(A) Limitation on number of dogs and cats; kennel license. No person shall keep in any one household unit, lot, or premises, or portion thereof, more than three service animals or three dogs or cats, or a total combination of three said animals, over six months of age unless a person has a valid kennel license from the city.
(B) Definition of kennel. The keeping of four, or more, service animals, or four, or more, dogs, or four, or more, cats, or a combination of four, or more, dogs, cats, and service animals on the same premises, whether owned by the same person or not, and for whatever purpose kept, shall constitute a KENNEL; except that a fresh litter of pups or kittens may be kept for a period of three months before that keeping shall be deemed to be a KENNEL.
(C) Definition of service animal. Dogs or cats that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities that are directly related to the person’s disability. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting or protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. A dog or cat whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support does not qualify as a SERVICE ANIMAL and does qualify as a pet.
(D) Kennel as a nuisance. Because the keeping of four, or more, service animals, or four, or more, dogs, or four, or more, cats, or a combination of four, or more, cats, dogs, and service animals on the same premises is subject to great abuse, causing discomfort to persons in the area by way of smell, noise, hazard, and general aesthetic depreciation, the keeping of four, or more, service animals, or four, or more, dogs, or four, or more, cats on the premises is hereby declared to be a nuisance, and no person shall keep, or maintain, a kennel within the city, except as allowed hereafter. A kennel is not permitted in the “R-1”, One- and Two-Family Residential District. A kennel may only be maintained in a special commercial district through a special use permit.
(E) Kennel permit. An annual kennel permit is required before four, or more, dogs, cats, service animals, or combination thereof, may be kept on the same premises. The permit shall be obtained from the City Manager. The annual fee for a kennel permit shall be established by resolution of the City Council. Persons operating, or maintaining, a kennel as defined by M.S. § 347.31, subd. 2, as it may be amended from time to time, shall obtain a kennel license from the State Board of Animal Health before being issued a kennel permit by the city.
(F) Maintenance of kennels. Kennels shall be kept in a clean, and sanitary, manner, all animals shall be treated humanely, and the owners, or operators, of all kennels shall follow all provisions of Minn. R. Chapter 1721, part 1721.050, as it may be amended from time to time.
(G) Revocation of kennel permit. A kennel permit may be revoked by the City Council if a kennel is not kept in a clean, and sanitary, manner, if the animals are not treated humanely, if the kennel does not comply with the above cited rules, or if any other provision of this section is violated.
(H) Professional breeder defined. A PROFESSIONAL BREEDER is any person, or entity, breeding animals for profit, or who produces more than one litter regardless of species, in any 12-month period.
(I) Nonprofessional breeder defined. A NONPROFESSIONAL BREEDER is any person breeding animals as a hobby, and produces not more than one litter in any 12-month period.
(J) Professional breeder permit. A professional breeder must acquire a kennel permit in order to continue business as a professional breeder regardless of the number of adult dogs, and/or cats, on the premises. A kennel is not permitted in the “R-1”, One- and Two-Family Residential District. A kennel may only be maintained in a special commercial district through a special use permit.
(Ord. 19, third series, passed 6-21-2011; Ord. 008, fourth series, passed 12-22-2022)