Cattle, buffalo, moo-ve along

Kalispell planners want some livestock allowed within city limits

The Daily inter Lake

Which livestock should be allowed to live within Kalispell?

The Kalispell Planning Board says: Horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas are OK.

But forget it when it comes to buffalo and cattle.

That's the recommendation that the Planning Board is sending to the Kalispell City Council.

On Tuesday, the board voted 5-1 to recommend that Kalispell revise its livestock restriction laws.

The proposed revisions were prompted by people asking the city Planning Department about whether livestock is allowed within Kalispell, and by the city's likelihood of annexing areas in which people own horses and other livestock.

Right now, city law prohibits certain types of livestock within Kalispell.

The proposed change would allow horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas within the city at the density of one animal for each acre of pasture.

A Tuesday public hearing drew one speaker - Mike Hall, Kalispell police animal control officer.

Hall said a proposed segment of the revision - which puts limits on odors and flies from the animals - would be difficult to enforce, because determining when smells and flies are legitimate nuisances would be subjective.

"I agree. How do you tell when an odor is an odor?" said Tom Jentz, city planning director.

The board removed the odor-and-flies section from the proposed revised law, thinking that the density requirement should be sufficient to head off significant odor problems.

Board chairman Tim Norton tried to add buffalo and cattle to what is allowed in the city, but was voted down 4-2. Board member Robyn Balcom was the only other pro-bovine vote.

Board member Bryan Schutt was the sole dissenter to revising the law to allow certain livestock in town.

"Bringing large livestock into the city is setting ourselves up for neighbor disputes," he said.