CC WORKSESSION PACKET 08032020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION TO: Mark Casey, City Manager City of St. Anthony FROM: Jay Lindgren Paul Beck DATE: 28 July 2020 RE: Review of Dangerous Dog Ordinance I. Background At its July 14, 2020 meeting, the City Council heard an appeal of a dangerous dog designation made pursuant to City Code § 91.36. As part of the appeal, the dog owner/resident asked the City Council to conduct a review of § 91.36, asking that the ordinance be repealed or amended because it is inconsistent with state statute and the practice of other metro area communities. The Council upheld the dangerous dog designation under the current § 91.36, but stayed enforcement of the mandatory prohibition on dangerous dogs pending its review of the ordinance. This Memorandum summarizes the current St. Anthony ordinance, the detailed state statutory scheme surrounding the designation and regulation of dangerous dogs, and a sample of ordinances from other metro area communities. Ultimately, we recommend that the City ordinances be amended to adopt the state statutory scheme by reference and repeal the prohibition on dangerous dogs in § 91.36. Additionally, we recommend that the Council consider adopting additional clarifying language to fill in the gaps in the state statute, including: regulation of potentially dangerous dogs, clarifying the roles of city staff in designations and appeals, and specifying the annual registration fee for dangerous dogs. A redline of the current ordinance reflecting our recommended changes is enclosed with this Memorandum. II. Current St. Anthony Ordinance St. Anthony city ordinance § 91.36 provides “[n]o person may keep on their premises, or on premises occupied by them, nor permit to run at large in the city, any dog or other domesticated animal of a ferocious or vicious character, habit, or disposition as defined by M.S. § 347.50(2).” The referenced state statute is the definition of “dangerous dog,” as discussed in Section III.A of this Memorandum. Section 91.36 further provides that “[a]ny animal which is diseased, vicious, dangerous, rabid, or exposed to rabies may be impounded,” and that if the animal cannot be impounded without serious risk to the person seeking to impound it, it may be killed immediately by a police officer or other designated person. The City Code provides an aggrieved owner with the opportunity to appeal a dangerous dog designation to the City Council within 14 days of the designation. St. Anthony Mun. Code § 91.44. Additionally, the ordinance provides for an appeal of a designation of a potentially dangerous dog by appointment with the Chief of Police or his/her designee.