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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 - Dogs on the BeachCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 3 July 27, 2010 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Recreation & Senior Services Department Laura Detweiler, Director 949 - 644 -3157, Idetweiler(a)newportbeachca.aov Matthew Lohr, Recreation Manager 949 - 644 -3164, mlohr newportbeachca.gov SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 7.04.030 OF TITLE 7 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMALS PROHIBITED ON PUBLIC BEACHES ISSUE Should the City Council amend Section 7.04.030 of Title 7 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code to change the hours that any animal is prohibited on public beaches from 9:00am - 5:00pm to 10:00am - 4:30pm? In addition, change the term "Community Services" to Recreation and Senior Services Department. RECOMMENDATION 1. That City Council approve the Parks, Beaches & Recreation (PB &R) Commission's recommendation to amend Section 7.04.030 of Title 7 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code changing the current hours of nine am to five p.m. to the proposed hours of 10:00am to 4:30pm which prohibits any animal in the areas as designated in Section 7.04.025 of Title 7. 2. That the City Council approve changing title of Community Services Department to Recreation and Senior Services Department. 3. Introduce Ordinance No. 2010 - amending the hours that any animal is prohibited in the area as designated in Section 7.04.025 of Title 1 and pass to second reading on August 10, 2010. DISCUSSION In March 2010, a group of local dog owners met with staff from Recreation, Fire, Beach Lifeguards and Animal Control to discuss changing the hours that dogs on leash are allowed on the beach. The residents requested that dogs on leash be allowed on the beach all day between the months of September and May. Of additional concern to this group were the winter months of November and December where the days are shorter with minimal daylight that allow for dog walking under the current ordinance. Understanding that the winter months of November and December provide for very little daylight for dog walking on the beach, staff collectively agreed that adding an hour in the morning and a half hour in the afternoon would provide for greater access with CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE CHANGE AMENDING SECTION 7.04.030 OF TITLE 7 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMALS PROHIBITED ON PUBLICBEACHES Page 2 daylight and would not cause great concern with beach crowds gathering at that time. Schedule consistency of when dogs are permitted on the beach is and remains of utmost importance for enforcement purposes and is the basis of staffs recommendation for the ordinance time change to remain static throughout the year. Recreation & Senior Services staff with concurrence from Fire Department, Beach Lifeguards and Police Department Animal Control presented a report to the PB &R Commission on June 1, 2010. The PB &R Commission agreed with staffs recommendation that it be forwarded to City Council for their consideration to amend Section 7.04.030 of Title 7 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code pertaining to leashed Dogs on the Beach be allowed before 10am and after 4:30pm. BACKGROUND In 1989, the City of Newport Beach Municipal Code Section 7.04.030 was changed to prohibit animals on public beaches during summer months (roughly June through September) between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm. In 1996, staff sought to clarify the ordinance by simplifying it to read: "No animals allowed on public beaches any day of the year between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm," which was amended by City Council that same year. The reason for the amendment was that Animal Control Officers found that most citizens in violation of the ordinance had a misunderstanding that centered around what months animals were and were not allowed on public beaches. Of further importance considered when examining a change to the ordinance, was the winter climate which is not often uncharacteristically warm, but there are more than a few weeks each winter in which this area is under the affect of a Santa Ana condition or another weather system that pushes the temperatures into the 80's on a winter day. Public beach populations swell and as the ordinance allowed animals on the beach during the day in the winter, conflicts between the animals and beachgoers would arise. Fights between animals also occurred. Beachgoer complaints of animal urination and defecation were common and more hours had to be spent by officers in patrol of the beaches during warmer weather in winter. Throughout the years certain environmental concerns have surfaced over this issue, not the least of which relates to the amount of animal waste that is deposited upon and into the sand of public beaches. A portion of this waste can be monitored in the form of pet owners picking up after their pets. However, as one can imagine, any