WATERLOO -- City Council members are not ready yet to unleash new dog control rules.

Waterloo council members did vote unanimously Monday to approve the first reading of an ordinance governing "potentially dangerous" dogs.

But adoption of the ordinance will need to wait at least another week after councilmen Steve Schmitt and Harold Getty voted against suspending the rules to move forward with the ordinance more quickly.

Getty said he wanted to see if the ordinance's first reading generated any public comments before adopting future readings, while Schmitt suggested the council should invite veterinarians and dog trainers to weigh in on the ordinance changes first.

Councilman Reggie Schmitt pushed for the measure to be approved more quickly so animal control officers can begin tallying offenses against "those 150 to 200 dogs they know on a first-name basis" as being troublemakers.

"This is our base ordinance; this is going to be tweaked," he said. "The clock doesn't start running until this is adopted."

No one spoke against the ordinance during its first reading.

It would deem a dog "potentially dangerous" if it causes injury to a person or domestic animal or is found running at large if its owner has been cited by Cedar Bend Animal Control three or more times within a 12-month period.

It excludes dogs used by law enforcement or incidents where the injured person was trespassing; where the victim was committing or attempting to commit a crime on the dog owner's property; where the victim was abusing, torturing or assaulting the animal without justification; when the dog bit while being treated for an injury; or when a domestic animal that was at large entered the area where the dog was confined.

If a dog is deemed potentially dangerous, its owner would have to register it with the city, pay a $50 registration fee, provide proof of at least $300,000 in liability insurance to cover injuries caused by the dog and be affixed with a permanent registration number. The ordinance would also make it easier to destroy those dogs or ban then from the city if they commit future offenses.

In other business, council members unanimously approved:

• A development agreement with Action Garage for construction of a 6,200-square-foot building at 3328 Wagner Road. The agreement grants the business 50 percent tax rebates for five years on the value of the $183,200 building.

• An ordinance banning parking on the north side of the 300 and 400 blocks of Cataract Avenue.

• The appointment of Sharon Samec and the reappointments of Dave Buck and Christine Handfelt to the city's Leisure Services Commission.

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.