Commentary: Outlawing sidewalk concerts at Fraze, limiting pets unfriendly

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By Mary McCarty, Staff Writer Updated 9:46 PM Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I came home the other night to find my two dogs and three cats fuming about what they read in the newspaper.

“Can you believe that the city of Bellbrook has a two-pet limit — only two cats or two dogs?” sniffs Barkis, our timid gray tabby, the third cat to come into our family. Oliver — our first and coolest cat — gives this consideration, as if the proposal might have merit.

“Thank goodness we live in Kettering, which has a five-pet limit,” notes Riley, the newest member of our family, who is part corgi, part terrier.

Dodger, our gorgeous tiger stripe, stares longingly at the fish tank: “If you count the goldfish, we are officially over our limit.”

Addie, our rat terrier, yips the final word: “What’s this, I can’t stroll down to the Fraze and check out Sheryl Crow?”

Does it seem just lately that our local governments are trying to take all the fun out of life? If Kettering officials succeed in setting up “no trespassing” signs on Lincoln Park Boulevard they’ll be no more sidewalk concerts at the Fraze. And Bellbrook’s ordinance forces homeowners like Yvonne and Rob Holton into a Sophie’s choice — downsizing a loved one, albeit one with four paws — to stay legal.

Granted, Bellbrook’s two-pet ordinance has been on the books for 24 years, but local veterinarian Sue Rancurello said “the overwhelming majority of my clients had no idea. It’s never enforced unless someone complains. Well, now the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, and they’ll have a tougher time selectively enforcing it.”

The Holtons bought a house in Bellbrook several years ago and adopted three Siberian huskies without the slightest notion of violating city law. They temporarily took in a dog whose owners were being foreclosed upon — and that act of kindness is what started all the trouble. “The new dog didn’t get along with our other dogs, and the next thing we knew the police were knocking on our door,” Yvonne said.

They’re back to their original three dogs, “but it’s an impossible choice if nothing changes,” Yvonne said. That’s why they brought the issue to the city’s Planning Board, which has recommended overturning the two-pet limit. The issue will now go to Bellbrook City Council, with a public hearing tentatively scheduled for April 12. City Council member Bob Baird said there’s a community consensus that the law is too restrictive: “I predict there will be a change, but what the change is going to be is up to the people. I’m not a big fan of government interference in people’s lives.”

Most of the Sidewalk Society outside Fraze would agree. The Sidewalk Society, springing up every Fraze concert like the lost village of Brigadoon, has always seemed one of the fun things about living in Kettering. It makes the city seem neighborly. It’s big time enough to attract the likes of Ringo Starr and B.B. King, but small-town enough for folks to pull up their lawn chairs on a summer night to enjoy some summer music — and each other. The crowds are typically mellow, not rowdy.

It’s such a sense of community, you wonder why the city — any city —would want to lose it. I think Addie may be onto something.

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