Los Gatos Municipal Code Art. I In General

The Animals and Fowl Ordinance of the County of Santa Clara as that ordinance is set out below with conforming amendments and deletions is adopted as and for the Domestic Animal Code of the Town of Los Gatos with the exception of regulations governing horses which are set out more fully below in section 4.120.005 and following.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

The words and terms used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Abandoned animal: An animal that is left without proper and necessary care for the animal's well-being for more than twenty-four (24) hours or an unreasonable period of time as needed for the age and species involved. "Abandoned animal" shall also mean any animal, lawfully impounded by the Town, for which the owner has not paid fees, rates or charges relating to the detention of the animal. This does not include the return of a feral cat to its original location by a person engaged in the practice of trap-neuter-return (TNR) with a valid rescue or TNR organization.

Animal: Any multi-celled living creature other than plants and humans, including but not limited to birds, cats, dogs, fishes, fowl, rabbits, and reptiles.

Animal control officer: Any person or agency authorized to act on behalf of the Town Manager in the enforcement of this chapter, and on behalf of the County Health Officer in the enforcement of rabies control laws and in the enforcement of state laws.

Animal menagerie: Any place where dangerous animals are kept or maintained for any purpose, including places where dangerous animals are boarded, exhibited, trained, or kept for hire.

Animal shelter: A facility operated by a public jurisdiction or by an accredited, tax-exempt humane organization for the purpose of impounding, harboring, selling, placing, or destroying seized, stray, distressed, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals.

Animal rescuer: Any person or organization that provides temporary housing and care for domestic animals with the purpose of placing those animals with a new and permanent owner in a new home and that provides evidence satisfactory to the Town Manager or Town Attorney of a history of active placement or an affiliation with a recognized group with a history of active placement.

Apiary: Bees, hives and associated appliances wherever the same are kept, located or found.

At large:

(1) The presence of any animal when it is off the premises of its owner and not restrained by a maximum six-foot leash under the direct physical control of a person physically capable of retaining control of the animal; or

(2) When the animal is on the premises of its owner and not restrained by a six-foot leash, fence or other adequate enclosure sufficient to prevent ingress and egress of the animal or not under the control and/or the immediate presence of its owner; or

(3) When a female dog is in estrus and not within a house, vehicle or other enclosure adequate to prevent male dogs gaining access to the female dog.

Bees: Honey-producing insects of the species Apis mellifera, including the adults, eggs, larvae, pupae, or other immature states thereof, together with such materials as are deposited into hives by their adults, except honey and rendered beeswax.

Cat: A domestic cat (Felis catus).

Commercial kennel: Any location or facility where the commercial breeding of dogs or cats, or both, for sale, individually or in litter lots occurs; or any location where the boarding, training, sale or hire of dogs and/or cats for compensation is conducted. Except that animal hospitals maintained by a veterinarian licensed by the State of California as part of the practice of veterinary medicine, animal shelters, or private kennels shall not be considered commercial kennels.

Dangerous animal: Any wild or exotic mammal, reptile or fowl which is not naturally tame or gentle, but is of a wild nature or disposition, and which, because of its size, vicious nature, or other characteristics constitutes a danger to human life, other animals, or property.

Dangerous dog: Any dog, except a dog assisting a peace officer engaged in law enforcement duties, that:

(1) Without provocation, has bitten a person while on public or private property;

(2) Has a known propensity, tendency or disposition for unprovoked attack, causing injury and threatening the safety of people or domestic animals;

(3) Without provocation, chases or approaches people or domestic animals on the streets, sidewalks or any public grounds in a threatening manner or apparent attitude of attack;

(4) Has been specifically trained to guard persons and/or property;

(5) Has killed or inflicted severe injury on a domestic animal on public or private property;

(6) Has been declared potentially dangerous, dangerous or vicious in another jurisdiction: or

(7) Has, after having been designated potentially dangerous, engaged in the same behavior that resulted in that designation or that defines a potentially dangerous dog.

Dog: A domestic dog (Canis familiaris).

Domestic animal: Any animals that are lawfully and commonly kept as pets including, but not limited to dogs, cats and birds, rabbits and fowl.

Domestic bird: Birds that are lawfully and commonly kept as pets, including, but not limited to, budgies, canaries, cardinals, cockatiels, cockatoos, finches, lories, lorikeets, lovebirds, macaws, parakeets, parrots, sparrows, toucans and weavers.

