, incorporates minor wording changes aimed to ensure clarity, administration said.Council's policies and priorities committee reviewed the proposed amendments on April 25; the changes were publicized in the media “and we did not receive any feedback,” said Jeff Holmes, director of legislative, community and agricultural services.The bylaw drops a grace period to pay the $50 permit fee, which expired on Dec. 31, 2011. Permits, required to keep more dogs or livestock than are allowed based on parcel size and zoning, are approved or denied by a review committee appointed by the CAO.Holmes noted that the amended bylaw specifies the review committee may revoke a permit if it receives “bona fide complaints from two or more sources,” while an earlier draft questioned at P&P called for two bona fide complaints, “but they could be from the same source,” he said.The original bylaw, passed in 2010, specifies the review committee can revoke a permit if it receives “bona fide complaints from two or more residents living adjacent to the property.”
