LAURA GILES - North County Staff | Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007 11:00 pm
In August last year, James Cantrell asked Pleasant Grove for a license for his ball python business. But the city didn't have a way to approve the license because city law didn't have any provisions for it.
Since that time, the council and city staff have been working to include the classification for non-dangerous, exotic animals in the code. Animals that will be included in this category are turtles, non-poisonous snakes and amphibians.
Pleasant Grove City Attorney Tina Peterson is now reviewing the language in the text amendment before the item goes before the council again on March 20.
"When the request came forward initially, it looked OK, but there was no vehicle for us to approve anything like this," said assistant city planner Greg Stockhoff. "There was previously no mention in the code of animals that don't fall under classification of dangerous."
Ball pythons are non-poisonous snakes.
Council members want the exotic animal proposal to include a set of standards from a National Reptile Improvement Plan titled "Best Management Practices for Reptile Trade and Hobby." The plan would act as a guide for residents who want to have a non-dangerous, exotic animal as a pet or who deal with the animals in business.
City Planner Sean Allen would like pet owners as well as business owners to meet the standards of the National Pet Owner Improvement Plan.
"If you have even one, you should have to meet those standards. It only takes one to foster salmonella or tick disease," he said.
If the standards are adopted by the council, exotic pet owners will need to be accredited by the national program and get certified each year by a veterinarian.
According to Allen, the applicants for the proposed ball python business will still have to go through a strict conditional use hearing after approval by the City Council. Cantrell is currently the only person in the city applying for a business license involving exotic animals.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D3.