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1187 ORDINANCE NO. 1187 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANFORD~ FLORIDAJ ENTITLED "ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE"~ PROVIDING FOR THE REGU- LATION, LICENSING, VACCINATION, IM POUNDMENT, AND DISPOSITION OF DOGS AND CATS: REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA: SECTION 1. It is the intention of the governing body and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Sanford City Code, and the sections of this ordinance may be renu.mbered to accomplish such intention. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be known as the ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE of Sanford, Florida, and is to be liberally construed to carry out the purposes stated in the following Sections. If any portion of this ordinance should be declared unlawful or unconstitutional or unenforce- able by a Cour'~ of competent jurisdiction, then such Section or portion thereof shall be eliminated from this ordinance, but all other Sections and portions thereof not specifically declared to be unlawful, unconstitutional or unenforceable shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3. Administration, Implementation and Enforce- ment of this Ordinance. The Chief of Police of the City of Sanford be and he is hereby designated as the Animal Control Officer to be primarily responsible to the City Manager for the enforcement or this ordinance. The said Animal Control Officer shall have the authority to designate and hire employees to assist him in the imple.mentation and enforcement of this ordinance, 4- and he shall further have the power to vest employees with powers of special police officers as may be necessary to effectively administer and enforce this ordknance. SECTION 4. Animal Shelter; Contracts for Same with Humane Society or Other Organization. The City shall either maintain or cause to be maintakned a sanitary animal shelter under humane management, which animal shelter program shall be under the general supervision of the Animal Control Officer; provided, that in lieu or providing such animal shelter, the City may provide that such services as would ordinarily be rendered by an animal shelter be furnished under contract with the Humane Society of Seminole County, Inc., a nonprofit organization, or some other organization eapable of providing facilities for a sanitary animal shelter under humane management. SECTION 5. Quarantine. Should the City Commission determine that a state of emergency exists within the City by reason of animals being infected by rabies or other ~nfectious and dangerous disease whieh shall constitute a danger to the public health, safety and general welfare of the City, the City Corn.mission may by resolution declare a state or emergency to exist and during such period of tkme, all dogs, eats and other animals and pets shall be kept confined or on a leash or lead by the owners or keepers thereof. During such period of time as such emergency shall continue the City by resolution may promulgate such other emergency regulations as may be deemed necessary for the protection of the health, safety and general welfare or the City. -2- SECTION 6. Dogs at Large Prohibited; Dogs in Places Where Food is Sold. It shall be unlawful for any person to allow or permit any dog when harbored or controlled by him, to run at large on any public street, alley, lane, park or other pullic place, or on any private property other than that of the owner, unless such dog be restrained by a substantial chain or leash not exceeding eight feet in length and be in the charge, care° custody or control of a competent person; provided, however, that no such dog shall be allowed or permitted in any store, market, restaurant, care, lunchroomo soda fountain, bakery, or other establishments where foods for human consumption are served, sold, or kept for sale. Any dog found "running at large" by the Animal Control Officer shall be impounded, and shall not be released to the owner until the inpoundment fee is paid as provided for in this ordinance. A dog shall be considered "running at large" when off the owner's premises without a leash or chain, except that a dog shall not be considered running at large when confined in a properly ventilated motor vehicle. It is the intent and purpose of this section to control animals which roam and wander onto the property of others and damage or cause visible distrubance to the property of others. SECTION 7. License required. Duration of License; License Fees; Penalty for Failure to Pay License Fees. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, own, harbor or possess any dog or cat within the City without first having obtained a license to do so. -3- Every person owning, harboring or possessing any dog or cat within the City shall between December 1 and December 31 of each year pro- cure a license from the office of the City Clerk or any contractor employed by the City for the keeping and maintaining of such dog or cat. The license shall be valid from January 1 through December 31 of the following year. The following fees shall be paid for the issuance of such license: For each and every dog or cat, male or femal~ $3.00 For each and every sterilized dog or cat $2.00 In the event a license has not been purchased by January 1 of each year, a penalty of $1.00 shall be added to the above fee for the issuance of a license. SECTION 8. Licenses for Dogs or Cats attaining age Four Months. In the event that ~ dog or cat is brought into the City after January first of any year, or becoming four (4) months of age following such date, the time for calculating penalties shall not commence until thirty days after such dog or cat is brought within the City limits or has a~tained! the age of four (4) months. In the event that a dog or cat is brought into the City six months or more after January first of any year, or becomes four months of age six months or more following such date, the license fee shall be one-half the regular fee, and penalty if due shall be in addition to such one-half of the regular license fee. SECTION 9. License Forms; License Tags. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause to be printed annually such number of animal license receipts or certificates in convenient form as in his judgment may be necessary, setting forth the year for which such receipt or certificate is issued, the description of the animal for which receipt is issued, and the amount of the license fee paid. The City Clerk shall likewise procure metal tags bearing suitable inscriptions showing the year for which the same shall be issued and the number thereof, which number shall correspond with the number mentioned in the license certificate. The City Clerk shall issue one of such tags with each of the license receipts or certificates to the purchaser thereof, and the tags shall be firmly attached to the collar of each dog or cat for which each license is issued in such a manner that the same shall be readily visible. SECTION 10, Impoundment. Any dog running at large and any dog or cat found to be unlicensed shall be seized promptly and impounded in the animal shelter. The owner of such dog or cat, if known, or if, upon reasonable diligent inquiry° can be known, shall be notified promptly by personal service of notice on the owner, that such dog or cat has been seized and is impounded in the animal shelter awaiting redemption. No such dog or cat shall be redeemed by or relased to anyone save the owner or his duly authorized agent, and then only upon payment of the regular license fee, if unlicensed, plus the sum of $3.00 per day for care, custody and feeding of ~.SUch dog or cat, plus $5.00 for neglect to pay a license fee, and if licensed, the sum of $3.00 per day only for cai~eo custody and feeding. If such impounded dog or cat shall not be redeemed and released to the owner or agent, and the required fees and costs paid at the time of such release on or before the sixth working day after the day of seizure, such dog or cat may be put to death humanely in the animal shelter on the seventh working day after day of seizure; except, that a dog or cat impounded on account of being rabid or having been bitten by a rabid dog, cat or other animal shall be held for a period of fourteen (14) days after seizure, unless death occurs before the expiration of the fourteen days. Bodies of all dogs and cats killed shall be disposed of by the Animal Control Officer on the same day as killed, and in as sanitary and proper way as meets with the demands of public health and welfare. SECTION 11. Dogs and Cats Under Four Months of Age and Dogs and Cats of Nonresidents Not Required to Have License. Nothing in this ordinance contained shall be construed to prohibit the keeping of dogs or cats under four (4) months of age without having obtained a license therefor, nor to prevent nonresidents visiting the City from keeping a dog or cat therein for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days without the payment of a license fee as herein provided. For the purpose of this ordinance a person shall be considered a resident of the City after having resided in the City a period of thrity (30) days. SECTION 12. Seeing-eye Dogs. The provisions of this ordinance as to restraint of dogs shall not apply to seeing-eye dogs when being used by blind persons off the premises of the owner of the seeing-eye dog. SECTION 13. Vaccination required. Prior to the issuance of any dog or cat license any resident owning or keeping a dog or cat within the City shall cause such dog or cat to be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. Evidence of such vaccination shall consist of a certificate signed by the person administering the vaccine and containing pertinent date for the identification of such dog or cat so vaccinated and the time of such vaccination. A copy of such certificate shall befiled with the City Clerk at the time of issuance of such license. SECTION 14. Confinement when Rabies Suspected. Upon the appearance or any suspicious symptoms of rabies in a dog or cat, or upon any dog or cat bite being reported to the Animal Control Officer, said dog or cat upon such report must be promptly confined rot a period of fourteen days. The dog or cat shall be confined at the animal shelter, or, at the option of the owner, at a private veterinary kennel at the expense of the owner. If at the end of the fourteen day period the dog or cat is not considered rabid, the dog or cat shall be released to the owner if confined in the animal shelter upon the appropriate charges being paid by the owner as set forth in this ordinance. SECTION 15. Animals that Constitute a Public Nuisance. A dog or cat shall be considered an animal constituting a public nuisance if said animal: (1) is found at large, but excluding cats; (2) damages the property of anyone other than its owner; (3) has bitten a person without provocation; (4) repeatedly attacks