Agenda - 12-10-2013 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 1 tonight and it passes without a unanimous vote, then it will need to come back for a second 2 reading, where it will only need a majority vote to pass. 3 He said if this is sent back with further changes and no vote, the vote at the next 4 meeting will still have to be unanimous. 5 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the watch dog issue. He noted that under current 6 ordinance, there is a blanket lack of liability for an owner if someone comes onto their land. He 7 said the concern of dog owners is that this will be turned 180 degrees to imply a strict liability if 8 the dog bites anyone. He said these are two extreme positions. He said the case of a break-in 9 is clear, but the case of a neighbor's child is not so clear. 10 He said he does not think the goal is to give land owners blanket liability, but to give 11 language that allows for a case by case analysis. He is not in favor of this "blanket immunity." 12 He said the purpose of the appeals process is to make case by case determinations. 13 Commissioner Dorosin said if the appeals process is honed, it is reasonable that it be 14 done with the ASAB. He said members of the public serve on this board and advice is available 15 from legal counsel. He said if this quasi-judicial process is implemented, this is the place to do 16 it. 17 Chair Jacobs noted that time is limited and it seems that Commissioner Dorosin has 18 brought up the issues that most Board members are concerned with - watch dog/trespassing 19 and the appeals process with the ASAB. He asked if these items could be discussed in order. 20 Commissioner Rich said she likes this idea. She agrees with Commissioner Dorosin on 21 the watch dog issue. She would like an expanded definition of a watch dog. She said she is in 22 the middle of the two extremes. She would like to find out what happens to that person in the 23 middle- the owner with the dog that doesn't normally bite and then does bite. 24 She said she would like to keep the ASAB as the appeals board. 25 Commissioner Pelissier said she agrees with the other Commissioners' comments. She 26 said taking out the watch dog definition will take out one of the extremes, as people will not be 27 able to excuse any aggression because their dog is a "watchdog." She said people are upset 28 that their dog may be deemed dangerous, when the only requirement is that residents put up 29 signs or fence the dog. 30 She said the ASAB will assess each case individually and will look at the whole situation. 31 She asked that the board look at how many cases have come under the new ordinance and 32 then assess how it is working with balancing people's right to have dogs. 33 Commissioner McKee said the wording will be hard to define. He said security dogs are 34 trained to attack. He said there are hundreds or thousands of dogs in the County that are kept 35 for the purpose of increasing a feeling of security; however, only a small percentage of those 36 dogs bite. He said the problem with taking out the definition of watch dog is that it only leaves 37 the option for people to spend thousands of dollars and increase their liability by having a 38 trained attack dog on their property. He said no dogs are allowed to run free, and these dogs 39 will have to be contained. He said he agrees that a middle ground needs to be found, but he 40 wants to keep the watch dog definition in there, with a way to define it. 41 Commissioner McKee said Durham County has a different solution for appeals. He said 42 their appeals board resides in the sheriff's office and is made up of three members of county 43 staff and two members of the general public. He is in favor of an independent appeals board. 44 He does not question any motives of the ASAB, but he feels that residents will be more 45 comfortable if these two boards are separate. 46 Commissioner Price echoed Commissioner McKee's comments. She said she would 47 like to keep the watch dog definition and come up with better definition of trespassing. 48 She said her concern about the appeals board is that the members should be vetted if 49 their responsibilities are to be expanded.