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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/03/013 Council Work Session September 3, 2013 4:45 p.m. Council Chambers Roll Call. Approval of Agenda, as proposed or amended. Potential new ordinance pertaining to Pitbulls Submitted by Mayor Buck Clark. ADJOURNMENT Suzy Schares City Clerk Linnea Martinez From: SUZY SCHARES Sent: Wednesday,August 28, 2013 10:52 AM To: Linnea Martinez Subject: FW:Work Session Please add a 20 minute work session prior to the Council meeting.Thanks, Suzy Schares,CMC City Clerk/BR Director City of Waterloo 715 Mulberry Street Waterloo IA 50703 319-291-4522#3008 From: MAYOR CLARK Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 10:25 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Cc: SANDIE GRECO; MARIA TILLER Subject: Work Session Suzy, I need a 20 minute work session for Tuesday please. Topic is Pit-Bulls and potential new ordinance pertaining to them. Thank You, .MayoIt .93uck C(a iJ City of Waterloo Iowa 715 Mulberry Street Waterloo, Iowa 50703 319-291-4301 1 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:03 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: Pit Bulls Attachments: Building-Safe-Comm_E-Book_5.pdf Suzy, Mayor would like me to forward the emails he receives regarding animal control ordinance change. Thanks. Michelle From: dloangel@mchsi.com fmailto:dlrangel@mchsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 6:03 AM To: SANDIE GRECO; STEVE SCHMITT; QUENTIN HART; DAVID JONES; CAROLYN COLE; HAROLD GETTY; rigrx@aol.com; MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Emailing: Building-Safe-Comm_E-Book_5 This a what I have been researching. We need breed neutral laws, my concern is dogs will go underground and be more dangerous and people who have been responsible with their dogs will be punished and forced to choose what dog they have to get rid of and that is not fair to them. Please contact Stacey Coleman- executive director of animal Farm foundation and she is on the National Canine research council 845-233-8823. We see all kinds of dogs who come into AC that are victims of neglect and everyone should be held accountable for their dogs. Please check into this first before you make a decision and not respond to the type of dog. There are many out there who look like pit bulls but are not, most people cannot identify a pit bull Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments: Building-Safe-Comm_E-Book_5 Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled. i SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:03 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Breed Ordinance Assistance Attachments: Model Dangerous Dog 10.doc; Fiscal Impact.pdf Importance: High From: Stephanie Filer [mailto:SFiler@arl-iowa.org] Sent: Monday, September 02, 2013 7:46 PM To: STEVE SCHMITT; BOB GREENWOOD; HAROLD GETTY; CAROLYN COLE; DAVID JONES; QUENTIN HART; MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Breed Ordinance Assistance Importance: High Mr. Mayor&Waterloo City Council— It has come to our attention that the city council is considering a change to strengthen the dog ordinances in Waterloo to better protect the citizens and we would like to offer our help. We have assisted several other cities throughout the state and would like to offer the same level of support to you. When considering dog ordinances we need to balance an individual's right to own property with the community's right to public safety,while also ensuring that tax dollars and city resources are used effectively. The model for safe communities across the country—and within Iowa—is to create a breed-neutral ordinance that focuses on ALL dogs' potentially dangerous behaviors while holding ALL owners accountable for their dogs' actions. Additionally,these successful ordinances create preventative measures to keep people and their pets safe by strengthening anti-tethering, dog at large, animal neglect/abuse, and spay/neuter laws,while also identifying potentially dangerous behaviors and intervening prior to any serious events. While creating restrictions for certain breeds may seem like a good way to protect the public, it actually creates a false sense of safety for the people of Waterloo, while still not fully addressing problem dogs of all breeds. Instead,these laws would prevent great families with great dogs from choosing to move to the city(and contribute to the local economy) and would discriminate against and unfairly target people and their family dogs who have done nothing wrong. Most canine profiling laws resulted from panic policy-making in the 1980s.The trend today is to repeal these laws. Not only do cities find them difficult and expensive to enforce, but new studies, scientific advances (i.e., DNA testing),an increase in litigation, and the Americans with Disabilities Act(which prohibits local laws from banning or restricting service dogs simply because of their breed) have made them even costlier(note the Aurelia, IA case that cost the small city's taxpayers$30,000 in settlements, in addition to attorney fees: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/12/snickers-can-stay-city-of-aurelia-reaches- settlement-with-service-dog-owners). The fact remains: 1) Nationally, laws that target breeds have never succeeded in enhancing public safety. 