another animal without provocation; (5) habitually and excessively howls, barks, or growls, or makes other noises so as to unduly disturb or disrupt the public peace, order and tranquility, and that causes undue inconvenience and annoyance to owners of neighboring property and persons in close proximity [hereto; (6) molests passersby or passing vehicles; (7) has been designated by the County Health Officer or the Animal Control Officer to be a public nuisance animal by virtue of bekng a menace to the public health, welfare or safety. SECTION 16. Violations and Prohibited Acts. (A) It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to deliver his dog or eat to the Animal Control Officer when properly requested to do so under the provisions of this ordinance. (B) It shall be unlawful for any person to be cruel or inhumane to a dog or eat, such cruelty and inhumanity consisting of cruelly beating, torturing, mutilating, cruelly killing, failing to provide food, drink and shelter or abandoning old, sick or disabled dogs or eats. ~C) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, harbor or own any dog or cat which by loud, frequent or habitual barking, yelping, howling or by constant threat or attacking and biting, shall cause annoyance to the neighborhood or to people passing upon the streets. (DI) It shall be unlawful for any owner of any animal as defined herein to keep, harbor or maintain an animal that is a public nuisance as defined herein. (E) It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon any animal within the corporate limits of the City. -8- (F) It shall be unlawful for any owner of any animal to keep or maintain any animal in any manner which is determined by the Animal Control Officer or his duly designated subordinate, to be in an unsanitary or offensive condition or surroundings. (G) It shall be unlawful for any person to hide or conceal any animal to which he does not have legal title. (H) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly poison° aid, abet or a~ist in the poisoning of any animal as defined herein, or knowingly put out or place poison where any animal as defined herein may feed on same. (I) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly deny treatment or medical aid to any sick or in~ured animal owned by said person. (J) It shall be unlawful for any person who shall knowingly strike an animal with a vehicle to fail to either take said animal to a veterinarian immediately or to immediately notify the owner of the animal or to notify a Police Officer or the Seminole County Humane Society. (K) It shall be unlawful for any person without proper authority to release or remove or attempt to release or remove any animal from the custody of the Animal Control Officer. (L) It shall ~unlawful for any owner of a dog to allow said dog to run at large as defined in this ordinance. SECTION 17. Number of Dogs or Cats Permitted. The number of dogs and cats permitted at or within the premises of a single family and multiple family residential dwelling -9- units, including mobile homes, in zoning districts in which single family and multiple family residential dwelling units, including mobile homes, are permitted uses, and in other zoning districts where any of such dwelling units are located within 300 feet of each other, shall be limited to three dogs and three cats; provided, however, that this limitation shall not apply to dogs and cats less than four (4) months of age and which are the offspring of the dogs and cats residing on the premises. The City Co.mmission may, if it deems it not adverse to the public interest, permit a greater number of dogs and cats on any such premises, upon the written application of the owner thereof. This section shall not apply to any owner who has more than three dogs or three cats at the time of the passage of this Ordinance so long as such owner does not acquire additional dogs or cats after the passage of this Ordinance which would result in the owner having more than three dogs or three cats. SECTION 18. Owner Defined. For the purpose of this Ordinance, an owner shall be defined as any person or persons who own, possess, harbor, control or maintain any dog or cat on the premises owned or occupied by such person or persons. Any person or persons who are designated as the owner of any dog or cat in the registration records of the City shall be presumed to be the owner of such dog or cat, and such registration shall be prime facie evidence of such ownership. SECTION 19. Penalty Provisions. The violation of any provision of this ordinance shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that any violation of any provision of this ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 20. Conflicts. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. SECTION 21. Effective Date. The effective date of ~his ordinance is January 1, 1974. FIRST READING THIS 8th day of October 1973. SECOND READING THIS 22nd day of October 1973. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 22nd day of October 1973. Mayor Attest: 2As th~ C[[~ Commissiorryd~ the City of ~anford, Florida. zI~ CERTIFICATE I, H. N. Tamm, Jr., City Clerk of the CitF,of Sanford, Florida, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Ordinance No. 1187, PASSED and ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, on the 22md day of October, 1973, was POSTED at the front door of the City Hall in the City of Sanford=,Florida, on the 23rd day of October, 1973. "City of Sanford, ~