Agenda - 09-05-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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18 1 Annette Moore said the court system was confused about which ordinances would apply to a case. 2 The issue was confusing for Animal Services itself, since there are three ordinances in effect in Orange 3 County. She said the advisory board used Orange County's ordinance as a base and merged the three 4 ordinances into one; but there were still missing pieces. She referenced examples, such as no set appeal 5 process and no humane euthanasia plan for suffering animals. She reviewed information from the 6 ordinance and the abstract below: 7 8 Background: Beginning July 1, 2013, Orange County Animal Services will be providing Animal Control 9 Services to all parts Orange County except for the portion of Orange County within Mebane. Despite the 10 increasing integration of animal services through Orange County Animal Services, there are three different 11 animal ordinances in force (all available onlinhttp://orangecountync.gov/AnimalServices/info.asp). 12 Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro all have their own ordinances, while Hillsborough has adopted 13 the County's ordinance. The differences in the local Ordinances have proven to be complicated and 14 confusing, not only for staff charged with responsibility for regulatory functions and the Court system, but 15 perhaps most importantly for the residents of Orange County. 16 17 Because animal services within the County have become more unified and integrated than they 18 have been in the past, for the past year County staff has been working on a proposed Unified 19 Animal Control Ordinance with the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. 20 21 In this context, County staff initiated the effort to create a unified animal ordinance by convening a work 22 group of staff from the involved jurisdictions. Staff from Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been integral to the 23 process responsible for the proposed ordinance, and upon County adoption of the ordinance, the towns' 24 staffs will present the ordinance for consideration by their respective governing boards. 25 More specifically, the work group has consisted of the staff attorney for the Chapel Hill Police 26 Department with animal control responsibilities, the Carrboro Police Chief and a Carrboro Police 27 Captain, the staff attorney for County Animal Services, and the County's Animal Services 28 Director and Animal Control Manager. Hillsborough staff elected not to participate in the work 29 group but are fully aware of this project. Most recently, the Town Manager and Police Chief 30 received a copy of the draft unified ordinance and an invitation to offer comment. 31 The objectives of the work group were to: 32 33 34 1. Create a unified ordinance. The group's work practice has essentially been to compare the same or 35 similar sections of the three existing ordinances and decide which made the most sense in light of 36 experience providing effective animal services in the different jurisdictions. The County's current Animal 37 Control Ordinance remains the backbone for the proposed unified ordinance. In addition, the comparative 38 methodology assured a finished product that was complete, strong and worthy of designation as a unified 39 ordinance for the County. 40 2. Fill in necessary "gaps" in the Ordinance to create the needed authority to assure the public health and 41 safety and welfare of animals within Orange County. One illustration of such authority would be to have an 42 animal euthanized for humane reasons in exigent circumstances. Another illustration would be the authority 43 to hold a vicious animal that has repeatedly bitten or attacked members of the public. While there may well 44 be a need for new laws under the animal control ordinance, staff did not make any effort to create new laws 45 but deferred such efforts until it could occur under a unified ordinance. Throughout the process requests to 46 create new law were resisted to ensure there was no "scope creep". Staff attempted to propose changes to 47 the existing Ordinances that would not be controversial, refined existing services being provided, and 48 assured the public health and the safety of animals. 49 50 During the initial process, the existence of"gaps" in the existing ordinances become apparent in 51 trying to address and resolve the concerns of residents in different parts of Orange County. 52 Staff has tried to work around the gaps in the Ordinance in close collaboration with staff attorneys from the 53 County and municipalities to respond to animal control issues and to protect public safety and the welfare of 54 the animals. In addition to Staff review of the Ordinance changes, the Animal Services Advisory Board