Mapleton council has decided the township won’t be pursing the idea of controlling cats though a bylaw at this time.
“I think trying to regulate cats is like herding them – good luck,” said councillor Marlene Ottens as council discussed a letter from local resident Alan Beeney at the Oct. 13 meeting.
In his letter, Beeney stated, “I feel that Mapleton council should implement a cat bylaw similar to the existing dog bylaw. Cats are roaming around in every residential area doing what cats do, digging and excreting in flower beds, gardens and on lawns, preying on birds at bird feeder stations, etc.” Beeney also stated that toxoplasma gondii, a parasite contained in cat feces, is a public health concern.
“The dog bylaw works well so why not apply these regulations to the cat problem. After all, why are you discriminating against dog owners? Incidentally, I am not a dog owner. Some municipalities do have cat bylaws, Barrie and London, for example,” Beeney added.
Noting, “We currently do not have any kind of cat bylaw,” councillor Lori Woodham said the idea “is definitely something I would like to see us take a look at.”
Woodham said some townships are simply implementing “animal” control bylaws without specifying dogs or cats.
“Perhaps if you just change the name to animal control and we could come up with a number (to limit cats in a household)?”
“I just caution you about reacting to one letter from one person regarding a specific issue,” said acting CAO Brad McRoberts. “We can’t have a knee-jerk reaction to one person, one citizen complaint …. you might want to get a bit of a sense of what the general public feels. You could start moving down this path and then you end up with a roomful of people in here totally opposed to this (regulating cats).”
“I’m hearing two sides,” said Mayor Neil Driscoll, noting while some council members want to consider the idea, “others are saying ‘Let’s forget about it.’”
“I would be on the let’s-forget-about-it side,” said councillor Michael Martin, who asked if Mapleton’s bylaw officer deals strictly with dogs or if other animal control issues are part of the mandate.
“In a municipality like this, I think if we sent (bylaw officer Maurita Boyle) out to get some cats, where do we go with them?” said chief building official Patty Wright. “We don’t have any facilities for cats,”
RV parking concerns
Beeney’s letter also asked council to debate the parking of recreational vehicles such as trailers, mobile homes and fifth wheels, in residential areas.
“Most of these units are quite large and parked in driveways at the front of the house. They deter from the aesthetics of the neighbourhood. I suggest these large units should be stored off-property, or at least behind or beside the house so when one drives down the street it doesn’t look like a trailer park and the beauty of the landscaped front yards are visible to all (and besides we are not paying trailer park taxes),” Beeney wrote.
McRoberts said Beeney’s concerns were the first he has heard on this topic.
Wright pointed out Mapleton’s zoning bylaw regulates the parking of recreational and commercial vehicles in the township.
A motion to receive the letter for information passed unopposed.
