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

Browse Search

19 1 ("ASAB") also reviewed and suggested changes to the draft Unified Ordinance. 2 3 The ASAB discussed the proposed changes to the Ordinance on three occasions: 4 • At the initial meeting (February 20, 2013), the Animal Services staff attorney discussed the effort to create 5 a unified ordinance, its rationale and its scope. 6 • In a subsequent meeting (March 20 2013), the Animal Services Director and staff attorney went through a 7 draft version of the proposed ordinance distributed in advance of the meeting for review by board members. 8 This was a page-by-page review in which feedback was provided for additional consideration. 9 • At the May 15, 2013 ASAB meeting, the focus was on the status of vicious animals in the proposed 10 unified ordinance. The Animal Services Director presented a summary to identify the "gaps" that were being 11 in-filled by the proposed ordinance as well as the logic of state and local laws and their articulation and 12 limitations. At the meeting the ASAB made some suggestions for further consideration (which staff has 13 incorporated) and unanimously recommended that staff bring its effort to create the unified ordinance to 14 as soon as possible. 15 16 This detailed examination of the Vicious Animal section of the Ordinance was done to assure that issues 17 voiced by concerned residents about the laws surrounding vicious animals at the March 20, 2013 meeting 18 were fully discussed. It also had the added benefit of completely clarifying how the unified ordinance would 19 strengthen the County ordinance given that the BOCC Chair and Vice-Chair had previously requested such 20 consideration from staff and the ASAB in response to resident concerns about the death of a dog as a 21 result of an attack by a declared dangerous dog in the resident's neighborhood. 22 23 The only area in which amendments that would be considered a change are being proposed is in the area 24 of animal recovery. These changes are being proposed on the basis of the recommendations made by the 25 ASAB and Animal Services staff to the BOCC at the Board's February 12, 2013 Work Session. The 26 changes are part and parcel of the County's five year plan for managing pet overpopulation in order to both 27 reduce the euthanasia of potentially adoptable animals and to contain and control the medium and long- 28 terms costs of providing animal services. There are three specific changes that are incorporated into the 29 unified ordinance on the basis of this effort. These changes are to create: 30 31 1. A requirement for micro chipping stray cats and dogs upon their first recovery; 32 2. A tiered and differential fee schedule for the recovery of cats and dogs depending upon the number of 33 times they have been recovered and whether they are reproductive or sterilized; 34 3. A refundable spay/neuter deposit for cats and dogs recovered three or more times. 35 36 37 38 Bob Marotto said subsequent to County adoption of the ordinance, as previously indicated, staff from the 39 towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro will present the unified ordinance for consideration by their respective 40 governing boards. There has already been legal review of the Ordinance in each jurisdiction and there is 41 ongoing consideration of the best way for the towns to enact the Unified Ordinance. Significantly, the towns 42 of Carrboro and Chapel Hill are expected to retain some portion of their ordinances that have been 43 designed to address unique circumstances specific to that jurisdiction or where there is no corresponding 44 component in the Unified Ordinance in the other jurisdictions: (i.e. tethering, permitting chicken, and 45 keeping livestock). Where a Municipality may have a more restrictive Ordinance in an urban area than the 46 County does for rural areas, the Ordinance provides for the greater restriction in the municipalities than in 47 the County. Communication from the Hillsborough Town Manager indicates that Hillsborough will 48 essentially adopt the County's new unified ordinance. The Town has done and will continue to do so on the 49 basis of the action of the Town Board of Commissioners, as it is codified in the Town's own animal 50 ordinance, which allows it to depart from the County's code where they wish to do so. 51 Presently, the Town of Hillsborough does so only through the prohibition of roosters and permitting 52 requirements for farm animals within city limits. 53