Pleasant Grove may OK change to allow ball-python businesses

PLEASANT GROVE — If ball pythons are going to become America's next pet fad, then Pleasant Grove wants to be well-prepared to regulate its potential snake-selling residents.

Members of the City Council tonight will consider approving an addition to the city's exotic animal husbandry ordinance that would allow residents to have small, closely monitored, businesses that include nonpoisonous snakes, amphibians and turtles.

City planners started looking at amending the city's ordinance in October when James Cantrell, a Pleasant Grove resident, applied for a home-business license to sell ball pythons on the Internet from his home at 1143 E. 740 South. Through city officials, Cantrell declined to comment on his application, pending its approval.

The application has been on hold while planners have been working to fix a gap in city code that addresses nonpoisonous snakes, amphibians and turtles as potential pets and business opportunities.

"(The ordinance) imposes strict restrictions on people that even want to have (an exotic animal) as a pet in their home," said Pleasant Grove City Planner Sean Allen. "We felt there are people that are capable of meeting those requirements and we felt there needed to be some sort of provision in our code that addressed the (ball python) type of application."

The ordinance change would make it possible for residents to have one exotic pet — such as a monkey, poisonous snake, or, according to city code, "any other animal that would require a standard of care and control greater than that required for customary household pets" — per household. It also would allow breeders who meet specific requirements to receive conditional-use permits to raise and sell nonpoisonous snakes, amphibians and turtles in their homes.

"I would like to think as the city planner that I've opened the door to be fair to these types of applicants, but at the same time, I'm not going to make it easy for them to have what they want," Allen said. "What we have in the city code is that, with regard to animals, if it doesn't affect the safety and the welfare of residents, or endanger persons or property, then there really should be some consideration (for them)."

As an additional part of the ordinance, the city is looking to add guidelines established by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an international pet trade association, which breeders will have to follow. Under the guidelines, breeders will be required to participate and receive accreditation from the National Reptile Improvement Plan, which also has requirements and guidelines for breeders.