Within the territorial limits of the town, knowingly harboring
a dog shall be unlawful if the dog’s owner fails to prevent
the dog from habitually barking, whining, crying, howling, or yelping
in such a manner that the resulting noise (“habitual barking”)
disturbs the peace and quiet of a neighborhood or a nearby area to
such an extent that it causes an unreasonable annoyance to persons
of ordinary sensibilities living in such neighborhood or such nearby
area.
(Ordinance 2014-2-4C adopted 2/4/14)
(a)
Reports
relating to habitual barking prohibited by this article must be submitted
in writing to the animal control officer or other person designated
by the town manager and must include the date of the violation, the
property address or general description of the premises where the
violation occurred, and a brief description of the occurrence. A report
of a violation will not be acted upon under this article unless it
is submitted to the town in the manner stated above within 15 days
after the date of the reported occurrence.
(b)
Upon
receipt of a properly submitted written report, the town shall send
written notice to the person reasonably determined to be the dog’s
owner, or, alternatively, if the identity of the dog’s owner
cannot be readily determined, to the person who owns, occupies, or
controls the property or premises referenced in the report of violation,
in which case the person that owns, occupies, or controls such property
or premises shall be deemed for the purposes of this article to be
the dog’s owner. The written notice shall include the property
address or general description of the premises where the reported
violation occurred, the date of the occurrence, and a warning that:
(1)
The dog must be prevented from habitual barking in a manner prohibited
by this article; and
(2)
If the town receives any reports of an additional violation(s) of
this article by the owner–or an additional violation(s) of this
article involving the same property or premises–occurring within
the 30-day period beginning after the date of the written notice,
then without further notice one or more citations may be issued and/or
the matter otherwise referred to the municipal court for prosecution.
(c)
The written notice described above shall be sent to the owner via certified mail return receipt requested, or be personally served by the animal control officer or that officer’s designee. Notwithstanding any provision of this article, the town shall not be required to provide a written notice with respect to any reports of an additional violation(s) occurring within the 30-day period described in subsection (b)(2), above.
(Ordinance 2014-2-4C adopted 2/4/14)
