The moral of this story is simply that whenever you move to a new city, any city, you should familiarize yourself with local laws. It’s just a good idea. Also, if you’re a Realtor who works in the area, you should know them. While this has less to do with housing ordinances and more to do with pets, it’s an important personal enjoyment issue.

I was contacted yesterday by a couple moving here from Ontario. After several emails back and forth I had a pretty good idea of what they were looking for and where they might enjoy living. I found out what they like to do when not in their house and among the things they enjoy are their four show dogs.

We went over a few Columbus neighborhoods and had a general outline of what will work and what won’t work. One of my suggestions was Bexley – mostly for the housing stock. I was very surprised when my client quickly wrote back that, “Bexley has a 3 dog ordinance so that would be out of the question since we have four dogs.”

A three dog ordinance. I had no idea but here it is in black and white and it’s not just dogs but ..

618.20 MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DOGS AND CATS PERMITTED.

(a) No person shall keep more than four dogs and cats of which not more than three may be dogs, excluding puppies and/or kittens less than six 2009 Replacement months old, in any single-family dwelling, or in any separate dwelling unit in a two-family or multifamily dwelling within the City. “Dwelling” and “dwelling unit” as used in this section, include the lot or parcel of land on which the house or building containing the dwelling unit is located, and all other structures located on the lot or parcel.

(b) Any person who violates or fails to comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues.

Now I, of course, had to read the city ordinances and find out for myself what else I might not know in regard to animals in the City of Bexley.

One nuance that immediately comes to mind is that it’s a bit of a pain to put out “Open House” signs in Bexley as the Bexley Police department will confiscate them if they’re on city property – not allowed.

What else though? Well a quick run through of ordinances outside of the normal and in the vicinity of the pet one above found the following,….

• No person shall dye or otherwise color any rabbit or baby poultry, including, but not limited to,chicks and ducklings.
• No person shall keep or harbor any animal within the Municipality which makes repeated and successive sounds, for a period of more than fifteen minutes, audible off the premises on which such animal is kept.
• No person shall Keep animals, other than cattle, poultry or fowl, swine, sheep or goats, in an enclosure without wholesome exercise and change of air, or feed cows on food that produces impure or unwholesome milk.
• No person shall keep or harbor any animal or fowl in the Municipality so as to create noxious or offensive odors or unsanitary conditions which are a menace to the health, comfort or safety of the public.
• No person shall permit a dog to go or be upon any part of Jeffrey Park or Commonwealth Park, except a dog accompanying a blind, deaf or mobility impaired person and displaying a registration tag issued pursuant to Ohio R.C. 955.011.
• No person shall keep any kind of pigeon within the City other than pedigreed homing, highflying or air-performing pigeons.

So, if you’re moving to Bexley and you’re excited at the prospect of taking your dog to Jeffrey Park every morning, think again.  Speaking of dog walking, you should probably know that section 618.22 states that, “Disposal of animal fecal matter (is) required.”