The purpose of this chapter is to license and regulate the activities
of dogs and other animals within the City to ensure the protection
of the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings
of the terms used in these regulations shall be as follows:
For the purpose of this chapter, a domestic animal.
A certified municipal animal control officer or, in the absence
of such an officer, the chief law enforcement officer of the City
or his designee.
Any dog or dog hybrid trained or baited to attack persons
or animals. No attack dog may be maintained in or upon residential
premises within the City, and no attack dog shall be maintained on
any nonresidential property within the City except in strict compliance
with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 4:19-24(a)(1) through (3) and this
chapter.
Any person who takes care of the house or land of an owner
who may be absent and is responsible for the keeping of a dog.
Any dog or dog hybrid.
A dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any cat, dog or livestock other than poultry.
Any structure used to restrict a dog or dogs to a limited
amount of space, such as a pen, run, cage or compartment.
Any dog trained to attack a person at the command or instruction
of a trainer. No guard dog may be maintained upon residential premises
within the City except in strict compliance with the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 4:19-24(a)(1) through (3) and this chapter.
Any person in immediate physical charge of a dog.
Any establishment or premises where the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
A chain, strap, cord or harness of sufficient substance to
hold the animal under control and shall be no longer than 15 feet.
Defecation or urination, destruction of property, disturbing
the peace, emitting noxious odors, or otherwise endangering or offending
the well-being of the inhabitants of the City.
Any adult having an ownership interest in an animal or an
adult who keeps or harbors an animal on or about his or her premises.
When applied to proprietorship of a dog, means every person having
a right of property in that dog and every person who has that dog
in his or her keeping.
An enclosure for dogs.
A natural person, association, corporation, firm, partnership,
trust or other legal entity.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, where dogs or other animals are kept or displayed for
sale.
A dog actively engaged by a law enforcement agency to aid
in its law enforcement duties.
Any dog declared potentially dangerous by a Municipal Court
pursuant to state law (N.J.S.A. 4:19-23).
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16, this chapter or otherwise.
Any parcel of land and any structures located thereon.
To be free of physical restraint or control beyond the boundaries
of the premises of the owner.
Any establishment where dogs or other animals are received,
housed and distributed.
Any animal found running at large.
Any person who trains or owns an attack dog or guard dog
or from whom an attack dog or guard dog takes commands or instructions.
Any dog declared vicious by a Municipal Court pursuant to
state law (N.J.S.A. 4:19-22).
A.
License. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing
age shall apply for and procure from the City Clerk a license and
official metal registration tag for each dog and shall place upon
each dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened
thereto.
B.
Contents of application. The application for a license shall contain
the name and address of the owner of the dog and the person who shall
keep or harbor the dog, a short description of the dog, including
breed, sex, age, color and markings, and proof of current rabies vaccination
for the period of the license sought. The application form is available
on the Somers Point website and may be filed in person or by mail.
This information and the registration number shall be preserved for
three years and shall be forwarded to the State Department of Health
as required by law.
C.
Official metal registration tag. The official metal registration
tag for each dog shall be securely fastened on the dog's collar or
harness and shall be maintained there at all times unless removed
with the consent of the owner or by the Animal Control Officer. In
no event shall a dog be off the premises of the owner without the
official metal registration tag securely fastened to the dog's collar
or harness. No person shall attach a registration tag to a dog for
which it was not issued.
D.
Evidence of inoculation. No license and official metal registration
tag shall be issued for any dog unless the owner provides evidence
that the dog to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with
a rabies vaccine as required by federal law and state law.
E.
Attack dogs and guard dogs. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor
an attack dog or guard dog as defined herein shall notify the Animal
Control Warden and the Chief of Police and shall apply for a license
and official metal registration tag within 72 hours from the time
when the dog is brought on the premises within the City.
F.
Potentially dangerous dogs. When a dog has been declared by a Municipal
Court to be a potentially dangerous dog pursuant to state law, a special
license and special registration tag shall be issued pursuant to N.J.S.A.
4:19-30. Said license and registration tag shall be applied for within
72 hours from the time when the Court declaration is made.
G.
License for kennel, pet shop, shelter and pound. Any person who operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter, or pound shall apply to the City Clerk for a license to operate such an establishment. Said applicant shall comply with N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.8 and the applicable development regulations of the City set forth in Chapter 114 of the Somers Point Municipal Code and shall be further subject to review and approval by the Somers Point Code Enforcement Officer.