2) The cost to enforce breed discriminatory laws are great—for a city the size of Waterloo, it's estimated that it would cost an additional$109,728(see attached for the breakout) 1 3) There is no credible evidence to support the claim that dogs are dangerous based on breed,or appearance— in fact the American Kennel Club,the National Animal Control Association,the American Bar Association,the U.S. Department of Justice,the Center for Disease Control,the Association of Dog Trainers,and dozens more all agree—even President Obama issues a statement against breed ordinances just a couple weeks ago 4) ALL dog owners should be held to the same high standards of care and conduct In the end,the community deserves to be protected against all dangerous animals, not just ones who may"look" like X, Y, or Z breed. They deserve to be protected from mutts like the one who bit this woman's nose off earlier this year in Dallas county—and the hundreds of other attacks by dogs of all breeds in Iowa this year that the media chose not to cover(http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/03/woman-loses-nose-dog-attack/2131811/). Since our present-day dog population is so diverse, most of the genetic lines are no longer pure and there are very few purpose-bred dogs anymore, the old notion of"breed tendencies" has been diluted. Further adding to that is the fact that it is nearly impossible to determine a dog's genetic make-up based on its physical appearance alone and even if you were accurate in guessing the breed,the breed does not indicate how the dog will act(whether good or bad). So communities who have breed-specific ordinances are wasting valuable city resources to pay people to attempt to classify mixed breed dogs as "potentially dangerous" or"not" based on appearance alone. That creates a false sense of security for dogs labeled "safe" by their appearance and unfairly restricts and labels other dogs as"dangerous" based on their looks,with no scientific evidence to back it up. It also does nothing to address situations that cause dogs of ALL breeds to be potentially dangerous including neglect, reckless owners, improper confinement,tethering, unaltered dogs, and nursing/pregnant dogs—all factors that play into dog bites almost all of the time, further proving that the breed alone is irrelevant. Proponents of breed-discriminatory legislation operate under the mistaken notion that regulating pets solely based on their breed will somehow make a community safer. Despite the myths perpetuated by the media about dogs labeled by some as"pit bulls," there is no evidence that any breed of dog poses more of a danger to people. Rather, reckless owners of any dogs pose a threat to public safety and to the animals themselves. I've attached a successful model ordinance for your review. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have and discuss this further—including attending your meeting to discuss the topic. Please feel free to contact me at any time via e-mail or at my direct line below(or cell: 319-929-5540). STEPHANIE FILER Manager of Special Gifts & Partnerships Animal Rescue League of Iowa 5452 NE 22^d Street, Des Moines, IA 50313 (515) 473-91 16-sfiler@arl-iowa.orq ARL-lowa.orq Help us care for the 18,500+animals that come through our door each year with a one-time or monthly donation! 2 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:04 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Pit Bull Attacks From: darlyne yagla fmailto:darlyneyaglaCa�gmail.coml Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 12:45 PM To: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Pit Bull Attacks In recent light of the sever and almost deadly attack again by a pit bull, I urge the City of Waterloo to take extreme measures in protecting the citizens -not the dogs - in this community. I live in Chautaugua Park close to the bike path. This use to be a very quiet neighborhood, but recently we have seen more and more pit bulls. I watch a couple who live a block away let their 3 pit bulls run (no leashes) in