ORD-2013-019 Unified Animal Control Ordinance (Tabled)

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2 were made to invite officials from the City of Mebane in the event the City would like to participate in this project. However, they did not respond to County staff. The objectives of the work group were to: 1. Create a unified ordinance. The group's work practice has essentially been to-compare the same or similar sections of the three existing ordinances and decide which made-the most sense in light of experience providing_ effective animal services in the different jurisdictions. The County's current Animal Control Ordinance remains the backbone for the proposed unified ordinance. In addition, the comparative methodology assured a finished product that was complete, strong and worthy -of designation as a unified ordinance for the County. 2. Fill in necessary "paps" in the Ordinance to create the needed authority to assure the public health and safety and welfare of animals within Orange County. One illustration of such authority would be to have an animal euthanized for humane reasons in exigent circumstances. Another illustration would be the authority to hold a vicious animal that has repeatedly bitten or attacked members of the public. While there may well be a need for new laws under the animal-control ordinance, staff did not make any effort to create new laws but deferred such efforts until it could occur under a unified ordinance. Throughout the process requests to create new law were resisted to ensure there was no "scope creep". Staff attempted to- propose changes to the existing Ordinances that would n-ot be controversial, refined -existing services being provided, and assured the public health and the safety of animals. During the initial process, the existence of"gaps" in the existing ordinances-become apparent in trying to address and resolves the concerns of residents in different parts of Orange County. Staff has tried to work around the gaps in the Ordinance in close collaboration with staff attorneys from the County and municipalities to respond to animal control issues and to protect public safety and the welfare of the animals. In addition to Staff review of the Ordinance changes, the Animal Services Advisory Board ("ASAB") also reviewed and suggested changes to the draft Unified Ordinance. The ASAB discussed the proposed changes to the Ordinance on three occasions: • At the initial meeting (February 20, 2013), the Animal Services staff attorney discussed the effort to create a unified ordinance, its rationale and its scope. • In a subsequent meeting (March 20 2013), the Animal Services Director and staff attorney went through a draft version of the proposed ordinance distributed in advance of the meeting for review by board members. This was a page-by-page review in which feedback was provided for additional consideration. • At the May 15, 2013 ASAB meeting, the focus was on the status of vicious animals in the proposed unified ordinance. The Animal Services Director presented a summary to identify the "gaps" that were being in-filled by the proposed ordinance as well as the logic of state and local laws and their articulation and limitations. At the meeting the ASAB made some suggestions for further consideration (which staff has incorporated) and unanimously recommended that staff bring its effort to create the unified ordinance to completion as soon as possible.