H.
No property within the City shall have or maintain five or more dogs
of licensing age unless the property is licensed as a kennel, pet
shop, shelter, or pound.
I.
Notification. The City Clerk or his or her designee shall notify
the Fire Department, Police Department and Rescue Squad servicing
the municipality of the fact that an animal has been registered as
an attack dog, guard dog or a dog which has been declared potentially
dangerous pursuant to state law.
A.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall
annually apply for and procure a license and official metal registration
tag for the dog during the period from January 1 through March 31.
The license and registration tag shall expire on December 31.
B.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog
which attains licensing age during the calendar year shall make application
for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days of
such acquisition or age attainment.
C.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the City an
unlicensed dog of licensing age who shall permit the dog to be kept
within the City for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately
apply for a license and registration tag for such dog.
D.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into this City
a dog licensed within another state and bearing a license registration
tag that shall keep the dog or permit the dog to remain within the
City for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for
a license and registration tag for such dog.
A.
Imposition of fees.
(1)
The sum payable for a dog license and each renewal thereof shall
be as follows:
(2)
Each license shall be in effect for an annual registration period
commencing on January 1 of each calendar year and expiring on December
31 of each calendar year. No license fee shall be prorated.
(3)
A late fee in the amount of $10 shall be assessed in addition to
the license fee for any license which is not paid by July 1 of each
registration calendar year. The late fee and penalty provision in
this section shall not apply to any license for any dog which was
not owned, harbored, kept or maintained in the City of Somers Point
until after June 20 of each registration calendar year.
[Amended 3-12-2015 by Ord. No. 7-2015; 2-10-2022 by Ord. No. 3-2022]
B.
Disposition of fees.
(1)
The disposition of license fees and other moneys collected under
the provisions of this chapter shall be as follows:
(a)
Portion of fees to be disbursed to the State of New Jersey;
the portion of each such fee collected for each dog shall be forwarded
to the State Department of Health within 30 days following receipt:
(b)
Balance of fees retained by the City. Such remaining fees shall
be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer and shall be placed in
a special account separate from other accounts maintained by the City
and used for the following purposes only:
[1]
The collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs and other animals
liable to seizure.
[2]
Local prevention and control of rabies.
[3]
Providing antirabies treatment under the direction of the County
Health Department for a person exposed to rabies.
[4]
All other purposes permitted by state law governing the subject.
(2)
Any unexpected balance remaining in this special account shall be
retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year and may be
used for any of the purposes set forth in this section. At the end
of the third fiscal year and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter,
there shall be transferred from the special account to the general
funds of the City any amount then in the special account which is
in excess of the total amount paid into the special account during
the previous two fiscal years.
(3)
The registration tag.
A.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing
Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly known
as "service dogs," or dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly
known as "hearing ear dogs" shall be licensed and registered as other
dogs, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required
to pay any fee.
B.
Police dogs on active duty and not retired are likewise exempt from
the payment of any fee.
A.
Disturbance of the peace. No person shall own, keep or harbor any
dog or other animal which habitually barks, howls or cries and thereby
disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood and creates a nuisance
at any time of the day or night.
B.
Leashing. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or similar animal shall permit it to be upon a public street, sidewalk, thoroughfare, park, playground or school yard or in any of the public places of the City unless it is controlled by an adequate leash or tether not more than 15 feet long, unless it is a property upon which dogs are prohibited such as specified in Article II of this chapter, or otherwise.
C.
Nuisance prohibited. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
or other animal shall cause or allow said animal to soil, defile,
deface or defecate on, or commit any nuisance on any public property.
The person in charge of such animal shall immediately remove all feces
deposited by such animal by any sanitary method. This same provision
applies to any private property when the activities of the animal
occur without permission of the property owner.
D.
Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or
other animal shall permit it to do any injury or to do any damage
to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds, garden or property of another
person unless consented to by the other person.
E.
Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
or other animal shall permit the animal to run at large, outside of
the control of the owner, on public property or private property off
the premises of the owner.
A.
Muzzled. An attack dog, guard dog, or a dog declared by a Municipal
Court to be potentially dangerous pursuant to state law shall be muzzled
at all times when the animal is off the premises of the owner or when
the animal is off the premises of a person harboring or keeping said
animal.
B.