Euthanasia: The humane destruction of an animal.

Exotic: Any animal not normally kept as a domestic or household pet, fowl, livestock, including but not limited to lions, tigers and monkeys.

Feral animal: A domestic animal which is or has become homeless, or stray, or wild, or untamed.

Fowl: Any larger domestic bird such as a domesticated chicken, duck, goose, guinea fowl, peafowl, peacock, turkey, dove, pigeon, game bird or similar bird intended for human consumption or for the production of eggs for human consumption.

Grooming parlor: Any commercial place where animals are trimmed, bathed, or groomed.

Guardian: An owner of an animal with the same duties and obligations under this title as an owner.

Harbored: The feeding or sheltering of an animal for three (3) or more consecutive days.

Health officer: The director of public health or any person authorized to act on the director of public health's behalf.

Hearing officer: A person designated by the Town Manager or the Town Manager's designee to hear and decide any matter authorized pursuant to this Title. The designated hearing officer shall be an impartial person, such as: (1) a Town employee from a department not involved in the prosecution of the matter to be decided, or (2) a person selected from a panel of hearing officers of any size assembled by the Town Manager or the Town Manager's designee, or (3) a person hired from an organization which provides hearing officers. Hearing officers shall be selected in such a manner that the hearing officer does not have a financial incentive to decide a matter to a particular conclusion. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits of the hearing officer shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon or affected by the result of any lawfully performed hearing.

Horse establishment: Any person keeping three (3) or more horses, donkeys, mules, jack, hinny, jenny burros, or ponies for any or all of the following purposes:

(1) For hire to be ridden or driven;

(2) For giving riding instructions;

(3) For boarding with compensation.

Livestock: All domestic or domesticated bovine (cattle type), equine (horse type), ovine (sheep type), porcine (swine type), corvine (deer type), caprine (goat type), and ratite (ostrich type) animals.

Lot: A single parcel of land for which a legal description is filed of record or the boundaries of which are shown on a subdivision map or record of survey filed in the Office of the Santa Clara County Recorder.

Manager or Town Manager: Town Manager or any person authorized or designated by the Town Manager to act on the Town Manager's behalf.

Owner: Any person who acknowledges ownership of an animal or who harbors or keeps an animal for five (5) or more consecutive days. Owner means a natural person over the age of eighteen (18) who owns, possesses, harbors, controls or has custody of an animal. All adults residing at the same property address shall be rebuttably presumed to be the owner of any animal owned, possessed, harbored or controlled on the property. If an entity other than a natural person claims ownership of an animal, every natural person that exercises control over, or has an ownership interest in the entity has been deemed to be an owner of the animal for purpose of this Title.

Ownership: Any person keeping, harboring, controlling, having custody of, or possessing one (1) or more animals for a period of not less than five (5) days.

Person: Any individual, establishment, firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, corporation, or company.

Pet: Any animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.

Pet shop: A location or facility where animals are offered for sale, exchange, barter, or hire to the general public.

Police dog: Any dog that is officially used by a peace officer in the course of law enforcement duties.

Potentially dangerous dog: Any dog, except a dog assisting a peace officer engaged in law enforcement duties, that:

(1) Without provocation, on two (2) separate occasions within the prior 36-month period, threatens the safety of persons while the persons are off the property of the owner or keeper of the dog;

(2) Without provocation, on two (2) separate occasions within the prior 36-month period, while off the property of the owner or keeper of the dog, chases or approaches humans or domestic animals or livestock in a threatening manner or apparent attitude of attack or manner which require the persons to take defensive action; or

(3) Injures a domestic animal to an extent that is less than severe but which requires veterinary care.

Premises: Any lot or parcel of land owned, leased or rented by a person.

Private kennel: A person who maintains within or adjoining their private residence four (4) or more dogs over four (4) months of age, or five (5) or more cats over four (4) months of age, but no more than a combined total of seven (7) dogs and cats; such animals are for that person's recreational use or for exhibition in conformation shows, field or obedience trials and where the sale of offspring is not the primary function of the kennel. The maintenance of more than two (2) male dogs or cats used for breeding purposes for which compensation is received, or the parturition and rearing of more than two (2) litters of dogs or cats in any one (1) calendar year from the total number of females owned or maintained by that person on the premises, shall be a rebuttable presumption that such animals are owned or maintained for the purposes of commercial breeding; and the owner of the premises shall be subject to the permit requirements of a commercial kennel.

