Lake Forest Municipal Code Ch. 10.12 Keeping and Restraint of Animals

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 be restrained thereon by a fence, wall, substantial chain, leash not exceeding six feet in length, other appropriate physical restraint, or is under the charge of a person competent to exercise care, custody, and control over such dog.

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 be 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, or unless the dog is at a City-designated dog park that allows such dog to be without such chain or leash.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 279 § 2, 2015; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

A. No person having the charge of any dog, except a blind, deaf or disabled person with his or her guide dog, signal dog or service dog, or a person training a guide, signal, or service dog, shall permit said dog to be under any circumstances within public school property, or any building owned or occupied by the City, including any space in buildings partially occupied by the City. 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. This section is also not applicable to dogs that are in direct supervision of City personnel or in areas designated by the City Council as allowing dogs.

B. The terms "guide dog," "service dog," and "signal dog," in this section shall be given the same meaning as set forth in Penal Code Section 365.5.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

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. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

A. No person shall keep, maintain, or permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise proper control, on any lot, parcel of land, or premises under his or her control any animal which by sound or cry shall disturb the peace and comfort of the inhabitants of the neighborhood or which affects an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of annoyance or damage may differ, or which interferes with any person in the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of life or property, except for noise on property used for agricultural purposes which is normally associated with animals on property used for such purposes.

B. Violation of the noise standards set out in Section 11.16.040 shall be treated as a violation of this section.

C. Violation of either subsection A or B above, or both, may form the basis of a violation of this section. Nothing herein shall be deemed to require performance of any test or other measurement except as required to prove a violation of Section 11.16.040.

D. Noise generated by animals utilized in the production of crops, livestock or poultry is not subject to this section.

E. A violation of this section is a public nuisance.

F. The existence of such nuisance for each and every day after the service of a notice in writing from the Director or authorized deputies and agents, or district attorney or city attorney or prosecuting attorney, to remove, discontinue or abate may be deemed a separate and distinct offense.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

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. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

A person having custody of any dog shall not permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any such dog to defecate or urinate upon:

A. A public sidewalk or parkway comprising the area between the street and sidewalk;

B. The floor of any common hall in any apartment house, tenement house, motel or other multiple dwelling;

C. Any entranceway, stairway or wall immediately abutting on a public sidewalk;

D. The floor of any theater, shop, store, office building or other building used by the public; or

E. Any public park or the Lake Forest Civic Center campus.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018; Ord. 367, 2/6/2024)

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 is unlawful for any person to fail to comply with this subsection.

B. Any person owning or having custody or control of a vicious dog 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.

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. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

Animal, as used in Sections 10.12.080 through 10.12.120, shall not include a cat or dog but shall include livestock.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

No person owning or having charge, care, custody or control of any animal shall cause or permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any such animal to be placed, staked or to graze or be upon the land of another without the written consent of the owner or other authorized person, or upon public lands or highways or to allow any such animal to run at large.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

Every owner, keeper, custodian or harborer of livestock shall erect and/or maintain a fence as herein described to contain and confine all livestock kept or maintained on his or her premises. Such fence shall be sufficiently good, strong and substantial as to prevent the ingress and egress of livestock. No wire fence is a good and substantial fence within the meaning of this section unless it has three tightly stretched barbed wires securely fastened to posts of reasonable strength firmly set into the ground not more than one rod apart, one of which wires shall be at least four feet above the surface of the ground. Any kind of wire or other fence of height, strength and capacity equal to or greater than the wire fence herein described is a good and substantial fence within the meaning of this section. Cattle guards of such width, depth, rail spacing and construction as will effectively turn livestock are also a good and substantial fence.

(Ord. 165 § 1, 2007; Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

The Director may seize and impound any animal found on any premises in violation of this chapter and he or she shall have a lien upon such animal sufficient to secure payment of all expenses incurred by reason of his or her seizing, keeping and caring for such animal.

(Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

If no person appears and claims the animal impounded under this chapter within five days, or if a person does appear to claim the animal impounded within said time but fails to pay the Director the expenses as provided in Section 10.12.100 hereof, the Director shall proceed to sell or cause to be sold such animal, except a bovine, at public sale in accordance with the general procedure provided in the law concerning the sale or execution of personal property.

(Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)

If the animal impounded under this chapter is of a value less than $20 and has not been claimed, the Director may, after the expiration of three days from the date of seizure, sell such animal, except a bovine, at private sale without notice. In the alternative, the Director may dispose of said animal, except a bovine, in any humane manner.

(Ord. 302 § 33, 2018)