Fence and containment. No attack dog, guard dog, or a dog declared
by a Municipal Court to be potentially dangerous pursuant to state
law shall be at any time be left or maintained or kept in an unsecured
place. "Unsecured" shall mean an area that is not fenced in with a
fence at least six feet high and leashed with a leash of sufficient
weight and quality to maintain, control and restrain said dog or animal.
The fence shall be subject to approval by the Code Enforcement Officer
of the City of Somers Point.
C.
Posting of signs. The owner or other person in control of an attack
dog, guard dog or dog declared by a Municipal Court to be potentially
dangerous pursuant to state law shall post signs on the premises where
the dog is maintained stating one of the following: "Warning: Attack
Dog on Premises," "Warning: Guard Dog on Premises" or "Warning: Dangerous
Dog on Premises," and which shall be legible from 50 feet of the enclosure
where the animal is kept. The enclosure shall be as required by N.J.S.A.
4:19-24a(3).
D.
Public places. No aggressive breed dog, attack dog, guard dog, or
a dog declared by a Municipal Court to be potentially dangerous pursuant
to state law shall be permitted inside public buildings, public parks,
public ball fields, public beaches and public recreational areas owned,
controlled by or under the jurisdiction of the City.
A.
The provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 through 4:19-37 governing vicious
and potentially dangerous dogs are incorporated herein by reference.
B.
When a Municipal Court has declared a dog to be a potentially dangerous
dog, it may require the owner to maintain liability insurance in an
amount not to exceed $100,000 in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 4:19-24b. The liability insurance shall contain a provision
requiring the municipality in which the owner resides to be named
as an additional insured for the sole purpose of being notified by
the insurance company of any cancellation, termination or expiration
of the liability insurance policy, and the owner shall provide a current
certificate of insurance properly endorsed which provides not less
than 30 days notice to the City of cancellation or termination.
[Amended 5-12-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
A.
The provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-11.1 through N.J.S.A. 4:22-60 governing
the prevention of cruelty to animals are incorporated herein by reference.
B.
TETHER
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
To restrain an animal by tying to any stationary object or
structure, including, but not limited to, a house, tree, fence, post,
garage or shed, by any means, including, but not limited to, a chain,
rope, cord, leash or pulley/running line, but shall not include the
use of a leash when walking an animal.
C.
Chaining or tethering of dogs.
(1)
Dogs must be able to move freely when chained or tethered and shall
be so confined for a period no greater than nine hours within a twenty-four-hour
period. The size of the tether or chain must be a minimum of 15 linear
feet and shall remain tangle-free. Dogs must be equipped with properly
fitted harnesses or buckle-type collars. The tether or chain shall
be constructed of lightweight cable not weighing more than 1/16 of
the animal's weight. A doghouse shall be accessible to dogs that are
chained or tethered. Tethered animals shall have access to potable
water, food, shelter and dry ground at all times.
(2)
No dog or other domesticated animal shall remain outdoors, tethered,
untethered or penned, during a period of extreme weather, including,
but not limited to, extreme heat (above 90° F.), extreme cold
(below 32° F.), or during thunderstorms, tornadoes, tropical storms,
or hurricanes.
(3)
In no instance shall a dog or other domesticated animal remain outdoors,
tethered, untethered or penned, under the age of six months old or
while sick, injured or in distress.
D.
Enforcement and entry onto premises.
(1)
Any humane law enforcement officer or agent of the New Jersey Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, County Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, the Somers Point Certified Animal Control Officer,
or other state or local law enforcement officer may immediately enter
onto the private property where a dog is located and take physical
custody of the dog or other domesticated animal if the officer or
agent has probable cause to believe that the dog or other domesticated
animal is at risk of imminent harm due to a violation of this section
and shall place the dog or other domesticated animal in an animal
rescue organization facility, shelter, pound, or kennel operating
as a shelter or pound to ensure the humane care and treatment of the
dog or other domesticated animal.
(2)
Upon taking physical custody of a dog or other domesticated animal
pursuant to this subsection, the person taking physical custody of
the dog or other domesticated animal shall:
(a)
Promptly post, in a conspicuous place at the location where
the dog was taken, a notice which shall contain:
[1]
A description of the dog or other domesticated animal;
[2]
A statement that the dog or other domesticated animal may be
euthanized upon a veterinarian's written determination of medical
necessity;
[3]
The reason for taking custody of the dog or other domesticated
animal, including a reference to this section of the Municipal Code;
[4]
The contact information, including at least the name of any
applicable office or entity, the name of a person at such office or
entity, and a telephone number, for the dog's or other domesticated
animal's owner or the person with custody or control of the dog to
obtain information concerning the dog or other domesticated animal,
the alleged violation, and the location where the dog or other domesticated
animal has been impounded; and
(b)
Send by registered, certified, or ordinary mail a copy of the
same notice to the address of the location where the dog or other
domesticated animal was taken into physical custody.