Provocation:

(1) Any deliberate act by a person towards a dog or any other animal done with the intent to tease, torment, abuse, assault, or otherwise cause a reaction by the dog or other animal; provided, however, that any act by a person done with the intent to discourage or prevent a dog or other animal from attacking shall not be considered to be a provocation.

(2) An act intended, or which would be reasonably understood to cause bodily injury to the dog's owner, owner's family, owner's property or domestic animals, in the presence of the dog; or

(3) The entry into a private, fully enclosed area of the owner's real property with the intent of committing a crime or injuring a person.

Public place: Includes but is not limited to, streets, highways, sidewalks, carnivals, shopping malls, parks and areas in front of commercial establishments, or any other area that is customarily open to the general public.

Quarantine: Isolation of an animal in a place and manner approved by the health office or animal control officer.

Service animal: An animal that is individually trained to do the work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness or limitations to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals and the work or task an animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals. Miniature horses that have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities may also qualify as service animals provided: a) They are house broken; b) They are under the owner's control; c) Town facilities can accommodate the miniature horse's type, size and weight; and d) That the miniature horse's presence will not compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations of the facility.

Severe injury: Any physical injury to a human being or animal that results in muscle tears or disfiguring lacerations or requires multiple sutures or corrective or cosmetic surgery.

Trap-neuter-return: The process of humanely trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, ear tipping, obtaining veterinary treatment for, and returning feral cats to their original location.

Trap-neuter-return organization: Any organization or person duly affiliated with said organization that engages in the process of humanely trapping feral cats for the purpose of providing sterilization, vaccination or veterinary treatment for those animals and that provides evidence satisfactory to the Town Manager or Town Attorney of an affiliation with a recognized group with a history of active trap-neuter-return activity.

Trespass: The entry into a private, fully enclosed area of the owner's real property with the intent of committing a crime or injuring a person.

Vaccination: A protective inoculation against rabies with an anti-rabies vaccine recognized and approved by the Santa Clara County Health Department.

Veterinary hospital: Any establishment maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian for surgery, and/or the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals.

Vicious dog: Any dog, except a dog assisting a peace officer engaged in law enforcement duties, that has committed or meets any one (1) of the following:

(1) Caused a severe injury to or killed a human being on public or private property;

(2) Has, after having been designated dangerous, engaged in the same behavior that resulted in that designation or other behaviors defined in the dangerous designation.

Wild animal: Any animal as defined by Fish and Game Code Section 4000, as may be amended, and game mammals as defined by Fish and Game Code Section 3950, as may be amended. Wild animal means all mammals wild by nature, and/or that can survive in their natural environment without the help of people. Some examples include, but are not exclusive to: deer, bears, squirrels, coyotes, skunks, foxes, raccoons, and the like.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18; Ord. No. 2320, § III, 9-7-21)

Cross reference— Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1.10.015.

This chapter is not intended to regulate the use of land. Other provisions of the Town Code regulate the number and types of animals and animal establishments that may be maintained in specific zoning districts. Nothing in this chapter is intended to supersede any provision of the Town of Los Gatos Zoning Regulations.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

No person owning or having control of any animal shall permit such animal to stray or run at large upon any public street or other public place, or upon any private place or property or common area of any planned development, cluster, townhouse or condominium project, without the consent of the owner or person in control thereof.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) An animal control officer shall not seize or impound a dog for running at large in violation of section 4.10.020 when the dog has not strayed from and is upon private property owned by the dog owner or the person who has a right to control the dog, or upon private property to which the dog owner or person who has a right to control the dog has a right of possession.

(b) A dog that has strayed from but then returned to the private property of its owner or the person who has a right to control the dog shall not be seized or impounded merely for violation of section 4.10.020, but in such a case a citation for such violation may be issued; provided, however, that if in such a situation, the owner or the person who has a right to control the dog is not at home, or the premises are not secure such as to prevent the dog from straying from the private property owned by the dog owner again, the dog may be impounded, but the officer shall post a notice of such impoundment on the front door of the living unit of the owner or person who has a right to control the dog. This notice shall state the following: that the dog has been impounded, where the dog is being held, the name, address and telephone number of the agency or person to be contacted regarding release of the dog, and an indication of the ultimate disposition of the dog if no action to regain it is taken within a specified period of time by its owner or by the person who has a right to control the dog.

