Note: Prior ordinance history: Ord. No. 967, March 12, 2014; Ord. No. 992, August 20, 2015.
The purpose of this Article shall be to preserve the public peace and good order in the county and to promote the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the county by regulating and restricting the barking of dogs in a fair manner, balancing the rights and privileges of dog owners with the rights and privileges of other citizens of the county.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
"Animal control provider"
means the duly incorporated humane society or organization formed for the prevention of cruelty to animals which is contracted by the County to perform animal control services.
"Barking dog"
means any dog that barks, whines, howls, cries or makes any other noise as described in Section 22-25.3 of this Article.
"Citation"
means a notice issued pursuant to this Article that there has been a violation of this article.
"County"
means the County of Kaua'i.
"Day or days"
as used in this Article shall mean calendar day or calendar days, respectively, unless otherwise expressly provided. The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded.
"Enforcement officer"
means any person authorized and designated to enforce the provisions of this Article or the laws of the County of Kaua'i.
"Responsible party"
means any person owning, harboring, or keeping a dog; provided that if the owner is a minor under the age of 18 years, the parents, guardian, or other person having the care, custody, or control of the minor shall be rebuttably presumed to be the owner. The person to whom a license was issued pursuant to HRS Section 143-2 shall be rebuttably presumed to be the owner of the dog for purposes of this section.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
No person shall keep any dog(s) which barks, bays, cries, or howls intermittently for a period of thirty (30) minutes within a forty-five (45) minute period of time, or continuously or incessantly for a period of fifteen (15) minutes.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
A dog shall not be deemed a barking dog for purposes of this section if, at the time the dog is barking or making any other noise, a person is trespassing or threatening to trespass upon private property in or upon which the dog is situated or for any other reasonable cause that has been determined under the circumstances to have teased or provoked the dog, including traveling past private property in or upon which the dog is situated.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
Unsuccessful remediation of the nuisance barking following intervention by the Enforcement Officer may result in the issuance of a citation.
(a) 
There shall be a fine of Thirty-Five Dollars ($35.00) for the first violation of this Article. As used in this section, "first violation" shall mean an offense that does not occur within ninety (90) days of the conviction for a previous offense involving the same provision.
(b) 
There shall be a fine of Seventy-Five Dollars ($75.00) for the second violation of this Article if the offense occurred within ninety (90) days of the conviction for one (1) previous offense involving the same provision.
(c) 
There shall be a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for the third and any subsequent violation of this Article if the offense occurred within ninety (90) days of the conviction for two or more previous offenses involving the same provision.
(d) 
The Court may also require successful completion of a dog training class in addition to or in lieu of a fine.
(e) 
Payment of a fine shall not excuse the violator from correcting the barking dog violation. The issuance of a barking dog citation and/or payment of a fine shall not bar the Court from imposing appropriate remedial action to be undertaken by the responsible party, such as, but not limited to, successful completion of a dog behavioral course or the hiring of a dog trainer.
(f) 
Failure to comply with this Article shall be considered a violation, and not a misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
The provisions of this Article may be enforced by the Animal Control Provider or a duly authorized Enforcement Officer. It shall be a violation of this Article to interfere with the Animal Control Provider's representative or the Enforcement Officer in the performance of their duties.
(a) 
Animal Control Provider. The Kaua'i Humane Society is hereby granted authority as the Animal Control Provider. It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Provider to receive, log, and compile barking dog nuisance claims.
(1) 
Upon receipt of a barking dog nuisance claim, a written warning/notice of nuisance claim and educational material shall be given to the responsible party, with a copy to the complainant. The notice shall give the responsible party no less than two hundred forty (240) hours (or 10 days), or within the timeframe agreed to between the Animal Control Provider and the responsible party, to abate the barking nuisance or to refute the nuisance claim.
The educational material will consist of information on how to control a dog's barking.
(b) 
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The complainant shall take steps necessary to participate in alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation and facilitation, prior to any citation being issued. However, if the responsible party refuses to participate in the alternative dispute resolution, then a citation may be issued.
(c) 
No citation shall be issued without the observation of a violation by the Enforcement Officer.
(d) 
Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Upon issuance, the citation will be forwarded to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for prosecution.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
Nothing contained in this Article shall preclude any person injured by a dog from bringing a civil action against the owner of such dog pursuant to the applicable provisions of state law.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)
If any provision of this Article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the article which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this Article are severable.
(Ord. No. 996, January 14, 2016)