InsideOut at City Hall
by Annise D. Parker

TIGERS AND FERRETS, OH MY!

Exemptions to ordinances can have consequences

There ought to be a law. How many times have I heard that assertion in the past six years? Soon after beginning my first City Council term in 1998, I was asked to help develop and sponsor the exotic animal ordinance to prohibit city residents from possessing dangerous wild animals, such as lions, tigers, or poisonous reptiles.

After a year of discussions with animal agencies, council members, and city departments, my first ordinance passed council unanimously in early 1999 without comment or dissent at the table.

The fact that the current council may amend such a popular public-safety ordinance to accommodate the request of one business owner provides an interesting civics lesson in how the city passes laws.

Several council members moved quickly in late February to make an end-run around the ordinance so the downtown Aquarium restaurant could display several white tigers. (The ordinance may be amended by the time you read this column.)

Whether or not it’s a good idea to keep inbreeding white tigers just for display or to display them in or near a downtown restaurant-aquarium, amending the ordinance or allowing just one exemption could create a ripple effect.

Serious numbers

When the ordinance passed in 1999, Houston became the latest of many cities to ban exotic animals. Harris County soon tightened its restrictions. Nineteen states now ban private possession of large exotic animals; 16 states have partial bans. Texas, on the other hand, is known as the nation’s exotic animal capital.

The federal government recently banned interstate and foreign commerce of exotic cats for use as pets. Even Congress found the estimates staggering:
• 10,000–15,000 “pet” exotic cats in the U.S.;
• 2,500–3,750 exotic cats in Texas;
• 5,000–7,000 wild tigers left in the world;
• 2,500–3,750 wild tigers in India;
• 2,300 pet tigers in Texas.

Ferreting out obstacles

Ordinances have to be worded precisely to be effective and to withstand legal challenges (and irate constituents). In early 1998, I worked with Sean Hawkins of the Fund for Animals, the SPCA, the city’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC), and the legal department to draft the exotic animal ordinance language. Although I have since sponsored far more complicated and less successful ordinances, this was my first close encounter with the often excruciatingly slow ordinance process.

We wrestled with the list of wild animals. BARC and Legal wanted to include ferrets right along with lions, bears, and rattlesnakes. Ferrets? How could they be dangerous? I balked at the thought of facing angry ferret owners and the ridicule of friends.

When we started drafting the ordinance, ferrets were wild. When it passed, they weren’t. In public-health circles, an animal is considered wild if it can’t be vaccinated against rabies. Fortunately, a ferret rabies vaccine was introduced before the final ordinance draft was completed. Saved! (As an aside: Despite thousands of irate New Yorkers taking to the streets in protest, ferrets have been banned in the nation’s largest city since June 1999 because of a municipal health department directive citing their alleged unpredictable behavior. In 2001, the New York city council voted to overturn the unpopular and mostly ignored ban, but then-mayor Rudy Giuliani vetoed that action.)

Playing by the rules

This may be the hardest ordinance lesson: If a controversial project meets all the requirements, the city has no choice but to allow it to move forward.

If the American Zoo and Aquarium Association licenses the Aquarium as a zoo in September, the Aquarium will be in compliance with the exotic animal ordinance except for one minor technicality involving how long the business has been open. Council would not hesitate to change that, and I would support them.

City officials can investigate every potential violation that might block a project. City officials can mediate between the owner and residents to mitigate the impact. But if a project doesn’t violate any rules, city officials must approve it.

As a council member, I tried explaining this fact to neighborhood residents. When plans were announced in 2000 for the 20-story Museum Tower high-rise in the Museum District, some nearby residents asked the city to stop it. When I finally had to tell them the high-rise met city requirements, people responded, “Isn’t there something you can do?” “But the traffic!” “They’ll block my sun [illegal in some cities]” or “Pass an ordinance!”

If City Council wants to pass an ordinance to limit the number of high-rises towering over neighborhoods, so be it. But anything already permitted must be allowed to proceed. State law (rightly) prevents the imposition of retroactive ordinances.

Other items: contractor “blacklist”

With the help of my office, Mayor Bill White is working on a tough new plan to keep contractors with a history of poor performance from getting additional work from the city and METRO. White has asked the controller’s office to compile a so-called “blacklist” of contractors that consistently go over budget or fail to finish projects on time. This is an ambitious project that will require the review of hundreds of contracts dating back several years. We will identify contractors with poor performance records and determine the reasons for delays and cost overruns.

I am pleased to play a role in this important endeavor, which will help ensure that taxpayers get what they pay for. Too often we have seen street reconstruction projects drag on and on, especially in downtown and Midtown. It’s an inconvenience and a waste of tax dollars. In the end, we may determine that the city’s way of doing business has contributed to the problem. However, our goal is not to point the finger of blame, but to identify what’s wrong so it can be fixed.

We have given ourselves an ambitious deadline of March 31 for presenting our findings to the mayor and City Council.

Annise Parker is city controller and the highest-ranking openly GLBT elected official in any of the 10 largest U.S. cities. She has contributed a monthly column to OutSmart magazine since June 2002. The controller’s website is www.ci.houston.tx.us/citygovt/controller. To receive her newsletter, send an e-mail to controllers@cityofhouston.net.

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