At their regularly scheduled meeting on March 24, 2025, the Sand Springs City Council will receive an overview from Neighborhood Services staff concerning Ordinance No. 1429.

Ordinance No. 1429 updates the City's animal regulations inside city limits in Title 6 of the city codes, to reflect current practices within the City's Animal Welfare Division. Much of the ordinance clarifies outdated language and modifies or removes sections that are no longer in use.

Staff plans to bring the ordinance back to Council for action and possible adoption at its April 28, 2025, regular meeting. Comments from Council members and the public will be received during the interim period, and consideration will be given for any adjustments to the ordinance. The ordinance was reviewed by the Council's Finance and Administration Committee on March 11, 2025, and received unanimous consensus for future adoption.

Some of the substantive changes or additions contained within the ordinance are as follows:

• Provides access to private property by Animal Welfare officers and other authorized employees to care for an animal if its health and/or safety are jeopardized.
• Allows animals to be cared for by the City for more than 3 days if they can be fostered or adopted.
• Exempts AG (agricultural) lands from certain provisions where appropriate.
• Regulates pet shops, spas and groomers, and provides access for inspections when necessary and appropriate.
• Replaces traditional license tags with universally readable microchips.
• Affirms that keepers forfeit their rights to re-claim an animal cared for by the City in excess of 3 days.
• Amends the “nuisance dog” section to include incessant barking.
• Outlines humane care for animals in clean and safe environments – including protective shelter for outdoor dogs during extreme hot or cold temperatures as determined by NWS (National Weather Service).
• Sets requirements for safe tethering of dogs outdoors.
• Increases numerical limitations to 5 dogs, 5 cats, or a combination of 5 dogs and cats.
• Starts an annual inspection process for kennels as an SUP (specific use permit).
• PENALTIES: Most penalties for animal regulation violations are class “C” offenses (maximum $500 fine). More serious violations such as cruelty, neglect, abandonment, and the potentially dangerous and dangerous dog sections, are class “B” and “A” offenses.

 To learn more about the Animal Welfare or Neighborhood Services divisions and find contact information, visit https://www.sandspringsok.gov/138/Neighborhood-Services.

To read the current ordinances, visit the Code webpage (link).

To read the strikethrough version of the ordinances changes, visit this document (link).