Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 12533ORDINANCE NO. ~~Z.,~`3~.3 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1986), AS AMENDED, BY THE AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 6, "ANIMALS AND FOWL," ARTICLE I "IN GENERAL," BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 6-11 ENTITLED NUMBER OF DOGS AND CATS AT RESIDENCES;" PROVIDING THAT RESIDENCES MAY HOUSE UP TO THREE DOGS AND THREE CATS; PROVIDING FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND PERMIT PROCESS TO EXCEED THE LIMIT OF DOGS AND CATS AT RESIDENCES; AND FURTHER AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1986), AS AMENDED, BY THE AMENDMENT OF APPENDIX B, "DEPARTMENT OF CITY SERVICES," ARTICLE II, "CODE ENFORCEMENT," BY THE AMENDMENT OF SECTION 11A-20, "DOG KENNELS WITHIN THREE HUNDRED FEET OF RESIDENCES," PROVIDING THAT KENNELS ARE PROHIBITED WITHIN 100 FEET OF ANY PROPERTY ZONED FOR RESIDENTIAL USE, PROVIDING THAT DOG KENNELS ARE PROHIBIT- ED WITHIN 300 FEET OF ANY HABITATION ON ANOTHER PERSON'S PROPERTY, PROVIDING THAT IT IS PROHIBITED TO KEEP MONE THAN THREE DOGS OR THREE CATS AT A RESIDENCE WITHOUT A PERMIT, AND PROVIDING THAT IT IS PROHIBITED TO KEEP MORE DOGS OR CATS AT A RESIDENCE THAN ALLOWED BY A PERMIT; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A FINE OF UP TO $2, 000 FOR EACH OFFENSE IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE MAY BE PUBLISHED IN PAMPHLET FORM; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, is amended by the amendment of Chapter 6, "Animals and Fowl," Article I, "In General," by the addition of a new Section 6- 11, "Number of dogs and cats at residences," so that hereafter said section shall read as follows: "(a) Except as provided by this section, no residence within the City shall house more than three dogs .and three cats over the age of eight (8) weeks. (b) A person may file an application for an administra- tive hearing for a permit to keep dogs and/or cats 1 in excess of the numbered allowed in subsection (a). The applicant shall pay an application fee at the time of filing in an amount established by the City Council. (c) (1) The application shall be filed with the Animal Control Division of the Health Department on a form provided by the Director. (2) At a minimum, the application form shall require the applicant's name, address, and telephone numbers; the number, gender (includ- ing spay/neuter status), size, and species of dogs and cats currently housed at the address and their city registration numbers; the number of dogs and/or cats the applicant wants to keep at the address; and information on the type and size of the residence, the area where the animals will be kept, and the distance that such area is from abutting residences. (3) The application form shall also contain forms and instructions for providing notice of the application and hearing to the occupants and/or owners of abutting residences. The applicant shall notify said persons no later than ten (10) days prior to the date set for the hearing. A hearing on the application will be conducted by the Director or the Director's designee. (1) At the hearing, the applicant shall have the burden of proof to establish that the appli- cant will be able to properly care for the number of dogs and/or cats requested, without the animals creating noise or odor nuisances or otherwise being detrimental to the public health. (2) The applicant shall provide proof to the Director that all persons required to be notified of the application and hearing were served with notice either in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested. (3) Each of the persons required to be notified of the application and hearing shall be given an opportunity to testify at the hearing either in favor of or in opposition to the applica- tion. 2 (d) At the conclusion of the hearing, the Director shall either approve the application, modify the application, or deny the application. (e) The Director may deny the application if the appli- cant: (1) Has not met the burden of proof established in (c)(1); (2) Has within the preceding twenty-four (24) months been cited with violating this Chapter, maintaining animal nuisance complaints, or been charged with violating state laws regu- lating the care of animals; (3) Has not properly vaccinated and licensed all dogs and cats at the residence in accordance with this Chapter; or (4) Has not spayed/neutered all dogs and cats at the residence in excess of three dogs and three cats. (f) If the Director determines that the applicant will not be able to care for the number of animals requested without the creation of noise or odor nuisances or without being otherwise detrimental to the public health, the Director may modify the application and approve the keeping of more than three dogs and/or more than three cats, but fewer than the number requested in the application. (g) A permit issued under this section shall be valid for an open-ended term, but shall be subject to revocation for violation of its conditions. The permit shall specify the name of the permittee and the premises to which the permit applies. The permit shall specify the number of dogs and/or cats the permittee shall be able to keep, and shall not be specific to individual animals. The permit shall not be transferable to other persons or to other premises. (h) A permit issued under this section is subject to the following conditions: (1) A permittee shall notify the Director, in writing, prior to changing residences;. 