Animals as a public nuisance

(a)

No person, being the owner of or having charge of any animal, shall permit it to unreasonably annoy humans, endanger the life or health of other animals or persons or substantially interfere with the rights of citizens, other than their owners, to enjoyment of life or property. The term "public nuisance animal" shall mean and include, but is not limited to, any animal that:

(1)

Is repeatedly found at large;

(2)

Damages the property of anyone other than its owner;

(3)

Molests or intimidates pedestrians or passers-by;

(4)

Chases vehicles;

(5)

Causes fouling of the air by odor and thereby creates unreasonable annoyance or discomfort to neighbors or others in close proximity to the premises where the animal is kept or harbored;

(6)

Causes unsanitary conditions in enclosures or surroundings where the animal is kept or harbored;

(7)

Is offensive or dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare by virtue of the number and/or types of animals maintained; or

(8)

Attacks other domestic animals.

(b)

Violations of subsection 19-77(a)(2)—(8) shall be irreversible/irreparable in nature.

(c)

Noise from animals.

(1)

It shall be unlawful for the owner, or any person having custody, of an animal or animals to allow or fail to restrain the animal(s) from barking, meowing, whining, crowing, howling, or making other sounds common to the species, persistently or continuously for a period of twenty (20) minutes or longer when every animal is not contained within an enclosure sufficient to baffle loud noises. For the purposes of this section, persistently or continuously shall mean nonstop utterances for twenty (20) consecutive minutes with individual interruptions of less than twenty (20) seconds at a time during the twenty-minute utterances. This subsection shall not apply to animals maintained on land zoned for agricultural purposes, nor shall it apply to a properly permitted animal shelter established for the care and/or placement of unwanted or stray animals. nor a properly zoned commercial boarding kennel or other animal facility.

(2)

Each separate occasion is considered a separate violation. The owner or custodian of the animal(s) may be charged with a violation of this subsection when:

a.

The department has received, from at least two (2) unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, a verified complaint under penalty of perjury attesting to an alleged nuisance pursuant to this subsection; or

b.

The department has received from one adult witness both a recorded video showing the alleged violation and a verified complaint under penalty of perjury attesting to an alleged nuisance pursuant to this subsection; or

c.

The department has received from one adult witness a verified complaint under penalty of perjury attesting to an alleged nuisance pursuant to this subsection and a code enforcement officer has witnessed the alleged presence of a nuisance. A code enforcement officer shall not be required to personally witness an alleged violation for a twenty-minute period.

(3)

A verified complaint(s) attesting to the nuisance must come from residents who live on property within a five-hundred-foot radius of the property line of the property where the violation occurred.

(4)

A first violation of this section in a calendar year shall result in a warning issued to the violator. Any second or subsequent violation of this section, at the same location, within one calendar year of the date of the initial warning may be enforced as a class I civil citation, punishable as a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) civil penalty.

(5)

In lieu of paying the civil penalty for a first citation for a violation of this section, the violator may elect to complete a department-approved responsible pet ownership course. Submission by the violator of a certificate of completion to the department within thirty (30) days of issuance shall satisfy the citation.

(Ord. No. 89-269, § 2(48-49), 10-12-89; Ord. No. 90-93, § 7, Ord. No. 90-124, § 2(48-50), 5-17-90; Ord. No. 96-204, § 20, 9-26-96; Ord. No. 97-43, § 3, 2-2-97; Ord. No. 2007-15, § 2, 1-25-07; Ord. No. 2018-105, § 2, 7-19-2018)