Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager
CC:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Chad Sublet, Staff Attorney
DATE:	March 1, 2012
RE:	Ordinance 8696:  Potbellied Pigs

Please place the following item on the March 6 consent agenda for approval:  Adopt on first reading, Ordinance 8696 concerning domesticated Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs. 

Last fall, a request was received to review the existing City Code to remove the prohibition of potbellied pigs.  At the January 17, 2012 City Commission meeting, staff was directed to revise the Code to allow for the keeping of potbellied pigs, with the following stipulations:

· The owner shall provide proof of purebred lineage

· The animal must weigh less than 150 pounds

· The animal must be spayed or neutered

· The animal must be vaccinated for pseudorabies (caused by a herpes virus)

The attached ordinance excludes potbellied pigs from prohibition within the City of Lawrence and requires registration or mircochipping with the Lawrence Humane Society or local licensed veterinarian.

City staff met with the individual making the initial request as well as the Interim Director of the Humane Society, both of whom were in support of the attached ordinance.