(Reporter Miranda Wellman contributed to this report).

PERRY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On Thursday evening, more than 60 people showed up at a Perry City Council meeting to voice their concerned over proposed zoning ordinance changes that would amend rules concerning pets in the city.

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The new rules for Ordinance 383, which can be found here, was reported on by Michigan News Source last week with an article pointing out the changes that were being proposed. The changes include getting permits for “additional” pets above the city’s current pet limits and adds rules on fostering cats which would drastically limit the care of felines in the city.

When Perry residents heard about the amendments to the zoning ordinance, they were also shocked to learn that the city has already had animal limits in place since 2016, with some areas of the city only allowing two pets and some allowing four.

The City Council meeting was packed with concerned pet owners and those who feed and rescue cats. The cat rescuers are dismayed with the amendment changes because they would essentially put a stop to most of their volunteer work to save the lives of kittens and cats in their community.

Several people spoke during public comment in front of a crowded room of Perry residents who opposed the ordinance changes. Mayor Sue Hammond said that she and the council members had also received over two dozen emails from people who expressed the same concerns as those who showed up at the meeting.

Because of the community’s concerns and opposition to the ordinance changes, council member Steve Wallace said that he was going to make a motion to postpone the adoption of Zoning Ordinance Amendment 383.

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Wallace said, “I’ve heard all of the comments tonight, comments on social media, articles in the local news, and the emails that Sue just mentioned…I believe we would be remiss in our responsibility to the residents of the city of Perry if we move forward on approval of Amendment 383 at this time.”

He then said, “Therefore, I move to postpone the possible adoption of zoning ordinance Amendment 383, section 3.30 ‘animals in residential and agricultural districts’ for 120 days. Secondly, we would issue a moratorium on enforcement of section 3.30 of the current zoning ordinance as it pertains to dogs and cats for 120 days. The balance of section 3.30 would remain in effect. And commission a six-member cross-discipline task force to objectively research and develop a proposed update to section 3.30 within that 120 day time period that addresses the concerns expressed with our current zoning ordinance 3.30.”

Both motions passed unanimously.

Michigan News Source contributor, Miranda Wellman, spoke to community members in the crowd before the meeting including Perry resident and pet groomer Kimberly Bradley who later volunteered to be on the task force. Bradley came to the meeting with concerns about how changes to the ordinance would affect the city. When asked if she knew about the pet limit rules that had been put in place in 2016, she said no. She’s lived in Perry since 2018 and said, “When I moved in, they told me I had a limit of five pets and we’ve stuck within that range and I still have five pets and there’s no way I’m getting rid of one.” When asked about why she attended the meeting, in addition to the pet limits she said she was there because she was also concerned that the ordinance changes would stop people from doing rescues.

Bradley had said before the meeting that if the changes went through “the people of Perry are going to be furious” and she added “the city council needs to understand that this is not a dictatorship. We don’t live in an HOA but yet they’ve decided to rule over us instead of basically be our leaders and it’s absolutely ridiculous that we have to answer to every single thing that they do.”

Bradley said that the ordinance would have a big affect on people because pets are part of their families. She said, “I love my pets, not quite as much, but darn close to as much as I love my kids.”

Perry resident Craig Jones came to the meeting after a friend called and told him about it. Jones, who doesn’t usually get into politics or attend city meetings, feeds many outdoor cats and he was concerned about what the future of that might look like. He said “There’s a lot of them (cats) in this neighborhood, and whether you feed them or you don’t, they appear…” He also expressed concern about his own indoor cats of which he has three. He said that if someone told him he could only have two, he’s not giving one up. He said, “Don’t ring my bell, don’t knock at my door…You’re not coming in.” He also pointed out that he hadn’t see any residents at the meeting who agreed with the ordinance changes.

Perry resident Karen Orr said before the start of the meeting, “If this atrocity of an amendment were to pass, we would lose all of the wonderful foster people that foster animals to give them a good start in life, to get them dog or cat friendly.” She said it would lead to full animal shelters being even more overloaded. She also expressed a concern about the “dictatorship” in limiting the amount of pets that people can own and says that if people have to give up pets and shelters are full, that it’s going to result in dogs tied up out in the woods and cats being dumped. She added “We have wonderful group that go out and get the feral cats, raise money to spay them, neuter and trap them and release. That’s going to be all gone.”

Cat rescuer Rebecca Porter came to the meeting because the ordinance changes would have a huge effect on fostering and the work she does in the city. She said, “I’m very upset and disappointed in Perry for what they’re doing to our animals. They’re not going to allow fostering, which we need, because people will just turn their cats loose, and dogs will run all over.” Porter has been doing cat rescue for about two years and currently fosters for “Happy Feet Pet Rescue” out of Lansing. She also helped set up the Facebook event page that encouraged Perry residents to attend the meeting.

During the meeting, it was pointed out by the council members that the county of Shiawassee also has a pet limit ordinance and that the city of Perry was just following their lead. In looking at the county’s zoning regulations, under household pets, it says that “The raising and keeping of less than five (5) household pets is permitted as an accessory use in all districts.”