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HomeMy WebLinkAbout95-2049 - ADMIN Ordinance - City Council - 1995/11/20r IP 1 ORDINANCE NO. 95-2049 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ST LOUIS PARK ORDINANCE CODE RELATING TO THE REGULATION AND LICENSING OF DOGS, CATS, AND OTHER ANIMALS BY ADDING SECTIONS 11-304 AND 13-508; RENUMBERING AND AMENDING SECTIONS 11-306 101 AND 13-501.101; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 11-301, 11-302, 11-305, 11-306, 11-307, 11- 308, 11-309, 11-310, 11-312, 11-313, 11-316, 11-317, 11-318, 11-320, 11-321, 13-501, 13-502, 13-503, 13-504, 13-505, 13-506, 13-507 AND 13-558 THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS PARK DOES ORDAIN: Findings Sec 1 The provisions of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code that regulate dogs, cats, and other animals, both domesticated and non -domesticated, are significantly outdated, inconsistent and insufficient to addressed current issues facing the City involving such animals Sec 2. The fees specified in the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code to be charged by the City for dog licensing and animal impounding and boarding do not reflect the costs incurred by the City in connection with those activities and should be increased accordingly. Sec 3 new section: The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code is hereby amended by adding the following Section 11.304. Reserved for future addition. Sec 4 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code is hereby amended by adding the following new section: Section 13-508. Impounding, Redemption and Disposal of Unredeemed Cats. The provisions of Section 13-505 through 13-507 apply to cats found to be running at large or otherwise violating Sections 11-307 through 11-309 of the St. Louis Park City Ordinance, except that under no circumstances is a cat required to be licensed under City ordinances, nor must a cat owner be required to pay a license fee or a penalty for failing to license a cat, as provided in Section 13-506. An owner of an impounded cat is required to pay all impounding and boarding charges according to the schedule set forth in Section 13-506 Sec 5 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code is hereby amended by renumbering Section 11-306.101 to Section 11-306.1 and amending it to read as follows: Section 11-306.1. Removal of Excrement. (1) It is unlawful for any person to cause or permit a dog to be on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person, unless that person is carrying at 1 the time a device for the removal of excrement and a depository for the transmission of excrement to a proper receptacle located upon property owned or possessed by that person. (2) It is unlawful for any person who causes or permits any dog to be on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person, to fail to remove excrement left by that dog to a proper receptacle located on property owned or possessed by that person (3) The provisions of this section do not apply to the ownership or use of seeing -eye dogs by blind persons, dogs when used by the City in connection with police activities, or tracking dogs when used by or with the permission of the City. Sec. 6 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code is hereby amended by renumbering Section 13-501.101 to Section 13-501 1 and amending it to read as follows: Section 13-501.1. Service Dog License Fee Exemption. Service dogs which are used for the purpose of assisting persons with disabilities are exempt from the license fee under Section 13-501, provided that a certification of assistance training from a recognized school or program is submitted with the dog license application Sec. 7. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-301, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-301. Dogs Running at Large. No person who owns, harbors or keeps a dog, nor the parents or guardians of any such person under 21 years of age, shall allow the dog to run at large within the corporate limits of the City. All dogs not confined within an enclosure shall be kept on a leash securely fastened or held so as to prevent the dog from running at large Cal A dog shall be deemed to be running "at large" if the dog is off the premises of the person who owns, harbors or keeps the dog, and not under the control of that person or a designee, either by leash, cord or chain not more than six feet long, al The term "premises" when used in Sections 11-301 to 11-321, means the usual place of residence, including a building, structure or shelter and any land appurtenant thereto, of (1) a person who owns, harbors or keeps a dog, whether domesticated or non -domesticated; or (2) the dog owned, harbored or kept by such a person Sec 8 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-302 is hereby amended to read as follows. 2 1 Section 11-302. Barking Dogs. No person shall own, harbor, keep or possess any dog that by loud and frequent barking, howling or yelping cause noise, disturbance or annoyance to persons residing in the vicinity of the dog. Sec 9. follows: The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-303 is hereby amended to read as Section 11-303. Certain Dogs Declared a Public Nuisance. Every dog that runs at large, strays, trespasses or barks or causes disturbance, annoyance or noise in violation of any provision of Sections 11-301 or 11-302 is hereby declared a public nuisance and is unlawful to own, harbor or keep such a dog Sec 10 The St. Louis Park Ordinance.Code, Section 11-305, is hereby amended to read as follows. Section 11-305. Proceedings for Destruction of Certain Dogs. Upon sworn complaint to a judge of Hennepin County District Court that any one of the following facts