liquid waste is unrecoverable and resides in the sand until diluted by the environment. One other environmental concern is that of the Snowy Plover bird that has as its habitat salt water sand environments and the effects animal intrusion might have on that species' habits. As our ordinance is concerned, however, the habitats of this bird might be disturbed anytime animals are allowed on the beaches. It is of no consequence as to time of year or time of day that animals are allowed on the beaches for this to occur. It is noteworthy, however, that the Snowy Plover lays its eggs in early May. Our prior ordinance would have allowed animals on the beaches during this month. Each of the aforementioned concerns were discussed and weighed on staff's recommendation to CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE CHANGE AMENDING SECTION 7.04.030 OF TITLE 7 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMALS PROHIBITED ON PUBLICBEACHES Page 3 only increase the window of time where dogs would be allowed on the beach by an hour and a half each day. To provide City Council with comparison data, several Orange County coastal communities were contacted to ascertain how their ordinances treat this issue. A synopsis of that data follows. Cities prohibiting animals on public beaches year- round: • Dana Point . Seal Beach • San Clemente • Huntington Beach Cities allowing dogs on beaches year -round under certain conditions: in Laguna Beach animals are not allowed on beaches between the hours of 8:00am to 6:00pm from June 15 to September 16. Animals must be leashed at all times. Animals are not allowed in play equipment areas on beaches at any time. Huntington Beach allows dogs only on their dog beach which is clearly defined to delineate it from the remainder of their beaches. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The City Council's approval of this Agenda Item does not require environmental review. PUBLIC NOTICE Staff sent out an E- Select Alert to residents regarding the proposed change in hours and was posted on the City's website. The agenda item has been noticed according to The Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). FUNDING AVAILABILITY There is minimal cost to print new stickers to be placed over existing hours posted on the beach signs. The local group of dog owners has volunteered to assist with the placement of these stickers to eliminate staff costs. Prepared by: Submitted by: o M thew L r' ura Detwe Re eation Manager ecreation & Senior Services Director Attachments: A. Proposed Ordinance B. Draft PB &R Commission Minutes dated June 1, 2010 ATTACHMENT A ORDINANCE NO. 2010- AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AMENDING SECTION 7.04.030, OF TITLE 7 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMALS PROHIBITED ON PUBLIC BEACHES The City Council of the City of Newport Beach does hereby ordain that certain Newport Beach Municipal Code section is amended to read, in full, as follows: SECTION 1: Section 7.04.030 of Chapter 7.04 is amended to read as follows: A. No person having the care, custody, charge or control of any animal shall permit or allow that animal to be on any ocean front beach or ocean front sidewalk or on any bay front beach between the hours nine10:00 -a -m- to f+ve4:30 -p.m: year- round. B. No person having the care, custody, charge or control of any animal shall permit or allow that animal to be on any ocean front beach, ocean front sidewalk, bay front beach or bay front sidewalk unless that person has, in his or her possession, an implement or device capable of removing any feces deposited by the animal. C. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to: 1. Any animal enrolled and participating in obedience classes offered by the 6emn%+r Eecreation and-& Senior Services Department of the City or in any show for which the City has issued a special event permit; 2. Any guide dog while being used by a blind person or any dog being trained to be a guide dog for the blind pursuant to a recognized program of training provided the dog is on a leash and the person in charge has an official identification card issued for such purposes; 3. Any blind person. SECTION 2: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional. SECTION 3: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper of the City, and it shall be effective thirty (30) days after its adoption. This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, held on the _ day of 2010, and adopted on the _ day of , 2010 by the following vote, to wit: AYES, COUNCILMEMBERS CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE CHANGE AMENDING SECTION 7.04.030 OF TITLE 7 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMALS PROHIBITED ON PUBLICBEACHES Page 5 NOES, COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT COUNCILMEMBERS lii Aytol ATTEST: CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY By Do/dlk. H IT, CITY ATTORNEY F: users/cattshared /Ordinance /Chapter 7.04.030 ATTACHMENT B Excerpt of D R A F T PB&R Commission Minutes dated June 1, 2010 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Parks, Beaches & Recreation Comrnission Regular Meeting June 1, 2010 — 71m Convened 7:04Pm ROLL CALL Present: Tim Brown, Chair Tom Anderson Bill Garrett Phillip Lugar Greg Ruzicka Absent: Kathy Hamilton Marie Marston Staff: Laura Detweiler, Recreation & Senior Services Director Mark Harmon, General Services Director Sean Levin, Recreation Superintendent Teri Craig, Admin Asst 4. Ordinance Change Amending Section 7.04.030 of Title 7 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code pertaining to Dogs — Manager Lohr reviewed the staff report and that at the request of the community, the Commission is asked to consider forwarding their recommendation to the City Council for their review /approval to amend Section 7.04.030 of Title 7 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code pertaining to Dogs with a leash be allowed on the beach before loam and after 4:3opm. He stated that since 1996 dogs have been allowed on the beach with a leash before gam and after 5Pm. He stated that staff met with residents, lifeguards and animal control to discuss a possible change to the ordinance. He noted that residents requested that dogs be allowed on the beach without restriction from mid September to Memorial Day. He stated that they noted that during the winter months that the hours before gam and after 51)m provide very little daylight. He went on to report that staff agreed that it would be feasible to recommend the change to before loam and after 4:3opm. He noted that the Police Department does not have the resources to expand the hours beyond what is being recommended here today. He introduced Karen Weigand, Traffic Control and Valerie Schomburg, Animal Control Officer to the Commission and that they were available for questions. Commissioner Garret asked about statistics on citations regarding animal control that might show that these numbers have increased. Manager Lohr stated that from 2005 to 2009 the statistics do show about a 2% increase. Commissioner Lugar asked if there were statistical projections if these hours were increased. Manager Lohr stated that after meeting with police and lifeguards, that it was felt that this time change of before roam and after 4:30pm would have little effect on the number of citations issued and felt comfortable with this time change. Officer Schomburg stated that there are only three animal control officers and that their first priority is public safety and radio calls. She went on to say that if and when there is extra time that they will concentrate on enforcement at the beaches, parks, schools and neighborhoods for leash violations. Discussion ensued regarding enforcement issues and signage on the beach and the boardwalk. Chair Brown opened the public discussion Max Liskin stated that he believes that enforcement is fair; but noted that the rules on the boardwalk are inconsistent; reciting times that the beach is closed but the boardwalk isn't. He suggested that signage be listed in a more positive way and that more doggy dispensers are needed and would be happy to sponsor the dispenses and bags for a couple of hundred dollars a year and suggested that that people be fined if they are with a dog and that their bag is not in plain sight. He also noted that he would be amenable to pay for a permit that would allow his dog to be on the beach. Shirley Reinkar stated that she had spearheaded the campaign and provided additional history to the Commission. She urged the Commission to allow dogs on the beach before roam and after 0111. Kim Jameson stated that the reason for the time change is because of the winter and suggested a dog park in the West Newport area. She noted that if the time allotted for dogs on the beach were increased than less citations would be written. Carol Seckel urged support of the increased hours of before roam and after 4Pm. Jerry Ramsey stated that he believes that the time should change with the different seasons; i.e. longer hours in the fall and winter and less during the spring and summer. Greg Reinkar recommended that there not be any restriction at all during the winter. Chris Stineman agreed that there should be no restrictions during the winter and during the rest of the year that before roam and after 4Pm would work. Barbara Barnard also agreed there should be no restrictions during the winter and during the rest of the year before roam and after 4pm would work. Nick Glazer stated that dogs should be given free reign during the winter months. Charlie Cotton also agreed that dogs be allowed on the beach before roam and after 4Pm and free reign during the winter. Chair Brown closed the public discussion Chair Brown asked if staff is requesting the Commission to recommend that Council approve that dogs on leash be allowed before loam and after 4:3opm. Manager Lohr stated yes, that beach lifeguards felt that extending it to 0111 in the afternoon would cause conflicts between beach goers and other dogs. It would be important that these hours be consistent throughout the year to eliminate confusion for those bringing dogs to the beach and for animal control staff who enforce the rules.