Camarillo Municipal Code Ch. 7.32 Animal Nuisances

A. It is unlawful for the owner of any dog to allow such dog to defecate on any private property in the city without the consent of the owner or person in lawful possession of the property or on any public property in the city.

B. It is unlawful for the owner of any dog that defecates on any private property in the city without the consent of the owner or person in lawful possession of the property or on any public property in the city to fail to immediately remove the feces by placing it in a closed container or to thereafter fail to deposit the feces in a trash receptacle.

C. The provisions of this section do not apply to a legally blind person that is accompanied by a seeing- eye dog that has been trained by a person licensed under Section 7200 and following of the Business and Professions Code, and on-duty city police dogs.

(Ord. No. 1193, § 3(Exh. A), 6-22-2022)

A. Any animal, except an animal kept or controlled by a governmental agency, which has committed any one or more of any of the following acts is a public nuisance: The utterance of barks, cries or vocalizations which are shown to have occurred either as an episode of continuous noise lasting for a minimum of ten minutes or repeated episodes of intermittent noise lasting for a minimum period of thirty minutes and deprive persons residing in two or more residences in the neighborhood of the comfortable enjoyment of their homes or deprive a person residing in one residence of the comfortable enjoyment of their residence if the following conditions are met: 1) due to special physical circumstances such as topography, distance between adjoining properties, placement of structures, general location of the animal being complained about, or other special circumstances that limit the effects of the barks, cries, or sounds as to other residences or the persons in such other residences, and 2) the director has caused an investigation to be performed and such investigation confirms that sufficient evidence exists to support the special physical circumstances.

(Ord. No. 1193, § 3(Exh. A), 6-22-2022)

Upon receiving complaint(s) regarding a barking dog nuisance described in Section 7.32.020, supported by both (i) a statement under penalty of perjury from the complainant describing the barking nuisance conduct, and (ii) audio-visual documentation of the barking nuisance conduct if such barking nuisance conduct has not been directly observed and documented by an animal control officer or peace officer, the division will review the circumstances presented giving rise to such complaint(s), and if the complaint(s) are found to be factually supported, an animal control officer shall issue a citation to the owner or keeper of the barking dog identified in the complaint, assessing a civil penalty to that person in accordance with, and the person shall be subject to the administrative enforcement provisions set forth in the administrative enforcement provisions as set forth in Title 7. The civil penalty shall be assessed according to the schedule of rates and fees approved by resolution.

(a) A citee who has been issued a citation assessing a civil penalty for a public nuisance under Section 7.32.020, may request an initial administrative review of the citation within twenty calendar days of its issuance. A citee's request must set forth, with particularity, the reasons the citee believes the violation did not occur or that the citee was not responsible for the violation and must contain a copy of the citation and identify the address to which conclusion of the division's administrative review should be mailed. The citee must include a deposit, in the amount approved by resolution for the cost of such administrative review.

(b) Upon receiving a citee's request for administrative review, the division's reviewing official, who shall be a division employee who played no role in the investigation or issuance of the citation, shall review the request, citation and other pertinent information, and provide the citee with written notification of one of the following determinations:

1. The citation is vacated because there was no violation, or the citee was not responsible for the violation.

2. The citation will not be vacated because no justification could be found and setting forth the basis for that conclusion. However, if the citee agrees to enter into a written six month compliance agreement with the division to implement specified measures to eliminate the barking nuisance within ten days of the divisions notice, the division will provisionally rescind the citation and associated penalty, so long as the citee abides by the terms of the signed compliance agreement and the division receives no further complaints during the following six-month period from residents in the citee's neighborhood regarding nuisance conduct in violation of Section 7.32.020. The citee will be notified that if the division finds that a citee has subsequently violated the terms of a compliance agreement because the division receives further complaints from neighbors regarding a barking nuisance during the following six-month period, the citation will no longer be deemed rescinded and the citation amount will be due paid in ten days. The citee will also be notified that the division may also issue an additional citation if the division finds that there has been a violation of an existing compliance agreement and new barking nuisance conduct under Section 7.32.020. The decision to offer a compliance agreement to a dog owner is at the division's sole discretion. The division may consider whether there is a history of similar complaints of barking nuisance conduct under Section 7.32.020 involving the same dog.

3. The citation will not be vacated because no justification could be found and setting forth the basis from that conclusion.

(c) The reviewing official will mail a copy of the notification to the citee at the address included in the request for administrative review along with, if applicable, a notice establishing the fine due date and the procedure for requesting an administrative hearing to challenge the citation. If the division vacates a citation upon further administrative review, the division will refund the full amount deposited by the citee for the administrative review of the citation.

(d) The reviewing official will complete the review within ten business days of the division's receipt of the citee's request.

(e) A citee's request for an initial administrative review is not a mandatory prerequisite to a request for an administrative hearing under chapter 7.44.

(Ord. No. 1193, § 3(Exh. A), 6-22-2022)

(a) Any dog whose owner or keeper receives three or more citations for being a public nuisance in violation of Section 7.32.020 will be found by the division to be an animal nuisance and the owner of such an animal will be ordered by the division to obtain a nuisance dog license and pay the additional annual license fee established by resolution for an animal nuisance and to follow all findings and orders issued by the division.

(b) If no less than two years have passed since the division's latest citation for a barking dog nuisance under Section 7.32.020, and the citee has received no subsequent citation, and the division has received no subsequent complaints from residents in the citee's neighborhood regarding that dog barking, the citee may submit a written request for the division to conduct an administrative review regarding whether there is good cause to provisionally rescind a requirement that the dog to be licensed as an animal nuisance. If, in response to a citee's request, the division determines after administrative review that there is good cause to provisionally rescind the nuisance animal designation, it will so notify the citee. If the division thereafter receives two or more complaints from residents in the citee's neighborhood regarding the same dog barking, the division may, at its sole discretion, and without holding an additional hearing, reverse its provisional rescission of the requirement that the dog be licensed as an animal nuisance.

(Ord. No. 1193, § 3(Exh. A), 6-22-2022)

The director has sole discretion to choose a response consistent with Title 7. The director, and his or her designee, shall have sole and exclusive discretion regarding whether to respond to complaints of animal nuisance conduct taking place in the city under the provisions of (Animal Nuisance Hearing Process), (Administrative Citation Process), (Petitions regarding Potentially Dangerous or Vicious Dogs), or under other applicable provisions of Title 7.

(Ord. No. 1193, § 3(Exh. A), 6-22-2022)