Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Art. 2 Keeping and Restraint of Dogs and Cats

(a) No person owning or having charge, care, custody or control of any dog shall cause or permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any such dog to be upon any private property unless such dog is restrained thereon by a fence, wall, substantial chain or leash not exceeding six feet in length, or other appropriate physical restraint, or is under the charge of a person competent to exercise care, custody and control over such dog.

(b) No person owning or having charge, care, custody or control of any dog shall cause or permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any such dog to be upon any public property unless such dog is restrained by a substantial chain or leash not exceeding six feet in length, and is under the charge of a person competent to exercise care, custody and control over such dog, unless the owner or operator of such public property grants written permission for such dog to be on such property without such chain or leash.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

No person having the charge of any dog, except a guide dog or service dog, shall permit the dog, under any circumstances to be on or within the public-school property. This section, however, does not prohibit the use of dogs on school property for teaching or other school uses, when approved by the school officials.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

Every person owning or having charge of any female cat or dog shall strictly confine such animal during its breeding season, i.e., while it is in heat, in a building or other enclosure adequate to keep such cat or dog confined.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 4, 3-6-90)

(a) No person shall allow, upon any premises owned, occupied, or controlled by such a person, any animal to cause a public nuisance. As used in this section, a "public nuisance" includes, but is not limited to, disruptive sounds created by barking, howling, crying, neighing, braying or making other sounds of an animal that unreasonably disturb persons in the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of their life or property. Such activity is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful.

(b) A dog shall not be deemed a public nuisance if, at any time the dog is making noise, a person is trespassing upon the private property where the dog is situated, or when the dog is being teased or provoked or protecting person(s) or property.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

Cross reference— Noise control, § 6-6-1 et seq.

No person owning or having care, custody or control of any animal shall permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise proper control, such animal to trespass or be upon any private property of another person without the consent of such person.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

(a) It shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person, whether willful or as a result of failure to exercise due care, having custody or control of any dog to permit that dog to defecate in a public area, any area open to the public, or any private property without the property owner's consent, without immediately removing the feces and disposing of it in a sanitary manner.

(b) It shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person, whether willful or as a result of failure to exercise due care, to fail to remove animal waste upon any premises owned, occupied, or controlled by such a person, in a timely manner if such animal waste infringes upon the use of someone else's property by obnoxious odor, or by physically draining onto public property or the private property of another.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

(a) Dog owners and custodians of dogs shall, at all times, take all reasonable precautions to prevent their dogs from biting, attacking or attempting to bite any person or from interfering with the use of public or private property. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with this subsection.

(b) Any person owning or having custody or control of a declared vicious dog or a declared potentially dangerous dog, or a dog that has shown aggressive propensities, commits a violation of this Code if, as a result of that person's failure to exercise ordinary care, the dog bites, attacks, wounds or otherwise injures or kills a human being and the owner or custodian knew or should have known of the vicious or dangerous nature of the dog. As used in this subsection, the term "declared" means a dog that has been declared to be a vicious dog or declared to be a potentially dangerous dog by the director pursuant to section 10-1-95 or by another governmental jurisdiction.

(c) Nothing in this section shall authorize the bringing of a criminal action pursuant to a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section if the bite, attack, attempted bite, injury or threat was sustained by a person who, at the time, was committing a willful trespass upon the premises occupied by the owner or custodian of the dog, or was committing or attempting to commit a crime upon the premises occupied by the owner or custodian of the dog, or was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog, or who has in the past teased, tormented, abused or assaulted the dog.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

Upon receiving a complaint alleging a nuisance as defined in section 10-1-48, the animal services staff shall adhere to the following procedures.

(a) Upon receipt by the animal services department of a first complaint, animal services staff will send a letter informing the responsible person about the complaint.

(b) For purposes of this article a "responsible person" is any of the following:

(1) A person who allows a violation of section 10-1-48 to exist, whether through willful action, failure to act, or failure to exercise proper control over an animal.

(2) A person whose agent, employee, or independent contractor allows a violation to exist, whether through willful action, failure to act, or failure to exercise proper control over an animal.

(3) A person who is the owner of, or a lessee or sublessee with the current right of possession of, real property in or upon which a violation occurs.

(4) A "person" includes a natural person or legal entity, including the owners, majority stockholders, corporate officers, trustees, or general partners of a legal entity.

(5) There may be more than one responsible person for a violation.

(c) Upon receipt by the animal services department of a second complaint regarding an animal for which a first notice has been sent, provided at least ten days but no more than 30 calendar days have elapsed from the date of the first letter sent by animal services staff pursuant to subsection (1) above, an animal control officer will be dispatched to issue a notice to comply and to advise the responsible person about possible solutions to rectify the nuisance.

(d) Upon receipt by the animal services department of a third complaint between ten and 30 calendar days after the date of a second complaint pursuant to subsection (2) above, animal services staff will ask the complainant to obtain, complete and return to the department a formal witness statement form, including two additional independent witnesses to corroborate the nuisance violation, unless a wavier is approved by the Director, within ten days of request.

(e) Upon receipt of a formal witness statement form, if the director or his or her designee finds the animal owner to be in violation of section 10-1-48, the department will issue an administrative citation pursuant to division 3 of this title in an amount set forth in the animal nuisance citation schedule established in section 10-1-53.

(f) Animal nuisance citations may be contested pursuant to the provisions of division 3 of this title.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

(a) Fines for administrative animal nuisance citations shall be as follows:

(1) First animal nuisance citation issued (per citation): $100.00.

(2) Second animal nuisance citation within the same 12-month period: $200.00.

(3) Third animal nuisance citation within the same 12-month period: $500.00.

(4) Fourth animal nuisance citation within the same 12-month period: $500.00.

(5) Fifth animal nuisance citation within the same 12-month period: $500.00.

(6) For sixth and subsequent animal nuisance citation within the same 12-month period: $500.00.

There must be at least ten days between issuance of citations to the same person.

(b) Any fine not paid within 15 days of due date shall be calculated as follows:

The amount of the appropriate fine listed above added to a late penalty in the same amount as the fine such that the total amount due is double the unpaid fine amount.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

Nothing in this division or article shall prevent the city attorney from pursuing a civil or criminal proceeding to abate a public nuisance as an alternative to the procedures set forth in this article. The remedies and penalties provided in this division are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)

(a) No person shall leave an animal in any unattended vehicle without adequate ventilation and water, or in any other manner which subjects the animal to extreme temperatures which could adversely affect the animal's health or welfare.

(b) It shall be a rebuttable presumption that an interior temperature exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit constitutes an extreme temperature which adversely affects the health or welfare of the animal.

(Ord. No. 2022-215, § 3, 6-7-22)