Tippecanoe Co. turns to zoning codes after state outlaws puppy mill bans

A new state law erased a local ban on retail sales of dogs and cats passed in 2023 to prevent puppy mills. New zoning codes make it more difficult to set up a ‘pet brokerage’ in Tippecanoe County

(Photo: Unsplash)

Months after the Indiana General Assembly outlawed outright bans on retail sales of dogs and cats – essentially wiping out an anti-puppy mill ordinance less than a year old in Tippecanoe County – a new land use ordinance will limit “pet brokerages” to a single industrial-use zoning in Lafayette, West Lafayette and unincorporated parts of the county.

The addition to the zoning code – approved Monday morning by Tippecanoe County commissioners and expected to go to city councils in Lafayette and West Lafayette Monday evening – would still allow pet stores in the business and commercial zones, as they are now, provided they don’t include retail sales of dogs and cats.

The new pet brokerage rules would require an owner to get I2/light industrial zoning for the property and then get a special exception from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals before opening.