Residents have recently been asking the town for a local law that is more effective for dealing with dogs that are causing disruption. (See minutes for July 2007)

At the April 24, 2008 regular meeting the Planning Board developed a draft for a new local law to meet that request. The text is available as a PDF file: Proposed Dog Law.

It was forwarded to the Town Board for consideration at their May 6 meeting with the following note from Chairman Bob Kayser:

The Planning Board met last night and did a line by line review of the draft document sent to all of you previously. Jeff Case attended the meeting and was very helpful in guiding our work. We made some modifications to the draft to enhance language, provide further protections to residents, and give clear direction to the Judge on his/her options with particular regard to vicious (dangerous) dogs. What you have here is a document whose language has come from laws already in effect in communities across the state, so rather than re-inventing the wheel, we have taken the best language we could find to meet our needs, and adopted it. It is sent to you with the unanimous recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board.
I am sorry that I will be out of the country for your May Board meeting, and therefore unable to attend to answer your questions at that time. I am hopeful that a Planning Board member and perhaps Jeff Case can assume that role if needed. We believe this proposed Law gives balanced protection to residents, pet owners and pets alike. Its contents have been tested in other communities and found legal and defensible. Most of all, it eliminates ambiguity about what types of behaviors are expected of pet owners, prohibited by pets, and available to the Animal Control Officer and the Judge. We urge you to thoughtfully review it, make modifications if you feel they need to be made and adopt it for the protection of the Community.