City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 16, 2021
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
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Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance to amend and reordain Section 5-7-42 (FEMALE DOGS IN SEASON; ALLOWING DOG TO URINATE, ETC.; NOISY DOGS; OFFENSIVE ODORS FROM DOGS; DOGS PROHIBITED ON POSTED PLAYGROUND AREAS AND ON SCHOOL GROUNDS) of Article C (DOGS AND OTHER ANIMALS) of Chapter 7 (ANIMALS AND FOWL) of Title 5 (TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES) of the Code of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, 1981, as amended.
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ISSUE: Consideration of an amendment to Title 5 Chapter 7 Article C Section 5-7-42 of the Code of the City of Alexandria to align with current practice and law and to provide quantifiable metrics for enforcement.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the proposed amendment to Section 5-7-42 of the City Code (Attachment 2) on the first reading and schedule it for second reading, public hearing, and final passage on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
BACKGROUND: The City is currently in the process of updating its Noise Ordinance considering changes in case law, city property use patterns and present sources of noise since the Noise Ordinance was adopted in 1963. The first phase of the process to revise the ordinance approved by City Council in May 2021 made necessary and largely administrative changes to ensure the City's current noise ordinance is enforceable, legal and constitutional. A later phase that is set for summer and fall 2021, will include additional community outreach and City Council consideration of broader policy changes.
As part of the first phase, provisions in the City's Noise Ordinance that pertained to regulation of animal noise that did not comply with current Virginia law were repealed. An identical provision also appeared in the section of the City Code regulating Animals and ...
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