Council Approves New Barking Dog Ordinance

The  voted at Tuesday night's meeting to adopt an ordinance that will allow the city to levy fines against owners of animals that cause excessive noise.

The final write up of the ordinance included changes, proposed by Councilwoman Linda Lindholm at the , that would prevent the city from levying the fines more often than every 10 days. Lindholm proposed the change in order to allow pet owners enough time to correct their problem and avoid excessive or unfair fines. The change was approved unanimously.

For the those residents who fail to comply with demands to halt the noise, the city will be able to add up to six fines per year, for a maximum of $2,300, or until the noise problem is controlled. The fine schedule will be as follows:

• $100 for a first violation

• $200 for a second violation

• $500 for any further violations in a 12 month period, up to six total

This fine schedule will only go into effect after the original measures to control animal noise—which are already in place and being used—have failed to produce results.  The existing complaint process consists of three steps:

• A letter sent to inform the animal owner of the noise complaint.

• Contact from an Animal Services officer to try to educate the owner on different means of controlling barking.

• A formal witness packet consisting of statements from at least three neighbors that the animal is causing a problem.

If these three formal actions fail to resolve the problem, the owner of the animal and the neighbor are invited to dispute mediation. The fines will only be enacted if this initial process fails.

The council also:

•     Approved plans and specifications for the Camino Capistrano Street and Landscape Improvements Phase II Project.
•     Commended Kimberly Fredenburg and Kelley Gomez, recipients of the Girl Scouts Gold Award.
•     Listened to a presentation by the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel to suggest possible plans for the new
•     Received and file the city's Annual Investment Report for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the  at City Hall, 30111 Crown Valley Parkway.