NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — Nearly three months after National City passed an ordinance banning the retail sales of pets, an owner of a pet store whom this ban would directly impact has gathered enough signatures, more than 2,500, to let voters decide the issue.
A spokesman for the referendum movement said they would like to see the City Council change course and reverse the ban in order for the city to avoid the cost of a ballot referendum next March and a number of lawsuits filed against the city.
“This is a historical record here in National City. We've never had a referendum like this. We think it is about consumer choice. It could literally cost hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. We don’t believe the citizens of National City want to pay for,” said Tony Young.
Supporters of the ordinance to ban retail pet sales said dogs and other animals are the products of unsanitary and dangerous puppy mills. Something that backers of the referendum tried to dispel earlier Friday in front of City Hall.
Spring Valley resident Karen Clayton is one of the driving forces behind the move to convince National City and a growing number of other cities county-wide to ban retail pet sales.
She questions the validity and ethics of the tactics used to achieve the referendum.
“They gathered those signatures fraudulently,” she said.
Earlier this week, National City’s City Clerk confirmed that more than 2,500 of the approximately 3,500 signatures submitted were determined to be valid – qualifying for a referendum.