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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 2069 - Amending section 7.12.052 and Section 7.12.053 of the RMC pertaining to dangerous dogs ORDINANCE NO. Ali ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING AMENDING SECTION 7 . 12 . 052 AND SECTION 7 . 12 . 053 OF THE REDDING MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO DANGEROUS DOGS. The City Council of the City of Redding does hereby ordain as follows : Section 1 . Section 7 . 12 . 052 of the Redding Municipal Code is hereby repealed, and the following added: 7 . 12 . 052 Hearing, determination and conditions of maintenance of dangerous dog. Upon reasonable information, the City Manager or person designated by the City Manager as hearing officer may initiate a hearing in accordance with the following procedures to determine whether a dog is dangerous : A. If the dog is not licensed, notice of the hearing shall be personally served on the owner or custodian of the dog not less than seven days prior to the hearing. If the dog is licensed, in the alternative, notice of the hearing may be served by letter addressed to the owner or custodian of the dog at the address given on the license application, deposited in the United States first-class mail, not less than fourteen days prior to the hearing. B. The owner or custodian of the dog and any interested parties may present testimony and relevant evidence helpful to a determination. The hearing shall be tape- recorded. Following submission of all the evidence, the hearing officer shall make a determination, which decision shall be final and not subject to appeal except by petition or application to a court of law. If the hearing officer determines that the dog is dangerous, no further administrative enforcement action shall occur until twenty days have elapsed following the decision, except that impoundment of the dog under Section 7 . 12 . 053 may be continued until a determination becomes final and disposition of the dog is resolved. If legal proceedings challenging the decision are instituted and a summons is served before twenty days have elapsed, then administrative enforcement shall be suspended pending a final determination by the courts . C. Upon any conviction of a violation of Sections 7 . 12 . 021B or 7 . 12 . 054B, the determination by the court that a dog meets the definitions of a dangerous dog under Section 7. 12 . 051 shall be conclusive. D. If there has been a final determination pursuant to subsection B or C of this section that the dog is a dangerous dog, then the hearing officer shall order that within thirty days the owner of the dangerous dog comply with the conditions for maintenance and control of the dog set forth in subsection E of this section. E. No person shall own, maintain, or possess a dog determined to be a dangerous dog, except upon one or more following conditions that the hearing officer may specify: 1. The dog shall not be permitted to be loose, or to create any danger to the peace, health, or safety of the people in the vicinity of the location where it is kept or maintained. 2. If the dog is not kept securely within a cage or a building or within a fenced area accessible only by the dog' s owner or custodian, the premises where the dog is maintained shall be posted to warn of the presence of a dangerous dog. Signs shall be placed at each point of access where the dog may be present, or at fifty-foot intervals around the perimeter of the area where the dog may be present if the perimeter does not have fence or other obstruction to access by human beings. 3 . The dog shall be provided with proper and adequate food, water, ventilation, shelter, and care at all times; the dog may not be subject to neglect, suffering, cruelty, or abuse. 4 . The hearing officer shall be allowed at any reasonable time to inspect the dangerous dog and the conditions of care and maintenance of the dangerous dog. 5 . The dog shall not be allowed to have contact with children that are younger than eleven years of age and not a resident on the premises where the dog is kept. 6 . The owner of the dog shall be required to furnish proof of general liability insurance covering the owner and activities on the premises where the dog is maintained, in a minimum amount of fifty thousand dollars . 7. • A dangerous dog shall be spayed or neutered, at the owner' s expense, within sixty days of a final determination that the dog is dangerous . 8 . Such other conditions that the hearing officer may specify if : the dog was determined to be a dangerous dog under subsection B or C of this section, and any of the above conditions for maintenance and control of the dangerous dog were violated, and the hearing officer exercised his discretion under subsection F to not destroy the dangerous dog. F. Upon reasonable information that the conditions of owning or maintaining a dangerous dog have been violated, the City Manager may cause a hearing to be initiated in accordance with the procedures of subsections A and B of this section to determine if the conditions of subsection E of this section have been violated. If there is a prosecution and conviction under sections 7 . 12 . 021A, 7. 12 . 021B, 7 . 12 . 054A or 7 . 12 . 054B, then such conviction shall conclusively establish that the minimum conditions of maintenance and control of the dangerous dog have been violated. If there is a final determination, either by administrative hearing or by court conviction as set forth above, that any of the conditions of maintaining or controlling a dangerous dog have been violated, then after the time for appeal has lapsed, the hearing officer has discretion to either release the dog to its owner or custodian on such terms and conditions as the hearing officer may specify to protect public safety and welfare or order that the dangerous dog be humanely destroyed. G. If pursuant to subsection F of this section the hearing officer orders that the dangerous dog be destroyed, and the dog has not been impounded under Section 7 . 12 . 053 , then the owner or custodian of the dog shall comply within thirty days by either ( 1 ) delivering the dog to the City for destruction, or ( 2 ) having the dog humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian. If the dog is destroyed by a veterinarian, then proof of destruction shall be supplied by a declaration under penalty of perjury signed by the veterinarian. Refusal to comply with the order of the hearing officer shall be punishable as a misdemeanor. (Ord. 1951 &1 , 1991 ; Ord. 1829 & 1 (E) , 1987 . ) Section 2 . Section 7. 12. 053 of the Redding Municipal Code is hereby repealed, and the following added: 7.12. 053 Attack by dog-Impoundment and disposition. Any dog which bites, attacks, or causes injury to any human being may be immediately seized and impounded pending a hearing and determination pursuant to Section 7. 12 . 052 or prosecution under Sections 7 . 12 . 021A, 7 . 12 . 021B, 7. 12 . 054A or 7 . 12 . 054B. The costs of any impoundment shall be paid by the dog owner in addition to any fines imposed for violation of this chapter. A. If the purpose of the hearing is to determine whether or not the dog is dangerous, or there is a prosecution under Section 7 . 12 . 021B or 7 . 12 . 054B, and there is a final determination that the dog is a dangerous dog, then the dog shall be released to its owner or custodian upon proof by such owner or custodian of present ability to comply with all of the conditions set forth in Section 7. 12 . 052E. If the owner or custodian of the dangerous dog cannot demonstrate the ability to comply with the conditions of Section 7 . 12 . 052E within thirty days of a final determination that the dog is dangerous, then the dog shall be humanely destroyed. B. If the hearing is initiated pursuant to Section 7 . 12 . 052F to determine if conditions of maintenance or control of a dangerous dog have been violated, or there is a prosecution under Sections 7 . 12 . 021A or 7 . 12 . 054B, then upon a final determination that Section 7 . 12 . 052C has been violated and the time has lapsed for an appeal, the hearing officer may either release the dog to its owner or custodian on such terms and conditions as the hearing officer may specify to protect public safety and welfare or order the dog be humanely destroyed. (Ord. 1829 & 1 (F) , 1987) Section 3 . It has been determined that this matter is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act. Section 4 . The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause its publication according to law. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced and read at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Redding on the 16th day of November , 1993 , and was duly read and adopted on the 7th day of December 1993 , at a regular meeting of the City Council by the following vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Anderson, Kehoe, � ss and Arness l NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None / ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Dahl ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None CARL ARNESS, Mayor City of Redding ATTEST: CONNIE STROHMAYER, Cqty glerk FORM APPROVED: R DALL A. 8 AY 9 , City Attorney