Garland passed a new ordinance last night allowing restaurants to apply for a variance to allow for dogs on restaurant patios.<\/p>\n
They are:
\n– Smelly
\n– Loud
\n– Use the bathroom in inappropriate places
\n– Sometimes leashed
\n– Shed
\n– Want to eat whatever is on your plate
\nOf course I\u2019m talking about small children. And yet, we still let them on restaurant patios.<\/p>\n
The vote was about amending the health code. It was a question of food safety, not personal dining preference. I don\u2019t like cigarette smoke, so I don\u2019t go to bars. I don\u2019t like screaming kids, so I don\u2019t sit at the playground at McDonald\u2019s. And if I don\u2019t like dogs, I can choose not to join them on the patio. City staff did its job well in crafting this ordinance which protects public health and allows restaurant owners to cater to different patrons. To allow business owners the greatest amount of flexibility possible while addressing issues of public health, I was happy to vote for this ordinance, which passed 7-1 (Gibbons in opposition).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"