RUMFORD – Residents will decide whether to strengthen the licensing of dog kennels, update a street numbering ordinance and fire prevention codes, and modify the town’s mobile home park regulations when they attend town meeting next month.
Marsha McKenna, the town’s animal control officer, said a stronger kennel ordinance will enable her to make sure dogs are treated humanely and that kennel neighbors are treated with respect.
The bylaw change would reduce the number of dogs people may own without a kennel license from five to three. It also would prohibit kennels from operating out of a duplex or an apartment building, and allow kennels in rented single-family homes or mobile homes only with written permission from the landlord.
The animal control officer may also inspect a kennel if a neighbor complains about barking, under the proposed change. Persons who own more than three dogs without a kennel license would be subject to a fine of $25 a day, up to a maximum of $2,500.
Among the proposed changes for the street numbering ordinance is a fine increase from $1 to $5 per day for failing to clearly display a house number after being notified by the town’s addressing officer, and guidelines for how those numbers must be displayed.
Town Manager Steve Eldridge said the proposed amended regulations for mobile home parks, and the fire prevention code changes, will align both with state standards.
Changes in the mobile home park regulations call for a reduction in the size of a lot served by public sewer from 12,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet, and in the lot width from 100 feet to 50 feet.
Changes to the fire prevention code would bring it up to date by setting standards based on those set forth by the National Fire Protection Association. It also designates the town’s fire chief or the code enforcement officer as enforcer of the bylaw.
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