the park where people ride their bikes and walk. I no longer let my grandson ride his bike on the path due to the over abundance of these dogs in this area. I know that with talking to my neighbors, this is a fear of a lot of them, who like to take their small dogs for walks, but are afraid of attacks. I believe it is time for the City to take a strong stance to ensure the safety of the citizens and limit these dogs in city limits, require them to have special insurance and be held responsible for injuries that may occur. The women who was injured may recover but will have to carry not only the scares of physical injury, but also emotional. Thank you Darlyne Yagla i SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:03 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Once again Original Message From: Mark Freiberg (mailto:mfreiberg@cfu.netl Sent: Monday,September 02, 2013 11:31 AM To: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Once again Once again you show your hate for animals..As an owner of 2 rescued Pit Bulls I find it outrageous that only they would be considered for some type of stronger ordinance.. Why doesnt any attacks happen in Cedar Falls?? Why do attacks happen only on the East side of your wonderful city?? Its not the Pit Bulls its your horrible dog owners on that side of town..To inform you because I know you are ignorant on the subject- Pit Bulls used to be known as the "nanny dog",the most decorated military dog in our history was a Pit Bull.. Pit Bulls score higher on the temperment test than well over 100 different dog breeds.. I know you dont care as is evident by you thinking 1 lady can care for all animals in Waterloo in order for you to save 20k.. How about cutting some pay or benefits for the city employees?? The rest of the country had to cut back but not our govt.. The days of our govt thinking they are above the citizens must end... If I lived in your city i would sue you to end your ignorance.. Ban Boston Terriers as the one that bit the most was this breed-the others where puppies(how can one not fight off puppies-the whole thing is an embarrassment) Mark Freiberg 1324 West 5th Street Cedar Falls Iowa 50613 1 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:04 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Pit Bulls, etc From: Jan Gallagher fmailto:hinners@mchsi.coml Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 11:42 AM To: DAVID JONES; CAROLYN COLE; HAROLD GETTY; rigrx©aol.com; STEVE SCHMITT; MICHELLE WESTPHAL; QUENTIN HART Subject: Pit Bulls, etc I understand that the dog apologists are writing in opposition to any pit bull restrictions.This is a letter from a non-dog owner that feels restrictions on dangerous breeds,along with various other changes would be a good idea. 1. I don't know whether the license fee for an intact dog is the same as that of a neutered/spayed dog, but it would seem to me that it should be about$10/year more. Over the life of the dog,that would roughly equal what it would have cost to neuter the dog when young. Perhaps that would encourage early neutering. Perhaps also do something with the chip/non chipped issue as far as fees go. 2. Limiting the number of"dangerous" breed dogs in a household also seems like a good idea. Dangerous is a combination of temperament and size.A bad tempered ankle-biter is not nearly as much of a threat as a pit bull. 3. The issue of pack behavior is important. Dogs that join a up with a pack and go hunting need to be put down if they taste human flesh while engaging in that sort of behavior.They also need to be put down if they pack up and kill pets and livestock. Harsh, but it's hard to break a dog of that sort of behavior once they start, it's just too much fun for them. Since neutered dogs are less likely to engage in that and spayed dogs are not going to inspire that sort of wildness in others, people who don't want their dogs to have to endure the consequences need to get them spayed/neutered and find a way to keep them running free. So,that's an opinion from someone who lives on the south end of Prospect Blvd,where the dogs are on leashes and all look well cared for and pretty friendly. Once in awhile one gets loose, but it's just recreational,smart dogs can spend years plotting that perfect moment of escape. Their owner is usually out looking for them,trying to find them before they get picked up and it costs them to bail them out. I'm really glad I don't have to put up with the crap going on with dogs in the north part of town. I don't think the good people living over there should have to put up with it either. Regards, Jan Gallagher 1324 Prospect Blvd Waterloo, IA 50701 1 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:04 