(c) This section shall not otherwise affect the authority of an animal control officer to seize or impound a dog or issue citations as a result of the violation of any sections of this Chapter 4 other than section 4.10.025(a).

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) Any person having knowledge that any animal is known to have or is suspected of having bitten any person shall immediately report that fact to the Animal Control Agency or health officer with full information with regard to the incident.

(b) Upon receipt of such a report, an animal control officer is authorized to seize the animal and quarantine such animal for a period of ten (10) days or such other period as may be prescribed by the state department of health or determined to be in the best interest of public safety by the animal control officer. The health officer or animal control officer may permit the owner to quarantine the animal on the owner's premises or at an approved boarding facility.

(c) Any person who fails, refuses or neglects to quarantine any animal as ordered by the health or animal control officer, or who refuses to allow the health or animal control officer to inspect any private premises where the animal is kept, is guilty of a misdemeanor. No animal shall be removed or released during the quarantine period without written permission of the health or animal control officer.

(d) The Town Manager may charge a fee, as set forth in a resolution of the Town Council for the Town's costs of quarantining dogs and inspections for quarantine of animals. Any fee charged shall be paid by the owner or person who has legal custody of the animal. Such a fee shall be in addition to the actual costs of the health or animal control officer in housing, feeding and otherwise caring for a quarantined animal.

(e) The specimens of any animal that dies or is destroyed while under quarantine shall be submitted to the laboratory of the County health department for rabies examination.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) The owner or person with the right to control any animal that the person knows to be infected with any disease transmittable to humans shall not permit that animal to remain within the county other than at a veterinary hospital approved by the health officer, unless the health officer expressly approves an alternate means of confinement.

(b) The animal control officer will seize any animal to be infected with any disease transmittable to humans. The animal control officer will keep such animal in a safe place for a period sufficient to observe examination and determined whether such animal is diseased.

(c) Diseased or vicious animals which are a danger to public health or safety shall be impounded and may be destroyed.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) Upon the death of any animal, the owner or person in charge thereof shall provide for the burial, incineration, or other disposition of the body of such animal. If the owner or person in charge of any dead animal is unable to provide for burial or other disposition, the owner or person in charge may request the animal control officer to dispose of the body of such animal.

(b) Upon learning that the body of a dead animal has not been disposed of in a safe and sanitary manner, the animal control officer will remove the animal's body immediately; provided, however, that the animal control officer shall not be required to remove and dispose of bodies of dead animals on state highways or on state property. Before disposing of the body of a dead animal, the animal control officer will give notice to the owner of the animal, if known, within seventy-two (72) hours of the time that the dead animal is removed.

(c) The Town Manager will collect a fee sufficient to defray the costs incident to removal and disposal of dead animals which shall be paid by the owner or person in charge thereof, if known; but no fee shall be charged to the owner or person in charge of a dead dog or cat if that person has attained the age of sixty-five (65) years.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18; Ord. No. 2320, § III, 9-7-21)

It is unlawful to abandon any animal in the Town, as defined by Section 4.10.010.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

No person having the control or care of any animal or animals shall permit any such animal to enter or remain in Town-owned or managed buildings other than a building used for the purpose of care, detention, space control or treatment of animals, or a building used for training classes, shows or exhibitions, with the exception of service animals, as defined by state law, or dogs used in law enforcement by a governmental agency, or persons expressly authorized by the Town Manager.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

Then Town Manager and animal control officer shall have the following power and authority:

(a) To enforce the provisions of this chapter and state laws relating to the care, treatment, impounding and destruction of animals.

(b) To arrest any person who violates any provision of this chapter in the manner provided by section 836.5 of the Penal Code.

(c) Animal control officer to issue citation pursuant to section 607g of the Civil Code.

(d) To act as a public officer pursuant to Food and Agricultural Code section 7.

(e) The Town Manager may formulate rules and regulations in conformity with and for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall have the same force and effect as this ordinance when adopted by the Town Council and any violation shall be deemed a violation of the Town Code.

(f) Pursuant to Civil Code section 607g, the Town Manager may deputize as an animal control officer any officer of any animal control organization.

