(A) The city shall initiate administrative proceedings to determine a dog to be a potentially dangerous dog if it meets the definition of POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG under § 90.41. The city shall provide written notice of such declaration to the dog's owner either by certified or regular mail to the owner's last known address or to the owner personally. The notice shall contain:
(1) The name and address of the owner whose dog is subject to such declaration;
(2) The name, description and license number of the dog that is subject to such declaration;
(3) A description of the facts which form the basis of such declaration;
(4) A copy of this Chapter 90 and state that noncompliance will result in an owner being declared a reckless owner by the city as well as the penalties in § 90.99;
(5) The date of proposed entry of the declaration, which shall be not less than ten days after the date of mailing or personal service of the notice; and
(6) Notification of the availability of an appeal if the owner objects to such declaration, within ten days of the date of mailing or personal service of the notice.
(B) An owner whose dog is determined to be a potentially dangerous dog shall be required to comply with § 90.47 immediately; and §§ 90.46 and 90.49 within 30 days of the date of entry of the declaration; unless a notice of appeal is filed with the city; provided, noncompliance with any of the sections set forth above in this division shall result in the owner being declared a reckless owner by the city under § 90.53, as well as being subject to the penalties as provided in § 90.99.
(C) An appeal of such a declaration shall be heard at a hearing by the City Council Safety Committee within ten days of the date of the filing of a written notice of appeal and shall provide an opportunity for the owner to appear and offer evidence to dispute the declaration. The filing fee for each notice of appeal shall be $200 paid to the city at the time of filing the appeal. A decision to affirm or reverse such decision shall be entered within ten days of the date of the hearing.
(D) An owner may request termination of the declaration if there are no incidents of the type specified in § 90.41(C) for at least 48 months following the date of the declaration. Such request for termination shall be made in rating and shall be heard by the City Council Safety Committee within 30 days of the date of the filing of the written request for termination. Said hearing shall provide an opportunity for the owner to appear and offer evidence to support termination of the declaration. The owner must provide written documented evidence that the dog's behavior has changed due to environment, health, age, training, neutering or other relevant factors. The filing fee for each request for termination shall be $200 and shall be paid to the city at the time of the filing of the written request for termination. A decision to continue or terminate such declaration shall be entered within ten days of the date of the hearing.
(E) An owner whose dog has been declared potentially dangerous dog can elect to euthanize the dog or permanently remove the dog from the city's jurisdiction as opposed to complying with §§ 90.46, 90.47 and 90.49. If the owner elects to remove the dog from the city's jurisdiction, the owner will be required to sign a separate written agreement prepared by the city confirming that the dog will never be within the city's corporate jurisdiction. Should the owner fail to comply with said agreement at any time in the future, the city would enforce § 90.52 with regard to failure to comply and all penalty provisions as applicable in § 90.99.
(Ord. 2012-16, passed 2-19-2013)