The West Hartford Town Council approved an ordinance change Tuesday night, increasing the number of permissible dogs from two to three.

The West Hartford Town Council has approved an ordinance change, and residents will now be allowed to have up to three dogs. West Hartford Pop-Up Dog Park photo courtesy of West Hartford Dog Park Coalition (we-ha.com file photo)

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford residents will now legally be permitted to own up to three dogs without having to apply for a special use permit following the Town Council’s unanimous approval by roll call vote of an ordinance change Tuesday night.

By revising the ordinance defining a “kennel” as “keeping of four or more dogs over the age of six months, for each dwelling unit,” the keeping of three or less dogs is now automatically permitted.

At a public hearing that preceded the vote on the ordinance, Deputy Corporation Council Kimberly Boneham explained that residents will still need to apply for a special use permit if they want to have more dogs than the ordinance allows. The permit application costs $410, she said, and approval is not guaranteed.

Town Clerk Essie Labrot said that there are currently 2,960 licensed dogs in West Hartford, but she knows there are many more dogs that have not been licensed. Twenty people have more than two licensed dogs, Labrot said, even though they technically haven’t been permitted to have more than two. The licensing process is not tied to the process of applying for a permit to have extra dogs.

The annual cost of a dog license is $8, or $19 if the dog is not spayed or neutered. Most of that money goes directly to the state, with only $1 per license remaining with the town, Labrot said.

Resident Tom Guzzo had requested the town increase the number of dogs residents are allowed to have, and he was the lone public speaker at the public comment section. “What I’m encouraging is raising it up to one more dog. You’re going to get people coming forward at least. You’re going to get the revenue.”he said.

Guzzo had previously presented Council members with details of how many dogs per household are permitted in other nearby communities. Hartford, Avon, Bloomfield, Glastonbury, and Manchester do not have any limit on the number of dogs. Newington and New Britain permit 10, Farmington and Simsbury allow six, East Hartford permits five, and Southington allows four, Guzzo’s research showed.

Raising the limit in West Hartford will be a great benefit that will “unite the community” and bring neighbors together, Guzzo said.

Town Manager Ron Van Winkle said the ordinance regarding the number of allowable dogs in West Hartford has been on the books “for decades” – at least 30 years. Until now, no one had ever asked for a change, although there have been applications for additional dogs through the special use permit process.

The TPZ had recommended against approval of the ordinance change, stating citing concerns with allowing more dogs on small or multi-family properties. TPZ also stated that it felt that controls were already in place to determine if a property was adequate to accommodate more dogs.

Deputy Mayor Leon Davidoff recalled that when he was on TPZ there were some extreme requests for special use permits, including one from a Walbridge Road resident who had 22 shitzus and another from a Shepard Road resident who was breeding dogs. Both were found to be unreasonable and turned down.

“Going from two to three is reasonable,” Davidoff said. It will encourage more people to license their dogs, and landlords will still retain the right to limit the number of dogs their tenants have. 

Council member Ben Wenograd praised Guzzo’s strong presentation and the detailed research he did including citing comparables to other towns. “I have met people with more than two dogs,” he said, adding that while campaigning he met one woman who, after admitting that she had an extra dog, told him she hoped he wouldn’t turn her in.

Wenograd said that while he “appreciates very strongly the work of the TPZ”  in taking seriously the job of being stewards of the town’s ordinances, in this case it’s a difference between two and three dogs. “I believe there should be a limit but evidence for the very restrictive two-dog limit isn’t there.”

In addition, requiring the $410 application permit fee is a lot of money for one more dog, Wenograd said, and the change is one that can be made without damaging the nature of the town.

“It’s clear that this is a town that loves its dogs and I think this is a good measure,” Council member Dallas Dodge added.

Council member Chris Barnes said that the change from two to three dogs is a “baby step,” especially considering that many area towns have no limit. “I will be adopting the ‘one more dog’ chant of Mr. Guzzo,” he said.

“This is a great step that we are taking, and we would like them all to be legal and be registered with Essie,” Minority Leader Denise Hall added.

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