exist: (1) That any dog at any time has destroyed property or habitually trespassed in a damaging manner on property of persons other than the owner; (2) That any dog at any time has attacked or bitten a person outside the owner's or custodian's premises, (3) That any dog is a "potentially dangerous dog," which means a dog that: (a) when unprovoked, inflicts bites on a human or domestic animal on public or private property; Lb) when unprovoked, chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks or any public property in an apparent attitude of attack; or (c) has a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked causing injury or otherwise threatening the safety of humans or domestic animals; (4) That any dog is a public nuisance as defined in Section 11-303; (5) That any dog is running at large or violates its quarantine contrary to the provisions of this ordinance, the judge shall issue a summons directed to the owner or person having possession of the dog commanding that person to appear before the judge and to show cause why the dog should not be seized by the animal control officials or any police officer and destroyed or otherwise disposed of as authorized in this ordinance. Any dog that is alleged to have without provocation attacked or bitten a person as provided in (2) or that otherwise is a "dangerous dog" as that term is defined under Minnesota Statutes Section 347.50 or other State statutes, must be dealt with according to the procedures outlined in Minnesota Statutes Sections 347.50 to 347.55 or elsewhere in State statutes; provided, however, that those statutory procedures do not apply to cats or other animals 3 whether domesticated or non -domesticated, except as State statutes may provide. If, after a hearing, the judge finds the facts stated in the complaint to be true, the judge may: (a) order the dog destroyed, (b) order the owner or custodian to remove the dog from the City; or (c) order the owner- or custodian to keep the dog confined to a designated place Upon a finding by the Hennepin County District Court that the owner or custodian has disobeyed a court order issued under this Section, the City may impound the dog and may destroy or otherwise dispose of it as provided in this ordinance. The provisions of this Section are in addition to and supplemental to other provisions of this ordinance. Costs of the proceeding specified by this Section shall be assessed against the owner or custodian of the dog. Sec 11: The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-306, is hereby amended to read as follows: . Section 11-306. Interference With Animal Boarding Facility or Animal Control Officer. No person shall break open the City animal boarding facility or attempt to do so, or take or let out any dogs there from without authorization, or take or attempt to take from any officer any dog seized by him in compliance with City ordinance, or in any manner interfere with or hinder such officer in the discharge of his duties under any ordinance of the City Sec. 12 The St. Louis Park Ordinance code, Section 11-307, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-307. Certain Cats Declared a Nuisance. No person shall own or possess any cat that runs at large or destroys, damages or defiles property, or that creates an offense by way of noise, odor or otherwise or molests other animals or human beings, or is unconfined while in heat, after receiving notice from the City of such prior behavior by the cat. A cat shall be deemed to be running "at large" if the cat is off the premises and not under the immediate control of the person who owns, harbors or keeps the cat or a designee. Cats that run at large or otherwise behave as described in this Section are declared to be a public nuisance. Sec. 13. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-308, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-308. Notice to Owner. Any person seeking City Action against a cat believed to be a nuisance, as defined in Section 11-307, or a person who owns, harbors or keeps such a cat, must file a written complaint stating the following. (a) that any cat has behaved as described in Section 11-307 with a brief description of the behavior that forms the basis of the complaint; 4 i r 1 1 (b) the name and address of the person owning or harboring the cat, and (c) the name and the address of the person making the complaint, Upon receiving a complete written complaint from any person, The City shall notify the person owning or harboring the cat of the behavior complained of and shall direct that person to restrain the cat from such behavior in the future. The City shall withhold the name of the complaining person from the public as private property complaint data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Sec 14. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-309, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-309. Abatement of Nuisance When Owner is Unknown. In the case of any cat constituting a nuisance under Section 11-307 where no owner or responsible party is ascertainable, the City may follow the procedures set forth in Section 13-507 for the redemption of dogs or, in an appropriate case, Section 11-305 for the destruction of certain dogs. Sec 15. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-310, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-310 Regulating the Keeping of Domestic Animals. No person shall keep or harbor any horses, cattle, sheep, goats or swine in the City, or permit the same to be done upon premises the person owns, occupies or controls without written permission signed by the City Manager. Sec. 16 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-312, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-312. Animal Quarantine. (a) Whenever any person owning, possessing or harboring any dog or cat within the City shall learn that the dog or cat has potentially exposed any human being to rabies, the person shall immediately impound the dog or cat in a place of confinement where it cannot escape or have access to any human beings or other animals and shall also immediately notify the Chief of Police Whenever the Chief of Police shall learn that any human being has been potentially exposed to rabies by any dog or cat within the City, the Chief of Police shall ascertain the identity of the dog or cat and of the person owning, possessing or harboring it and shall direct that person immediately to impound the dog or cat as herein required The Chief of Police shall notify the Health Authority of the place where the animal is impounded Any dog or cat so impounded under this Section shall be kept continuously so confined for a period of ten days from the day the dog or cat potentially exposed a human being to rabies. (b) The Health Authority shall have access at all reasonable times to the premises where a dog or cat is kept and may take possession of the dog or cat and confine it in the City pound or other suitable place at the expense of the animal's owner The owner or person in possession or harboring the dog or cat shall immediately notify the Health Authority of any evidence of sickness or the death of the dog or cat during its period of confinement. If the dog or cat dies during that period, the owner or person possessing or harboring the dog or cat shall promptly deliver its carcass to the Health Authority (c) It shall be the duty of the Health Authority to determine by inspection or telephone call if said dog or cat is alive and in good health at the end of the ten-day confinement period. (d) In lieu of quarantine, or at anytime during the quarantine period, the owner may voluntarily, in consultation with the Health Authority, release the dog or cat to a veterinarian to destroy the dog or cat and subject it to laboratory examination for evidence if rabies virus The owner shall be responsible for all veterinarian and laboratory costs. The veterinarian shall report the results of the laboratory examination to the Health Authority immediately upon receipt. (e) The Health Authority, in agreement with an attending physician or the Minnesota Department of Health may confiscate, destroy and subject to laboratory examination a dog or cat which has potentially exposed a human being to rabies if such dog or cat exhibits signs of illness indicating the presence of rabies during the quarantine period. The Health Authority, in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health, may confiscate, destroy and subject to laboratory examination any animal other than a dog or cat if such animal has potentially exposed any human being to rabies The owner or other person in possession of any animal confiscated by the Health Authority shall be notified prior to such action if the owner or other person is available. (f)_ If one or more of the provisions contained in this Section shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision hereof, and this ordinance shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein. Sec 17 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-313, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-313. Deer and Raccoon. Feeding deer and raccoon is prohibited and declared a nuisance Persons feeding deer and raccoon shall be guilty of a misdemeanor Sec 18 The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-316, is hereby amended to read as follows. Section 11-316. Prohibited Animals. No person shall keep, maintain or harbor within the City the following animals. 6 r 1 1 (a) Animal or species prohibited by Minnesota or Federal law. (b) Any non -domesticated animal or species, including but not limited to the following: (1) Any skunk, whether captured in the wild, domestically raised, de -scented or not de -scented, vaccinated against rabies or not vaccinated against rabies. (2) Any large cat of the family Felidae such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, bobcats, lynx, cougars and ocelots, except commonly accepted domesticated house cats (3) Any member of the family Canidae, such as wolves, fox, coyote, dingoes, and jackals, except domesticated dogs (4) Any hybrids such as wolf/dog and coyote/dog hybrids, but not including crossbred domesticated animals. (5) Venomous snakes of the Family Viperidae, such as adders, gabon vipers and pit vipers, venomous snakes of the Family Elapidae, such as cobras, coral snakes and sea snakes, three (3) snakes of the Family Colubridae, the African twig snake (Thelotorms krrtland), the rear fanged boomslang (Drsphoiidus typus),. and the Asian tiger snake (Rhabdophis forznus), whether captured in the wild or domestically raised, de -fanged or not defanged, de-venomed or not de-venomed (6) Any raccoon (7) Any other animal which is not listed explicitly above, but which can be reasonably defined by the terms in Section 11-315 of the ordinance, including bears, badgers, ostriches, llamas, alligators and crocodiles. Sec 19 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-317, is hereby amended to read as follows. Section 11-317. Exceptions. Any person desiring to keep animals prohibited under Section 11-316 shall obtain a temporary permit from the City Manager or designee. The permit shall be issued for a period not to exceed 30 days and shall specify further conditions under which such animals shall be kept. This permit shall be issued only when such prohibited animal is brought into the city for entertainment, exhibition, show or promotional purposes. Before issuance of any temporary permit, the applicant shall provide the City Manager with proof of insurance, including public liability insurance The following are exempt from the provisions of this Section and do not require a permit. (a) A public zoo or other institution engaged in a permanent display of animals. provided applicable zoning requirements are met (b) Non -venomous snakes, birds kept indoors, hamsters, mice, rabbits, gerbils, white rats, guinea pigs, ferrets, chinchillas, lizards or similar animals capable of being maintained continuously in cages (c) Persons keeping animals for a public zoo as volunteers, docents or otherwise, any bonfide research institutions and veterinary hospitals as long as protective devices adequate to prevent such animals from escaping or injuring the public are provided (d) Persons with disabilities keeping monkeys trained as household helpers. Sec 20. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-318, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-318. Impounding of Non -domesticated Animals. The City may impound any non -domesticated animal kept in violation of this ordinance. If any such animal is impounded for five days without being reclaimed by the owner, the City may sell the animal or may follow the procedures set forth in Section 13-507 for the redemption of dogs or, in an appropriate case, Section 11-305 for the destruction of certain dogs. Any person reclaiming any such impounded animal shall pay the cost of impounding Sec 21 The St. Louis Park Ordinance code, Section 11-320, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 11-320. Cruelty to Animals. No person shall: (1) Overdrive, overload, torture, cruelly beat, neglect or unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill any animal or cruelly work the same when unfit for labor whether belonging to that person or another; (2) Deprive of necessary food, water or shelter any animal of which he has charge or control; (3) Abandon any maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal to die in any public place; (4) Allow any maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal to lie in the street, road or other public place for more than three hours after notice; or (5) Willfully initiate, instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to animals, or any act tending to produce such cruelty. Sec 22 The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 11-321, is hereby amended to read as follows. Section 11-321. Animal Fighting. No person shall engage in, be employed at, aid, or abet cock fighting, dog fighting, bear baiting, pitting one animal against another of the same or a different kind, or any other similar cruelty to animals, nor shall any person receive money for the admission of any person to any place used, or about to be used, for any such purpose; not shall any person willfully permit anyone to enter or use premises of 8 1 which the person is the owner, owner's agent, tenant, or occupant for any such purpose, and no person shall use, train or possess a dog or other animal for the purpose of seizing, detaining or maltreating any domestic animal Sec 23 The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-501, is hereby amended to read as follows. Section 13-501. Dog License Required. No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog over three months of age without first having obtained a dog license from the City Treasurer for a fee of $12 50 It is the duty of each person owning, keeping or harboring a dog to pay the license fee by February 1 each year or upon acquiring ownership or possession of any unlicensed dog, or upon establishing residence in the City. All dogs licensed hereunder must have a current rabies vaccination The City may cause a notice of the necessity of paying the annual license fee to be printed in the official newspaper in January of each year. Sec. 24. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-502 is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-502. License Records. The application describing the dog as to owner, breed, age and rabies information shall be retained in the City records. No household may keep more than three dogs over the age of three months. Sec. 25. The St. Louis Park Ordinance code, Section 13-503 is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-503. License and Tags. The City Treasurer shall deliver one tag to the owner when the license is issued The owner must attach the tag to the collar of the licensed dog in such a manner that it may be easily seen The owner shall ensure that the tag and collar are constantly worn by the dog A duplicate tag may be issued to replace a lost tag upon payment of $1.00 Sec. 26 The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-504 is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-504. Animal Boarding Facility and Animal Control Officer. The City Council shall from time to time designate a place as City animal boarding facility, where suitable arrangements are made for keeping and maintaining any domesticated animals that may be seized or taken into custody by any officer of the City pursuant to this ordinance. The City Manager, with consent of the City Council, shall from time to time appoint an animal control officer who shall have the authority of a police officer of the City insofar as necessary or proper in the enforcement of this ordinance, but shall not be deemed a member of the police department The animal control officer must subscribe an oath and give such bond as the City Council may determine. Sec 27. The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-505, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-505. Impounding of Unlicensed Dogs. It is the duty of City police officers community service officers and the animal control officer to impound any dogs found in the City without the tag provided