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Please rethink it Original Message From: Shane Chiarello fmailto:auto508@icloud.coml Sent: Friday,August 30, 2013 6:33 PM To: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Please rethink it I just wanted to very politely ask you to rethink what you are about to do with pit bulls, and please read my entire email before disregarding it.As you know,there are two sides to every story. I just beg you to educate yourself a little bit on the breed before putting any laws into effect. Here are the FACTS I wanted to share with you... 1)these laws affect all dogs that resemble a pit bull. If you were to DNA test 100 "pit bulls", 95 of those dogs are most likely going to have less than 5%American pit bull terrier in them. When a dog is a mixed breed or a "mutt"they come out looking like a pit bull. So you make these laws because these dogs are supposed to be "naturally"or"genetically" aggressive, yet the dogs that will pay for it don't have an ounce of pit bull in them, so how can a dog that doesn't have any of the "pit bull"gene in them have a genetic trait in them. Fact 2) Say there are 3 dog attacks or bites this year in your city.There are probably anywhere from 5,000+of these dogs in your city alone. So these laws you make end up sentencing thousands of dogs to not be able to be adopted and essentially sentence them to die. So you will be sentencing thousands of good, loving, happy, wiggly dogs to die because 3 out of 5,000 bit or attacked someone. Fact 3)the apbt and the Staffordshire terriers (which are the actual "pit bull" breed) ranked higher on the American k-9 temperament test than retrievers or labs did. This is an actual test done where they test hundreds of each breed and pitbulls ranked 5th and 7th. I would really just appreciate if you would reconsider your approach to this situation rather than sentencing thousands of good dogs to death. I know your law won't be to kill them but essentially, like I said earlier, by not letting them be adopted or making it harder for them,they will end up dying.Just think about it this way,you don't put every white, black or Hispanic person in jail because one person from that race killed someone, would you?So why would you punish thousands of really good, loving dogs for one bad egg, who's owner, in all reality,should be held accountable because they probably didn't bring the dog up right. I just beg you to get to know one of these dogs before you hate them.There's no difference between this and racism. Please just think about it.Thank you for reading my message (I really hope you got this far, haha) ' Shane Chiarello Auto508@me.com Sent from my iPhone 1 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:05 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Pitbull attack this morning From: Richard Pickett fmailto:tazmaniac6210yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 10:08 AM To: HAROLD GETTY Cc: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Pitbull attack this morning Gentlemen, Good morning. I am writing this letter out of deep concern, not only for the safety of my Family,but for the safety of the entirety of the neighborhoods surrounding my home. Mr. Councilman my family lives within your Ward 3, on Kern street. This morning a 14 year old young man and an elderly woman were attacked by 3 Pitbulls. As I am sure you already are aware, WPD officers had to put down one of them. Now this is the second incident involving the shooting of these very dangerous dogs in a months time. Both of them Mr. Councilman in your Ward within one block of each other. I sincerely hope that this dog was not owned by the same person as the first attack, which was on other dogs. Now according to the WCF Courier both were injured with one serious. If that article is to be believed. My question to you both and to the entire City Council is When is there going to be enough Terrorism by these dogs in this area before the City Council puts forth a referendum of meaning to protect us from these attacks? It's bad enough we have to put up with rampant drug activity in this area, now we have to deal with this. Gentleman I ask you, when can we feel safe to walk in our neighborhood without having to take along some form of protection when we do? I witnessed this attack as the WPD arrived and saw a person fighting one of these dogs off with what appeared to be a stick. I also applaud the Officer who intervened and got the dogs off. I also showed a WPD Officer the hole in the fence of which one of the dogs ran under, which the Officers got the dog and it's owner. I wonder, Who is going to pay the Medical bills of the two victims? Who is