Abilene City Council to continue discussion on spay/neuter mandate, paid parking downtown

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Abilene City Council will take up several major issues this week, including a proposed animal ordinance that’s sparked debate among pet owners and breeders. The ordinance, which would require spaying and neutering for most cats and dogs over six months old, has drawn pushback from residents concerned about costs, animal health, and its impact on competitive dog shows. The council will also discuss a potential downtown paid parking program, land expansion for the Lancium project, and new vehicle purchases for city departments at Thursday’s meeting.

Abilene pet owners made their voices heard at the city council meeting on February 14th, sharing their concerns with the council regarding a potential new animal ordinance under Chapter 6, “Animals and Fowls.” This potential change includes mandating spaying/neutering for all dogs and cats over six months old unless the owner holds a Commercial Breeder’s Permit issued by the City.

Residents expressed concerns that the ordinance was not based on current research on the health of individual animals, as well as about the cost and how the mandate would affect members of the American Kennel Club who compete in dog shows.

At the February 24th city council preview, City Manager Robert Hanna explained that the council has listened to these concerns and is even meeting with A.K.C National to hear more concerns about the wording of the ordinance. This topic will be discussed in more detail at the city council meeting on Thursday, February 27, at 8:30 a.m. at Abilene’s City Hall.

“We’ve got a lot of feedback from people in the community on this, predominantly from the American Kennel Club. I’ve got a meeting with AKC National just to hear some of their concerns about the language of the ordinance. Our intent is not to diminish people’s ability to do a hobby, show the dogs, or those sorts of things, but we want to make sure that we have regulations that are allowing for the responsible pet ownership,” explained Hanna.

Hanna hopes that the City is able to make adjustments both parties will be happy with.

“So, we’ve amended the language to state you and your family make the decision of when [spaying/neutering] is best done for the dog’s health and well-being, but it still has to be done eventually unless you’re a show person and you can get a permit for that or a breeder,” added Hanna.

Another topic to be discussed at this week’s city council meeting is a paid parking program for downtown Abilene. This was first introduced back in January at the city council retreat, which is time for the council to work on the goals and changes they want to see in 2025.

Assistant City Manager Michael Rice said this potential change could allow more people to visit downtown and shop.

“We are recommending paid parking in a couple of public lots, specifically the lot across from the hotel there between 5th and 6th on Cypress and then the other one would be the lot at the corner of Second and Pine. We learned we’ve got people that are parking their 24/7 for free. That was not what these lights were created for. It was created, once again, for the parking for customers to come and to shop, and then as they finish, allow additional space for other customers,” shared Rice.

If approved, parking will be through an app called Park Mobile, which is already in use in some larger cities in Texas, such as Austin and Fort Worth.

Other topics expected to be discussed at Thursday’s meeting include absorbing more land into city limits for the Lancium project and the potential purchase of 7 new vehicles for police and other city departments.