Are dog-size restrictions good policy for apartments?

It seems that, more and more, size is the determining factor in whether a dog can be kept in an apartment complex or condo.

The New York Times had an article about the city's ban on pit bulls and other large dogs in city housing projects that went into effect May 1.

My Kate, who weighs about 50 pounds, would be banned from the projects. Kate, who never evens barks, is the type of dog the city has set its sights on — by merely being over 25 pounds.

I can't tell you the number of dogs I've run across since I got Kate and experienced the world of dogs and dogs owners that are tiny and nasty.

There's a dog, who I've never seen, in my complex that, by the sound of its constant barking, is a small dog that never shuts up, especially when Kate and I walk about 30 feet from its door.

I am so glad I don't live next door to that one.

We are only allowed one pet, either a cat or dog, but not both. The rules must have changed a few years ago, because some residents continue to have more than one dog. Is that fair? I don't think so.

A study of Philadelphia condo sales posted on the Gerson Lehrman Group Web site says that exclusionary pet policies can drive down demand and sale price for condos.

Writer Mark Wade said:

With twenty (20) years experience selling condos in Center City Philadelphia, I can attest to the fact that I have yet to meet a buyer who will favor any given condo building over their pet. Said again, I have never met a buyer who will give up their pet to live in one specific building. Every time, they will omit the building — not the pet. Moreover, I have never met a buyer who said that they would NOT live in a building which allowed dogs.

He wonders if, in a depressed market, it is wise for condo associations to be as restrictive as they now are.