for in Section 13-503 or found running at large, harbored, or kept, contrary to any provisions of this ordinance Sec. 28 The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-506, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-506. Redemption of Impounded Dogs. Any unlicensed dog that is impounded by the City may be redeemed by the owner within the time for redemption by payment to the City Treasurer of the current dog license fee, plus a penalty of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) plus an impounding fee according to the following schedule (a) When any one person has had a dog picked up and impounded one or more times during any consecutive 12 -month period, the impounding charge for the first pick-up is $20 00, for the second pick-up is $30.00, and for the third and all subsequent pick-ups is $60.00. (b) In addition to the charges required under (a), a sum of $10 00 each day will be charged for board for each day or part thereof during the time the dog is impounded . The boarding fees may be paid on authorization of the City Council to its agent, pursuant to any contract that may be currently in effect providing for the impounding of dogs within the City and its kennels. Sec. 29. The St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-507, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-507. Disposal of Unredeemed Dogs. Any dog that is not claimed as provided in Section 13-506 within five days after impounding must be disposed of according to State law, or may be adopted through a veterinarian boarding facility with which the City has contracted or may be turned over to the Hennepin County Animal Humane Society. Sec 30. follows. The St Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 13-558, is hereby amended to read as Section 13-558. Bites and Quarantines. Whenever any person owning or operating such training school or any person owning, possessing or harboring any animal on premises licensed as such Training School shall learn that an animal on such licensed premises has bitten any human being, such persons shall immediately impound said animal in a place -of confinement where it cannot escape or have access to any human being or other animal and shall also immediately notify the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police or other police officers whose duty it shall be, shall then follow the procedure established for the quarantine of dogs that have bitten people as set forth in Section 11-312 of the St Louis Park Ordinance Code and the City Health Authority 10 F 60'Al 050re 4/Q Each owner or operator of a Training School who shall learn that an animal has become ill on the licensed premises shall immediately report the same to the Police Department Effective Date: This ordinance will take effect February 1, 1996. Adopted November 20, 1995 W Reviewed for Administration. Manager 11 Ly1. Hanks, Mayor Reviewed as to form and legality. 4,44,4)...44.- & City Attorney STATE OF MINNESOTA) SS Sun -Current Sun•Po Sun -Sailor AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION 9 COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) Donald W. Thur Iow being duly sworn on an oath says that he/she is the publisher or authonzed agent and employee of the publisher of the newspaper known as Sun -Sal I or ,and has full knowledge of the facts which are stated below (A) The newspaper has complied with all of the requirements constituting qualification as a qualified newspaper, as provided by Minnesota Statute 331A 02, 331A 07, and other applicable laws, as amended (B) The printed Ordinance No. 95-2049 which is attached was cut from the columns of said newspaper, and was pnnted and *shed once each week, for on one successive weeks, it was first published Wednesday the 29 day of November , 1995 ,and was thereafter printed and published on every to and including , the day of , 19 and printed below is a copy of the lower case alphabet from A to Z, both inclusive, which is hereby acknowledged as being the size and kind of type used in the composition and publication of the notice Acknowledged before me on this 29 day of November ,19 95 abcdefghijklmnopqrst BY TITLE Publisher Not.: ry,Rublic:6:6 r-,' Yx ,- ,ix•,,,A,,resr-,J--.) .4' ,y .,., t'LlE ftiE: tri IIEJ7): C'-+ t, 1 r - NO i Ai l', PI'd.-IC -HOT °, ? `y i <r1�-,.;14 Ikr:i4r`1 f l�i COUNTY :; t ." f / igrrr,'_:-,50 :.,,- w jnn 31 2i'1' : si,... .v" „ -,r,r,,,, c t:LIZ ,.-s X:n: clomp RATE INFORMATION classfied rate paid by commercial users •owest or comparable space (2) Maximum rate allowed by law for the above matter 31 Rate actually charged for the above matter S 1 90 per line S 1 90 per line S 1 02 Der line City of St. Louis Park (Official Publication) SUMMARY ORDINANCE NO. 95-2049 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ST. LOUIS PARK ORDINANCE CODE RELATING TO THE REGULATION AND LICENSING OF DOGS, CATS, AND OTHER ANIMALS BY ADDING SECTIONS 11-304 AND 13-508, RENUMBERING AND AMENDING SECTIONS 11-306101 AND 13-501 101; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 11-301, 11-302, 11-305, 11-306, 11-307, 11-308, 11-309, 11-310, 11-312, 11-313, 11-316, 11-317, 11-318, 11-320, 11-321, 13.501, 13-502, 13-503, 13-504, 13-505, 13-506, 13-507 AND 13-558 Summary This ordinance amends the St Louis Park Ordinance Code by establishing uniform boarding fees for dogs and cats, estabhshing a dog license fee, and making ordinance language changes to facilitate procedures for handling impounded animals and other animals that fall under the care of the City Effective Date This ordinance shall take effect February 1, 1996 Adopted by the City Council November 20, 1995 /s/ LYLE W. HANKS Mayor (The full text of this ordinance is available for inspec- tion with the City Clerk ) (Nov 29, 1995) -SLP