(g) The animal control officer and Town Manager, relying on the expertise of the animal control officer, may make the determination whether an animal poses a threat to the public health and safety. If it is determined that the animal poses such a threat, the Town Manager and animal control officer: a) may take no further action against the animal, b) may order conditions regarding care and keeping of the animal, c) may require that the animal owner secure a permit to keep such animal, d) may require that the animal be permanently removed from the Town, e) may designate the animal potentially dangerous, dangerous, or vicious, f) may decide that the owner will lose all rights of ownership and control of the animal, or g) may order the animal destroyed. Any owner of an animal who is dissatisfied with the determination made by the animal control officer and/or Town Manager may follow the procedures in section 4.30.030—4.40.045.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2026, § II, 2-18-97; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) The Town Manager and/or an animal control officer shall have the power to enter upon and inspect any premises where any animal is kept or harbored when such entry is necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter. An inspection or search warrant will be obtained whenever required by law unless such requirement is waived by the occupant of the premises by granting consent to enter and inspect.

(b) This entry and inspection will be made only after the occupant of the premises, if any, has been given written or oral notice of the inspection by the Town Manager and/or an animal control officer. If the land is unoccupied, the Town Manager and/or animal control officer will make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having control of the property before making entry.

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Town Manager and/or an animal control officer has reasonable cause to believe the keeping or maintaining of any animal is so hazardous as to require an immediate inspection to save the animal or protect public health or safety, the Town Manager and/or animal control officer shall have the power, under this Code and the provisions of Penal Code section 597.1, to immediately enter and inspect the property with the use of reasonable force. If the property is occupied in such a circumstance, the Town Manager and/or an animal control officer will first attempt to notify the occupant and demand entry. Failure or refusal to permit such an inspection constitutes a misdemeanor.

(d) Each animal control officer shall have and is hereby vested with the authority of a peace officer to the extent provided by law, see Penal Code section 830.9. Each animal control officer may, in the performance of the animal control officer's duties, enter upon any property to ascertain if any of the provisions of the chapter or any state laws relating to disease, care, treatment, impounding of, or cruelty to animals are being violated. Each animal control officer may serve warrants and make citations or arrests for the violation of the provisions of this chapter or any state laws in the manner provided by law.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18; Ord. No. 2320, § III, 9-7-21)

In addition to Penal Code section 596, it shall be unlawful for any person to willfully administer poison to any dog, cat, or other domestic animal or to willfully place, expose or leave poisonous or harmful substances of any kind in any place with intent to injure or kill any dog, cat, or other domestic animal. Further, it shall be unlawful for any person to maliciously kill, maim, wound, mutilate, torment, torture, or physically abuse any animal.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) No person owning or having control of any animal shall permit the animal to do any of the following:

(1) Defecate or urinate on private property (other than that of the owner or the person having control of the animal);

(2) Defecate on public property without immediately removing the excrement to a proper receptacle;

(3) Permit an animal to obstruct or interfere with the reasonable and comfortable use of property by chasing vehicles, molesting passersby, barking, howling, baying, or making any other noise;

(4) Permit unsanitary or improper conditions to exist on the premises where that animal is kept that would cause odors, attract flies or vermin, or otherwise be injurious to public health and safety, or injurious to the health and safety of the animal, or be indecent, or offensive to the senses, or be such an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by other persons;

(5) Trespass on school grounds;

(6) Attack or bite other humans or animals;

(7) Damage private or public property;

(8) Repeatedly run at large;

(9) Run at large while in the stage of estrus;

(10) Howl, bark, meow, squawk, or make other noises continuously and/or incessantly for a period of ten (10) minutes or intermittently for one-half (½) hour or more which creates a noise disturbance across a residential or commercial property plane or within a noise sensitive zone shall be prohibited. For the purpose of this chapter, the animal or bird noise shall not be deemed a disturbance if a person is trespassing or threatening to trespass upon private property in or upon which the animal or bird is situated or for any other legitimate cause which teased or provoked the animal or bird.

(b) The animal control officer may seize and impound any animal causing or creating a public nuisance.

(c) A violation of this section, or any section of this Code which designates nuisance conduct, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Violations of this section can be charged as an infraction or a misdemeanor and prosecuted criminally, civilly, or administratively. The remedies provided in this section are not exclusive and nothing in this section shall preclude the use or application of any other remedies, penalties or procedures established by law.