3 (2) A permittee shall keep all dogs and cats housed at permittee's residence vaccinated and registered in accordance with this Chapter: (3) A permittee shall not keep more than three dogs and/or three cats which have not been spayed/neutered; (4) A permittee shall not maintain any animal odor or noise nuisances at the residence; (5) A permittee shall keep his/her dogs and/or cats under restraint at all times in accor- dance with this Chapter; (6) A permittee shall cooperate with the City should any of the animals be involved in a bite, and shall follow all rabies quarantine procedures as outlined by the Rabies Control Act, Title 25, Chapter 169 of the Texas Admin- istrative Code, and this Chapter. If the animal control authority determines that any of a permittee's dogs is a dangerous dog, such determination shall subject the permit to revocation; (7) A permittee shall comply with all applicable distance regulations for the keeping of ani- mals under City Code; (8) And any other reasonable conditions placed upon the permit by the hearings officer. (i) The Director may set a hearing if the Director determines that grounds exist to revoke a permit issued under this section. (1) Written notice shall be served on the permit- tee in person or by registered mail at least ten days prior to the hearing. The notice shall specify the date, time, and place of the hearing, as well any allegations of permit. condition violations. (2) Notice that is mailed shall be deemed received five (5) days after it is placed in a mail receptacle of the United States Postal Ser- vice. (3) No decision may be rendered at a hearing by reason of the permittee's failure to appear unless proof of actual service is shown. 4 (4) A decision to revoke a permit shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence. The City shall have the burden of proof. At the con- clusion of the hearing the hearings officer shall make written findings of fact and con- clusions of law and shall issue a written decision without undue delay. (j) At application and revocation hearings, the follow- ing shall apply: (1) The Director or the Director's designee shall be empowered to administer oaths, to promul- gate procedural rules for the conduct of the hearing, and shall act as the hearings offi- cer. (2) A hearing shall exhaust all administrative remedies of the applicant/permittee. (3) Whenever any deadline specified in this sec- tions falls upon a Saturday, Sunday, or a City-recognized holiday, the deadline shall be the next regular City business day." And further, that the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, is further amended by the amendment of Appendix B, "Department of City Services," Article II, "Code Enforcement," by the amendment of Section 11A-20, "Dog kennels within three hundred feet of residences," and renaming said section, so that hereafter said section shall read as follows: "Section 11A-20. Distance requirements for kennels; number of dogs and cats at residenc- es. (a) No person shall construct or maintain any dog kennel within three hundred (300) feet of a struc- ture which is designed or used as a habitation and which is located on another person's property. (b) No person shall construct or maintain any dog or cat kennel closer than one hundred (100) feet from premises which are zoned as residential or which are used for residential purposes. 5 (c) In this section, the term kennel shall mean: (1) any building, lot, or premises where four (4) or more dogs or cats (at least eight (8) weeks of age) are kept. This shall not include residentially zoned premises or premises which are used for residential purposes, at which the occupant is keeping his or her own dogs or cats; or (2) any building, lot, or premises where dogs or cats are housed or accepted for boarding, for which remuneration is received. (d) Distances in subsection (b) above shall be measured as follows: (1) For the purpose of subsection (b)(1j, above, measurement of the three hundred (300) foot distance shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of an exist- ing habitation to the nearest portion of the kennel. (2) For the purpose of subsection (b)(2), above, measurement of the one hundred (100) foot distance shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the property line of a residentially zoned proper- ty or premises used for residential purposes, to the nearest portion of the kennel. (e) No person shall keep, house, or maintain more than three dogs or three cats at the person's residence without a valid permit .issued by the Department of Health to do so. (f) No person who has a valid permit issued by the Department of Health to keep, house, or maintain more than three dogs or three cats at the person's residence shall keep, house, or maintain more dogs or cats at the residence than allowed by the per- mit." SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (.1986) , 6 as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 3. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconsti- tutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 4. Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 5. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the ordinances amended in Section 1, which have accrued at the time 7 of the effective date of this ordinance and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby authorized to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form for general distribution among the public, and the operative provisions of this ordinance as so published shall be admissible in evidence in all courts without further proof than the production thereof, as provided in Chapter XXV, Section 3, of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas. SECTION 7. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption and Section 4 of this ordinance for two ( 2 ) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 2, Chapter XXV of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, and by Section 52.013, Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 8. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. 