Aldermen vote to ban livestock in city limits

Any Clarendon residents keeping livestock in the city have just 60 days to “head ‘em up and move ‘em out” or risk violating a new municipal ordinance.

Ordinance 340, passed at last Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, requires citizens and firms in the city limits to have licenses for their property and permits for their livestock. Violators could face a $500 per day fine, and the livestock could be impounded and sold to the highest bidder at public auction.

Mayor Pro-tem Mac Stavenhagen said the aldermen began considering a new ordinance last year after the city engaged in a second court battle to enforce existing regulations. In recent years, one court case has been left in legal limbo; and another, which the city won, is on appeal.

“This will start us off with a clean slate,” Stavenhagen said. “It eliminates all previous [animal] ordinances. The city and the city attorney feel it should be easier to enforce.”

Stavenhagen said the city took action out of concerns for public health hazards related to flies and waste runoff that accompany livestock kept in pens.

According to the new law, cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, buffaloes, and other domestic farm animals are banned from the city unless certain criteria are met. Individuals wishing to keep livestock in the city must obtain a land-use license, which costs $20 per year, and a permit for each animal at a cost of $10 per year per head.

In seeking a permit, a person must provide such information as a legal description of the property and an itemized listing of all residences, businesses, or other buildings located within 300 feet of any part of the property for which the license is desired.

No livestock shall be kept in a pen or other enclosure of less than 1,000 square feet for each head of livestock, the ordinance says. And every pen or enclosure must be kept clean and sanitary and cannot be a source of flies or odors offensive to city residents.

No swine, hogs, or pigs can be kept in the city.

Licenses and permits can be revoked any time if the property or livestock constitute a nuisance or are out of compliance with the ordinance or state health regulations.

Veterinary hospitals and clinics are exempted from the ordinance.

For more information or to file for a license and permit, contact City Hall at 874-3438.