Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | County insists: You are limited to 3 petsBy JOHN THOMPSON It was a bad night for pet lovers at the Fayette County Commission last Thursday. In two separate votes, the commission decided that a resident needed to get rid of his pet goats and kept the limit of all pets for residents in the unincorporated county at no more than three animals, even in agricultural districts. The commission voted unanimously to maintain the current level of pets at three for residents in the unincorporated county. The Planning Commission had recommended increasing the number of pets from three to four, with a maximum of three dogs. Animal Shelter Director Miguel Abi-Hassan told the board that dogs tend to assume pack mentality when there are many dogs in a small space. Commissioner Linda Wells wondered why the item was even coming before the commission. I just see no reason to change it, she said. She also had a problem with folks who had several dogs and kept breeding them. Wells said the ordinance should include having no more than one litter every four months, but agreed to amend it to six months after Commissioner Herb Frady asked her to change it. Resident Kim Finck, who had originally brought the matter to the commissions attention several months ago, said she had agreed to have one of her cats adopted, but said she would still have to get rid of another cat because she planned to keep her three dogs. The board voted unanimously to keep the pet limit at three, which keeps it in line with the countys municipalities. Neighboring Coweta County has no limits on pets. Thus, while residents in agricultural zones may keep unlimited numbers of cows, horses, goats and other livestock on their A-R-zoned properties, they are restricted to no more than three dogs, cats and other animals as pets. In the other animal-related issue, Ussiel Hernandez, who lives on Ga. Highway 92 North, asked the board to rezone his property from R-20 to Agricultural-Residential. Hernandez has 7.5 acres and wanted to combine two tracts into an A-R site so his kids would be allowed to keep the 30 pet goats he owns. The noise from the highway is more than the goats make, Hernandez said. Several residents, who had come for another rezoning hearing, spoke in favor of allowing the request, and said much of the countys agricultural space was disappearing. But the County Commission disagreed. While the commissioners said they had nothing against the goats, they said the zoning would set a bad precedent in the area. This is spot zoning. I would support him keeping his pets for his kids, but this is in a subdivision area, said Commissioner Linda Wells. When Commission Chairman Greg Dunn questioned why Hernandez had suddenly decided to rezone the property, Hernandez said he had received a citation. Dunn said that he had been illegally keeping the goats for years and agreed it was spot zoning. Everything around you is one-acre lots, Dunn said. The commission voted 3-1 to deny the rezoning, with Commissioner Peter Pfeifer casting the lone vote against the denial. |
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