8 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: y l DAT ~p ADOPTED: J EFFECTIVE: City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 05/14/96 ~ -11481 50ADMNA 1 of 3 SUBJECT PROPOSED ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL ADDRESSING THE NUMBER OF DOGS AND CATS HOUSED AT RESIDENCES RECOMMENDATIONS 1 It is recommended that the City Council approve the attached ordinance amending the City Code as follows A Add Section 6-11 to the "Animals and Fowl" chapter to provide an administrative procedure for issuance of a permit to house more than three (3) dogs and three {3) cats at a residence B Amend Section 1 1 A-20 of Appendix B "Department of City Services" chapter to provide for distance restrictions for kennels from residential premises 2 It is also recommended that the City Council establish a 510 00 fee to file a permit application to have more than three (3) dogs and three (3) cats BACKGROUND A residence may currently house up to three dogs and three cats without violating the City zoning ordinance Under the Zoning Ordinance, "kennel" is defined as "Any building, lot, or premises on or in which four (4) or more dogs or cats (at least eight (8) weeks of age) are kept, or any building, lot or premises where dogs or cats are housed or accepted for boarding, for which remuneration is received " Staff recommends modifying the current absolute restriction by creating an appeals process in Section 6-11 of the "Animals and Fowl" chapter The amended ordinance would contain the following elements 1 Each residence may house up to three dogs and three cats (over eight weeks in age) 2 A person may file an appeal with the Department of Health, Animal Control Division, for a permit to keep more dogs and/or cats than the stated limit Animal Control will have primary enforcement authority for the following a Animal Control will charge a minimal fee of 510 00 for filing an appeal ~' Printed on Bagdad Paper City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Com~cunication 05/14/96 50ADMNA 2 of 3 SIIBJECT PROPOSED ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL ADDRESSING THE NUMBER OF DOGS AND CATS HOUSED AT RESIDENCES b The appeal will be on a form provided by Animal Control, and will include forms for notification of neighbors whose property abuts the applicant's residence These neighbors will be given an opportunity to voice their dissent to the application The applicant must prove his/her ability to care for the animals and to prevent noise/odor nuisances from occurring c A hearing on the application will be conducted by the Director of Health or his designee d A perrnit may be denied if the applicant has a history of animal ordinance violations, animal nuisance complaints, or animal cruelty charges, if the animals are not licensed and vaccinated, if the animals (in excess of three dogs and three cats) are not spayed/neutered, or, if in the opinion of the Director, the applicant has not shown the ability to care for the number of animals requested or to prevent noise/odor nuisances e The Director may approve the keeping of more than three animals but less than the number the applicant requested f A permit will be issued for an unlimited time, but is subject to revocation if permit conditions are violated g The permit will specify the number of dogs and/or cats the permittee may keep It will not be specific to individual dogs and/or cats h The permit will not be tied to the person's address, and will follow him/her to a new residence The permit will include a change of address notification requirement Other permit conditions will include annual licensing and vaccination of the animals in excess of three dogs and three cats, no noise and/or odor nuisances caused by the animals, no animal cruelty charges, no animal at large complaints, no dangerous dog determina- tions, no quarantine violations, and no violations of Appendix B distance regulations for keeping animals Printed on Regrded Paper City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 05/14/96 50ADMNA 3 of 3 SUBJECT PROPOSED ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL ADDRESSING THE NUMBER OF DOGS AND CATS HOUSED AT RESIDENCES Staff also recommends amending Appendix B, Section 11 A-20 of the City Code regarding distances that kennels may be from residential premises The amendment adds a distance provision from the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to provide that kennels may not be located within 100 feet of property zoned for residential use The amendment also adds measurement criteria These distance provisions will be mirrored in the amendment to the Zoning Ordinance Staff anticipates that the enforcement of the recommended ordinance revision will result in continued cooperation with the Department of City Services, Code Enforcement Division When Code Enforcement investigates animal nuisance or distance violations and discovers a residence with too many dogs and/or cats, the information will be turned over to Animal Control for further handling The Development Department is submitting a text amendment to the City Zoning Ordinance for approval on the agenda for May 14, 1996 This text amendment changes the definition of kennels, establishes distances for a kennel and provides a fine This amendment is consistent with the distance restrictions established for kennels in Section 11 A-20 as proposed in the amendment to Appendix B, "Department of City Services " FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION The Director of the Fiscal Services Department certifies that the Department of Public Health's Animal Control Division will be responsible for collection and deposit of funds due to the City as a result of this action LW f u matte or ity anager s Office bY: (to) APPROVED GGOI 462290 0504001 100. ~ ~ ~ ~ CDU~NC Libby Watson 6140 j C '/' ngmatmg epartment ea MAY 2~ 1996 Dr Nick Curry 7201 (from) ~ ~ For ditiona onnation f M Gi S Contact: eez o o ~ City f Fort h,Texe3 Dr Nick Curry 7201 Printed on Bagdad Paper , ~ Ade,~~eci ~r~si~<,?~c~ i~~ts. ~~1~~.