Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By CHARITY SMITH
Wakefield — The Wakefield City Council passed an animal ordinance amendment during its regular council meeting on Monday night.
The ordinance is the result of city staff and law enforcement receiving several dog complaints through 2021. The complaints included issues with dogs running at large, excessive barking, dog feces and a dog attack that resulted in the death of another dog.
The issues were reviewed at length by the city planning commission, which reviewed the current animal ordinance, and the meetings during the commission’s review of the ordinance were well-attended by members of the public who had varying opinions on the subject.
One of the most highly disputed issues with the ordinances was the possibility of limiting the number of dogs a household could have. The planning commission went back and forth on the issue, but ultimately decided not to limit the number of animals, but rather to put in place stricter regulations on pet owners.
The updated ordinance includes: updated definitions; addresses vicious dogs; updates the impound, hold and confinement procedures; creates a subsection to address the mistreatment of animals; removes references to the city’s police department and dog warden; eliminates the need for an annual dog census; and the penalty subsection now includes a civil municipal infraction.
The council passed the amendment by a vote of 4-0 with Mayor Dale White absent. The ordinance will take effect 30 days from its approval.
The council also approved the International Property and Maintenance Code. The planning commission started reviewing the international property maintenance code in September 2021. They found that it enables the city to adequately address complaints from neighboring property owners regarding conditions of non-rental and rental properties, which have caused frustration and conflicts between neighbors.
The code will enable the city to respond to property maintenance complaints, property maintenance and blight issues and nuisance codes. According to city officials, the city had been unable to address these types of complaints under its own city code adequately.
The council implemented a traffic control order to eliminate heavy vehicle traffic on Eddy Park Road between M-28 and U.S. 2, and a portion of Lakeshore Drive between U.S. 2 and Eddy Park Road. The restriction is due to the “minimal sub-surface support, frost heave susceptibility, and significant failures caused by heavy vehicle traffic.” Vehicles weighing more than five tons are prohibited from this portion of Eddy Park Road. City officials said that temporarily closing the roads will prevent further damage to them.
City manager Rob Brown said that they will remove the order as soon as weather permits, which he estimated will be in mid-May.
