OCEAN CITY – One week after ironing out some details to green light the inaugural professional bull riding event in June, resort officials this week passed an emergency ordinance altering the town’s policy on non-domesticated animals on public property.
The Mayor and Council had before them on Monday an emergency ordinance that would amend a section of the code that prohibits certain animals not considered a domesticated household pet on public parking lots or other town-owned and operated public facilities.
The town does authorize from time to time certain non-domesticated animals on private property with special permits to allow for the exhibition of exotic animals as a visitor attraction at private businesses and other special events on private property.
More than a few years back, town officials passed an ordinance making it unlawful to harbor certain exotic animals within city limits including, for example, snakes and alligators, without a special permit largely from a public safety aspect and the safety of first responders that might report to an incident.
That ordinance at the time did not contemplate a professional bull riding competition at the Inlet lot scheduled for June 3-5, now just a few weeks away.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) will hold the first-ever rodeo in Ocean City at the Inlet parking lot in early June. The event, produced by Triple Creek Events, will take place at the Inlet from June 3-5, with professional bull riding competitions on Friday and Saturday nights, and a matinee competition on Sunday afternoon.
To that end, the Mayor and Council needed to pass an ordinance amending the existing code to allow for bulls to be on public property for the event in June.
The bulls will be housed off the island during the three-day event and will be brought in for the competition each day. As a condition of the memorandum of understanding approved last week, there will be a certified veterinarian on hand during the event, along with other conditions.
On Monday, the council unanimously approved the ordinance on first reading.
However, because the Mayor and Council don’t convene again in a regular session before the event, there was no opportunity for a formal second reading on the ordinance. As a result, the council passed the ordinance on Monday as emergency legislation. An emergency ordinance needs the approval of the mayor, and Mayor Rick Meehan concurred.
