Agenda - 01-21-2016 - 7-a - Unified Animal Control Ordinance

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3 (g) Members of the hearing panel may exclude and not factor into their decision any evidence, testimony, or statements deemed incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious and therefore fail to reasonable address the issues before the hearing panel. (h) Within seven (7) days of the hearing the hearing panel shall issue a decision and cause that decision to forward to the person making the appeal and all other interested parties. (i) Appeal under Section 4-42 of this Chapter (Vicious Animals and Dangerous Dogs) shall be to a three member hearing panel consisting of one member of the Animal Services Advisory Board, who shall serve as Chair, and two members drawn from the remainder of the pool. At least one member of the panel shall be from either the Town or County where the incident occurred. The Animal Services Advisory Board may makc additional rules Board of County Commissioners shall adopt a policy, which may be amended from time to time, governing the appointment of appeals panel members and any additional processes necessary to carry out appeals in fair and equitable manner. The Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough may appoint one person from their respective jurisdictions to serve in the pool of prospective hearing board members. (Does not apply in the Town of Carrboro) In addition to the changes made above, a separate document was created entitled "Animal Services Appeal Board Policies and Procedures" (see attached) to include changes made by the BOCC. The Resolution of Adoption proposes an effective date of March 1, 2016 for the proposed UAO. This timeframe allows for implementation of the public awareness plan in all of the jurisdictions in which it would apply. A revised timetable for the public awareness plan is attached. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with the adoption of the proposed unified animal control ordinance. The ordinance has not created new regulatory responsibilities but rather only filled critical gaps and incorporated the best practices from the ordinance that precede it in the county. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to this agenda item: • GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation. The ordinance will help to enable fuller civic participation by creating a common framework within the County and ensuring more adequate due process procedures. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the BOCC consider the adoption of the proposed Unified Animal Control Ordinance and approve the Resolution of Amendment "A Resolution Amending Chapter 4 of the Orange County Code of Ordinances".