Cambridge animal ordinance more than two years in the making

The city council in Cambridge recently added more teeth to the city’s stray dog ordinance with stiffer penalties for repeat violations.
 City officials have been fielding questions and a few complaints from residents since approval of the revised dog ordinance and a second ordinance that defines and limits what animals are allowed to be kept in the city.
 Cambridge Mayor Jack Toothman said both he and the city council felt that increasing penalties for loose dogs in the city was one way to get the attention of residents who don’t keep canines contained at home.
 “The council felt like I did. Be a good neighbor and if you have an animal keep it in your yard,” he said.
 There were ongoing complaints about dogs on the loose getting into trash, bothering neighbors and becoming a chronic nuisance. There are some people in town who have seven or eight dogs, Toothman said.
 The new and improved dog ordinance also allows any individual authorized by the city, including city staff, to act in the role of animal control officer and also includes state or local law enforcement officers. Previously, the city council had to designate who could round up stray dogs. Now, any city official can take action.
 Like many small towns, Cambridge does not have a full-time animal control officer. The job can fall to the city’s public works supervisor, city clerk or even the mayor, who said he had to pick up a stray. There is no dog pound in the city or county, so the loose dog was taken to a shelter in McCall, Toothman said.
 If city officials know who owns a loose dog, a written warning will be issued that gives the owner 72 hours to correct the problem. If the problem persists, the city can request that the county sheriff’s office issue a citation. The first violation is an infraction with a fine of $100. The second and third convictions can bring a penalty of $200 and $300, respectively.
 The city ordinance incorporates the language of state law when it comes to vicious dogs. The owner of a dangerous dog can be convicted of a misdemeanor under state law and fined up to $300 and sentenced to six months in the county jail.
 The separate animal ordinance approved by the city council was more than two years in the making and in the end required compromise on all sides, said Toothman, who still wasn’t completely happy with it but wanted to get it done.
 The animal control ordinance includes a list of animals and birds that are prohibited in the city. No longer can a city resident keep a buffalo, bison or beefalo in their backyard. Also on the banned in the city limits list are pigs, roosters, beehives, mature male buck goats, pea fowl and guinea fowl and more.
 Toothman said he wanted guinea fowl added to the list because of the noise they make. Nobody would want to live next door to that loud racket.
 He has some geese on his property that are also admittedly noisy, but he also has plenty of room with three acres.
 A limited number of animals and horses can be kept in the city if the property owner meets the minimum lot size requirements in the ordinance. A minimum of one acre is required to house an animal and half of the parcel must be in pasture. The maximum density is two animal units per acre of pasture.
 The ordinance limits the number of chickens and/or ducks to six per household on a one-eighth acre lot. A maximum of 12 chickens and/or ducks are allowed on a minimum of one-half acre of pasture. The minimum area required for geese and turkeys is one acre.
 The city ordinance makes an exception to the minimum lot size for 4-H or FFA youth livestock projects. Livestock for 4-H and FFA can only be kept temporarily between March 1 to Aug. 31.
 The ordinance also allows temporary exemptions to the Washington County Fair Board, Cambridge Rodeo Association and the Friends of the Weiser River Trail. The exemption allows for the use of animals for exhibition, education, competition, recreation and vegetation control within the boundaries of the organization’s properties.
 The mayor said it would not be fair to demand that residents who currently own animals on too-small lots in violation of the ordinance to get rid of them immediately.
 The ordinance provides a time period for compliance for pre-existing animals and gives residents until Dec. 31, 2021, to comply with the ordinance.