MILLS, Wyo. — Mills City Council has shelved a proposed ordinance affecting kennels and catteries on second reading. Mills City Attorney Pat Holscher told the council and Mayor Leah Juarez at the start of Tuesday’s exceptionally well-attended meeting that staff now considered the proposal “excessively narrow” given the city’s broader intent.
The ordinance that passed first reading March 10 added three requirements to the existing regulations. One was for fencing to prevent escape and block vision. The other two mandated “sufficient minimum efforts” to reduce odors and noise, including abiding by residential noise curfews in a commercial zone.
Juarez opened public comment with a reminder to focus on the ordinance and not the civil matter between two private parties — one a kennel owner and one related to a councilmember — that had been the topic of online discussion and prompted the public showing on the business owner’s behalf.
“As written these regulations could make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to continue operating in a way that sustains both the business and the rescue,” said Lindsay Royce, owner of Fur Pet’s Sake, the dog daycare and boarding facility at the center of the complaint.
Royce said the facility had saved over 500 dogs from euthanasia since setting up shop in Mills four years ago. Others spoke on her behalf and agreed that some of the proposals, like blocking vision through the fence, made no sense at all.
“I respectfully ask that any ordinance be carefully evaluated to ensure it applies equally to all, and is not shaped in a way that is unintentionally targeting a single property or business,” Royce said.
Ryan Perry, who said he was former resident of Mills, voiced his general skepticism regarding the timing of the ordinance with the civil complaint.
“This proposal risks punishing responsible community members and sets a troubling precedent that influence can drive policy,” Perry said.
After the meeting, Juarez told Oil City News she’d had discussions shortly after taking office with another kennel owner regarding the general need for regulations on boarders, citing cases of abuse and neglect.
She said the proposed ordinance was an attempt to address the issue, but it would be taken up again as licensing requirements for a kennel or cattery boarding business permit.