going to pay for the treatment for PTSD I am sure they are going suffer. " Logic is the clear path to the future ! I am the Author of: Joy,Conflict,Laughter and Tears It can be purchased now at http://www.publishamerica.com ISBN# 1-4241-7225-x i SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:05 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Pit Bullls in Our Neighborhod From: Tim fmailto:timsiu670aol.com1 Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 12:54 PM To: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Subject: Fwd: Pit Bullls in Our Neighborhod Mayor Clark: Earlier today I sent the enclosed email to my ward councilman David Jones. I included councilmen Schmitt and Greenwood as my "at large" representatives on the city council. I forgot to send a copy to you. I apologize for that. I am enclosing it now. Thank you. Tim Mathews 4779 Clover Lane Waterloo, IA 50701 PH: 319-234-5141 Original Message From: Tim <timsiu67aaol.com> To: Sschmitt<Sschmittaschmitthouse.com> Sent: Mon, Aug 26, 2013 11:46 am Subject: Fwd: Pit Burns in Our Neighborhod Original Message From: Tim <timsiu67(�aol.com> To: david.jones.wardl <david.iones.wardl na gmail.com>; Schmitt<SchmittAschmitthouse.com>; rjgrx<rigrx(c�aol.com> Sent: Mon, Aug 26, 2013 11:39 am Subject: Pit Bullls in Our Neighborhod My wife and I have lived at 4779 Clover Lane in Waterloo since May of 1993. Until now, we have never had a problem with any neighborhood animals. Now we have a new neighbor at 4786 Winghaven...with two caged up pit bulls in next to our backyard. The people at that address are Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Love. The pit bulls, at all hours of the day and evening, and sometimes during the night, bark, growl, whine, fight, howl...and about every other thing you might imagine. On at least two occasions we have called the new animal control phone number and were told they will deal with it. A few weeks ago I spoke with Maria Tiller. She told me she would see to it that Mr. and Mrs. Love got a letter from her detailing our complaints about those dogs. We learned last week...from another neighbor...that Mr. and Mrs. Love told them they NEVER received anything from the city, in mail or an in-person visit from Animal Control, complaining about those two pit bulls. We can't sit on our back porch and enjoy anything with those two caged up dogs no more than 100 feet from our porch step. This has to stop. I am writing to you people as my "neighborhood councilman" and my two "at large" representatives. We have been unable to contact Mr. and Mrs. Love by phone. We have not been able to learn if they have something other than a cell phone. I am reluctant to approach the house to speak to the residents due to the presence of the pit bulls. This is not a way to live in my opinion. The neighbors, and us, can't even be in our yards and the pit bulls go nuts. If it weren't for a chain link fence I am sure the dogs would probably have paid us a visit. It will never happen but the city of Waterloo should have an ordinance banning pit bulls in ANY residential area. Thank you for you attention on this matter. Tim and Linda Mathews 4779 Clover Lane Waterloo, IA 50701 Phone: 319-234-5141 Cell Phone: 319-240-8154 2 SUZY SCHARES From: MICHELLE WESTPHAL Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 9:09 AM To: SUZY SCHARES Subject: FW: Ban Pit bulls From: Delia Ralston fmailto:deliaralston1Calgmail.comj Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 5:07 PM To: MICHELLE WESTPHAL; BOB GREENWOOD Subject: Ban Pit bulls I live at 129 Woodlawn Road which makes me Ward 5, I believe. Ron Welper the councilman for Ward 5 does not have an email listed on the City of Waterloo Website. I would appreciate this email being forwarded to him as well as carefully considered by you. I was horrified by the recent attack on the lady and young boy by the pit bull and puppies. I agree with the husband of the woman that the dog is not at fault but the owner. I have heard that pit bulls are trained for fighting and when they lose they are let loose and become strays, as was the adult dog in this terrible incident. Even if the owner is at fault there have been enough incidents of carnage and tragedies such as this recent attack for the city to take action against the ownership of such a potentially lethal animal. I have friends in other cities and countries where pit bulls have been banned and they are puzzled why we as a city put up with the potentially horrific. Enough is enough. It's time for Waterloo to follow more than 75 Iowa cities(ref:http://www.dogsbite.org/legislating-dangerous-dogs-iowa.php) lead and ban the breed. Thank you for your time Delia Ralston i