AGENDA DATE: 9/12/2018
TITLE:
Title
Ordinance to Amend County Code Chapter 4, Animals and Fowl
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Ordinance to Amend County Code Chapter 4, Animals and Fowl
ITEM TYPE: Consent Information Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Kamptner, Farley, Lantz, Wells
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Board held a work session on August 8, 2018 on the proposed amendment of Chapter 4, Animals and Fowl, of the County Code. The focus of the work session was on a range of current and proposed acts that would create a rebuttable presumption of animal cruelty. The Board also considered at the August 8 work session proposed changes to draft County Code §§ 4-306 and 4-308, which would replace some discretionary authority of the trial court in the disposition of animal treatment (e.g., abandonment, animal cruelty) cases with mandatory requirements.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Quality Government Operations: Ensure County’s government capacity to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities.
DISCUSSION: Chapter 4 (Attachment A) has been revised to incorporate all of the acts that would create a rebuttable presumption of animal cruelty into draft County Code § 4-301. Section 4-301 begins on page 57 of Attachment A, and the changes made to the ordinance since the August 8 work session are highlighted in grey.
The Board also considered at the August 8 work session some proposed revisions to County Code §§ 4-306 and 4-308 that would make them more stringent than State law. Those revisions centered around the trial court’s disposition of animals that have been found by a court to have been abandoned, cruelly treated, or subjected to other mistreatment. With respect to County Code § 4-306, the discussion was whether the court should be required by County ordinance to prohibit the person convicted from owning or possessing other animals. With respect to County Code § 4-308, the issue was whether the court should be required by County ordinance to prohibit the person convicted from adopting animals. The State laws on which County Code §§ 4-306 and 4-308 are based (Virginia Code §§ 3.2-6546 and 3.2-6569) leave those decisions to the trial court’s discretion. However, localities are enabled by another State law (Virginia Code § 3.2-6543) to adopt ordinances that are more stringent than Virginia Code §§ 3.2-6546 and 3.2-6569. The most applicable definition of “stringent” to this circumstance is “marked by rigor, strictness, or severity: rigidly controlled by rule or standard.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (2002), p. 2263. Removing judicial discretion in the circumstances described would “rigidly control by rule or standard” and, therefore, the proposed language (“shall” instead of “may” ) in County Code §§ 4-306 and 4-308 falls within this definition of “stringent.”
After the August 8 work session, the Board received a request from a citizen asking the Board to address feral cats in this ordinance. Feral cats are addressed in this ordinance to a certain extent because the definition of “companion animal” in draft Chapter 4 includes feral cats (Attachment A, pages 33-34). If the Board desires to explore additional regulations pertaining to feral cats, staff recommends that the work on that issue not delay the public hearing on draft Chapter 4 scheduled for October 10. Feral cats raise a broad range of regulatory issues that will require further study and collaboration with the Albemarle-Charlottesville SPCA and others to determine an appropriate regulatory scope and content. That work will take time.
BUDGET IMPACT: There is no expected budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This is for information only. The public hearing on this ordinance is scheduled for October 10, 2018.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Proposed Ordinance