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Home My WebLink About2004 07 12 Public Hearings 411 COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM 411 Consent Informational Public Hearing X Regular July 12. 2004 Meeting 7/,/()'! Att. / Dept. Mgr. / REQUEST: The City Attorney requests that the City Commission approve on First Reading Ordinance 2004-30 which shall amend Chapter 13 of the City Code, Nuisances, and declares certain domestic animal activities public nuisances. PURPOSE: The pmpose of this ordinance is to establish ceratin animal activities as public nuisances in an attempt to address and abate animal"nuisance activities within the City of Winter Springs. APPLICABLE LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY: 1. Florida Municipal Home Rule Powers Act. 2. The Florida Supreme Court has held that municipalities have broad discretion in determining what constitutes a public nuisance and is authorized under its police powers to take the appropriate actions required to abate a public nuisance. Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. Powell, 262 So. 2d 881, 884 (Fla. 1972). 3. All property including animals, is subj ect to the right of the state to regulate it on the condition that is use shall not be injurious to the rights of others. Additionally, the regulation of animals has a long-standing history of constitutionality. City of Sarasota v. Calhoun, 685 So. 2d 1338 Page 1 of 2 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1996); Gates v. City of Sanford, 566 So. 2d 47,49 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). 4. Chapter 13, Nuisances, City Code. 5. Chapter 2, Administration, Article ill, Boards, Committees, Commissions, Division 2, Code Enforcement, City Code. CONSIDERATIONS: 1. The keeping of certain domestic animals, while presumably enjoyable for the animals' owners, can oftentimes cause annoyance to and disturb or endanger other members of the surrounding community due to, among other things, excessive noise or odor, unrestrained, uncontrolled or violent animals, and excessive insect breeding. 2. Currently, the City Code does not provide an explicit list of animal activities or circumstances surrounding animal ownership that may be abated by the City as public nuisances. 3. This ordinance provides a list of animal activities that are deemed public nuisances and provides that owners of such animals in violation of this ordinance be cited for a Class III Violation under Chapter 2 of the City Code. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The City Attorney recommends approval of Ordinance No 2004-30 on First Reading and that Ordinance No. 2004-30 be publicly advertised for Second and Final Reading. ATTACHMENT: Ordinance No. 2004-30. COMMISSION ACTION: The City Commission has previously directed that City staff prepare an ordinance addressing ongoing citizen complaints regarding certain circumstances in the community that may constitute public nuisances. Page 2 of 2 ORDINANCE NO. 2004-30 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA AMENDING THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 13, NUISANCES, ARTICLE IV, MISCELLANEOUS NUISANCES; PROVIDING FOR INTENTS AND PURPOSES; DECLARING THAT CERTAIN ACTIVITIES SHALL CONSTITUTE ANIMAL NUISANCES; PROVIDING FOR AN APPLICABLE CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF PRIOR INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS, INCORPORATION INTO THE CODE, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City is granted the authority, under Section 2(b), Article vm, of the State Constitution, to exercise any power for municipal purposes, except when expressly prohibited by law; and WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs has broad discretion in determining what constitutes a public nuisance and is authorized under its police powers to take the appropriate actions required to abate a public nuisance. See Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. Powell, 262 So. 2d 881, 884 (Fla. 1972); and WHEREAS, anything which is detrimental to the health or threatens danger to persons or property within a city may be impeded and dealt with by the city as a nuisance. See Knowles v. Central Allapattae Prop., Inc., 198 So. 819, 822 (Fla. 1940); and WHEREAS, all property, including animals, is subject to the right of the state to regulate it on the condition that its use shall not be injurious to the rights of others. See Gates v. City of Sanford, 566 So. 2d 47,49 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); WHEREAS, the regulation of animals has a long-standing history of constitutionality. See City of Sarasota v. Calhoun, 685 So. 2d 1338 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1996); Gates v. City of Sanford, 566 So. 2d 47,49 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); and WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs Code of Ordinances provides in Section 2-69.3 that city codes and ordinances enacted or amended may set forth the applicable civil penalty for violations of those codes or ordinances by designating the appropriate violation classification; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs, Florida, hereby finds this Ordinance to be in the best interests of the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Winter Springs. City of Winter Springs Ordinance No" 2004-30 Page 1 of 4 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CliTY OF WINTER SPRINGS HEREBY ORDAINS, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City of Winter Springs Code Chapter 13, Nuisances, is hereby amended as follows: (underlined type indicates additions and strikeout type indicates deletions, while asterisks (* * *) indicate a deletion from the Ordinance of text existing in Chapter 13. It is intended that the text in Chapter 13 denoted by the asterisks and set forth in this Ordinance shall remain unchanged from the language existing prior to adoption of this Ordinance). CHAPTER 13. NUISANCES *** ARTICLE IV. MISCELLANEOUS NUISANCES * * * Sec. 13-63. Animal activities as public nuisance. ~ The purpose of this section is to regulate and abate public nuisances created by loud. violent. or unsupervised domestic animals. and to protect and promote the public health. safety and welfare. and the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the City of Winter Springs. iliL For purooses of this section. the term "domestic animal" shall mean any equine or bovine animal. goat. sheep. swine. dog. cat. bird. poultry or other domestic animal or livestock. !fl A domestic animal doing any of the following is hereby declared a public nuisance: ill Barking. crying. howling. screeching. squawking. screaming. whining. or causing any other disturbing noise in an excessive or continuous manner: m Running and/or wandering unrestrained or uncontrolled upon public or private property not owned or controlled by the animal's owner or the person in possession and control of the animal. unless: !AL Expressly authorized by the property owner to do so: or ill.l The property is expressly designated to include the presence of animals. City of Winter Springs Ordinance No. 2004-30 Page 2 of 4 Ql Biting. attacking. molesting. chasing or disturbing any person without provocation on one or more occasions: ffi Chasing or disturbing any vehicle without provocation on one or more occaSiOns: ffi Trespassing upon public or private property in such a manner as to damage the property: !Ql Attacking other domestic animals unprovoked on one or more occasions: ill Creating noxious or offensive odors unable to be promptly remedied by the animal's owner. or person in possession and control of the animal: lID.. Defecating upon any public place or upon premises not owned or controlled by the animal's owner or the person in possession and control of the animal unless promptly removed: f2L Creating a filthy or unsanitary environment that generates excessive insect breeding or attracts rodents. @ This section shall not be construed to prohibit the use of dogs used by the physically disabled pursuant to ~ 413.08. Florida Statutes. and dog:s used by law enforcement pursuant to ~ 767.16. Florida Statutes. llU.. Any person owning or in possession and control of any animal in violation of this section shall be subject to a Class ill Violation pursuant to Section 2-69.3. Section 2. Repeal of Prior Inconsistent Ordinances and Resolutions. All prior inconsistent ordinances and resolutions adopted by the City Commission, or parts of prior ordinances and resolutions in conflict herewith. are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict. Section 3. Incorporation Into Code. This ordinance shall be incorporated into the Winter Springs City Code and any section or paragraph number or letter and any heading may be changed or modified as necessary to effectuate the foregoing. Section 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word or provision of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether for substantive, procedural, or any other reason, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. City of Winter Springs Ordinance No. 2004-30 Page 3 of 4 Section 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption by the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs, Florida, and pursuant to the City Charter. ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs, Florida, in a regular meeting assembled on the _ day of , 2004. JOHN F. BUSH, Mayor ATTEST: ANDREA LORENZO-LUACES City Clerk Approved as to legal form and sufficiency for the City of Winter Springs only: Anthony A. Garganese, City Attorney First Reading: Second Reading: Effective Date: City of Winter Springs Ordinance No. 2004-30 Page 4 of 4