(d) Any private person may maintain an action under Civil Code section 3493 for enforcement of this section declaring certain acts a public nuisance, if such acts are specifically injurious to that person.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) Other than an individual actually in the process of working a dog or other animal for ranching purposes, no person shall transport or carry an animal in a motor vehicle, unless the animal is safely enclosed within the vehicle by means of a container, cage, or other device that will prevent the animal from falling from, jumping from, or being thrown from the motor vehicle.

(b) No person shall leave any dog or other animal in an unattended motor vehicle without adequate ventilation or in such a manner as to subject the animal to extreme temperatures that may adversely affect the health or well-being of the animal.

(c) An animal control officer, police officer or safety officer is authorized to use reasonable force to remove an animal from a vehicle when it appears that the animal's health, safety or welfare is or will be endangered.

(Ord. No. 1971, § II, 2-22-94; Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

No person shall injure, torture, tease, kick, strike, mutilate, disable, kill or otherwise interfere with any police dog or horse within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Town while the police dog(s) or horse is in the custody of a police officer and/or is being used in the performance of official duties.

(Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)

(a) It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to any feral or wild animal, or to scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible to feral or wild animals (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") on any public property (which includes, but is not limited to, public buildings, streets, street rights-of-way, sidewalks, driveways, parks, school grounds, public facilities or any other public property), or portion thereof, in the Town.

(b) This section does not apply to Town or other public agency-authorized events or programs.

(c) It is unlawful and a violation of state law for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to any wild animals on public or private property. No person may leave, store, or maintain any attractant or food in a location and manner accessible to any wild animal on public or private property.

(d) It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to feral animals on any private property not owned by the feeder, or on any private property that is shared by multiple people, such as condominiums, townhouses or apartment complexes, without the express written consent of the owner of the property and all tenants/residents living on that property.

(e) The prohibitions in subsections a, c, and d do not apply to:

(1) Any person who is the legal owner/guardian of the wild animal and the wild animal is kept under a valid license or permit issued by the State Department of Fish and Game, and in compliance with all applicable laws.

(2) Any person who feeds or provides an attractant or food to a trapped, injured, or unweaned animal between the time that the agency charged with animal control, or its designated agent, is notified of the animal and the animal is picked up by said agency.

(3) A wildlife rehabilitator.

(4) An animal rescuer as defined by this Code or a valid organization engaged in the practice of Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) who is using an attractant or food to trap an animal for the purpose of rescue work, placing the animal(s) in permanent homes or foster homes, or trapping the animal for the purpose of sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, ear-tipping or obtaining other veterinary care, in compliance with any applicable federal or state law and under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, where applicable. Said person or organization must first complete all of the following:

a. Register with the Town Manager and show satisfactory evidence of a history of or affiliation with a recognized group with a history of active placement or TNR activity and obtain a permit before engaging in rescue or TNR practices.

b. Said person or organization must provide information to the Town Manager showing the location where the rescue or TNR work is to take place, the proposed method for placement and removal of the attractant, and the length of time they expect to engage in the rescue or TNR work at this location.

c. The use of attractants or food to trap the animal for these purposes must comply with best practices and guidelines for feeding as established by the agency charged with animal control, or Town of Los Gatos, and reputable rescue or TNR agencies. These guidelines should include, but not necessarily be limited to, putting out only an amount of food that can be consumed by the target animal(s) in thirty (30) minutes, putting out food at the same place and same time each incidence of feeding to establish a pattern, not overfeeding, and picking up and removing any remaining food after thirty (30) minutes of first placing it down to prevent wildlife, litter, sanitation issues, and other nuisance consequences.

d. Any permit or permission issued by the Town Manager can be revoked at any time if the Town Manager or animal control officer determines the conduct violates the requirements for the permit.

e. Any permit issued under this article shall expire six (6) months from date of issuance. The procedure for the renewal of a permit shall be the same as for an original permit.

f. Upon failure to make application for the renewal of a permit within thirty (30) days of the expiration of a permit, or prior thereto, the applicant's permit could be denied and the applicant, if the permit is renewed, shall pay in addition to the permit fee, a penalty for late renewal as set forth by Town Council resolution.

(5) Any person with a bird feeder provided the feeders are suspended on a cable or other device to make them inaccessible to wild animals and the area below the feeders are kept free from the accumulation of seed debris.

(6) A landlord or property owner can be liable for the nuisance conduct of renters or tenants on their property.

(Ord. No. 2276, § 1, 9-18-18)