A.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a wolf or wolf hybrid or wildlife
hybrid within the City.
B.
No person shall own, keep or harbor any exotic animal which is covered
by the Endangered Species Act within the City.
C.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a potbelly pig, poultry, or other
livestock within the City.
D.
No person shall own, keep or harbor on his or her premises any wild
or vicious animal for display, training or exhibition purposes, whether
gratuitously or for a fee.
E.
No person shall own, keep or harbor any wild animal as a pet.
F.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog or other animal on unoccupied
premises.
The governing body of the City shall have the authority to establish
by resolution an animal control shelter to provide services for the
City, and to contract for services with that shelter consistent with
the requirements established by state law, or to utilize the services
of any such shelter provided by Atlantic County.
A.
The Animal Control Officer of the City, the Chief of Police or his/her
designee within the Police Department shall take into custody and
impound any of the following:
(1)
Any dog or other domestic animal off the premises of the owner which
the Animal Control Officer has reason to believe is a stray.
(2)
Any dog or other domestic animal off the premises of the owner without
a current registration tag or other means of identification.
(3)
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner.
(4)
Any dog or other animal which is suspected to be rabid.
(5)
Any dog or other domestic animal off the premises of the owner observed
by the Animal Control Officer to be ill, injured or creating a threat
to public health, safety or welfare or otherwise interfering with
the enjoyment of property.
B.
If any animal so seized wears a collar or harness with a registration
tag or has information inscribed on the collar or harness which identifies
the owner, the Animal Control Officer shall provide written notice
to the owner stating that the animal has been seized and shall be
liable to be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within
seven days after service of the notice.
C.
A notice under this section may be served either by hand-delivering
it to the person who is the owner, or by leaving it at the owner's
premises, or by forwarding it by regular and certified mail to the
last known address of the owner or the address given on the collar.
D.
The owner of the animal shall be responsible for all expenses incurred
by the City in connection with the seizure and impounding of the animal.
During the aforementioned seven-day custodial period, any dog
or other animal so impounded may be claimed by its owner upon payment
to the animal shelter the fee established by the shelter for each
day or portion thereof that the dog or other animal remains in the
custody of the animal shelter.
Any dog or other animal which has been seized pursuant to this
chapter which has not been reclaimed during the custodial period set
forth herein may be claimed by any person willing to assume the responsibility
of ownership. Otherwise, said dog or other animal may be disposed
of by the animal shelter or other designated official by being put
to death in as humane a manner as possible.
A.
Appointment. The governing body of the City is the appropriate authority
to appoint a certified Animal Control Officer who shall be responsible
for animal control within the City and who shall enforce the provisions
of this chapter. In the absence of such an appointment, the chief
law enforcement officer of the City, or his designee, shall act in
that capacity.
B.
Certification. The governing body of the City shall ensure that any
person appointed to the position of Animal Control Officer shall be
certified in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16a
together with the state rules and regulations, adopted pursuant thereto.
The provisions of this chapter, in addition to other methods
of enforcement provided by law, may be enforced by the issuance of
a notice of violation by members of the Police Department, the Code
Enforcement Officer, the Animal Control Official, the Dog Canvasser
Official, the City Clerk and members of the Clerk's staff.
The Animal Control Officer, any Assistant Animal Control Officer
or any other officer designated by the City to enforce this chapter,
when engaged in the performance of his or her duty, is hereby authorized
to enter upon any premises to seize or impound any dog or other animal
which he may lawfully seize or impound when such officer is in the
immediate pursuit of said animal except upon the premises of the owner
of the animal if said owner is present and forbids same. In that event,
the Animal Control Officer or the designated enforcement officer must
apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain a search warrant
and authority to seize the animal.
No person shall give false information, hinder, or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
chapter.
The Somers Point Police Department shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.15, cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or
harbored within the City and shall report on or before September 1
of each calendar year to the City Clerk, to the Atlantic County Board
of Health, and to such state agencies required by state law the result
of the canvass setting forth in separate columns the name and address
of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs, the number
of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person together
with a complete description of each unlicensed dog.
All other provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 through 4:19-43 are
hereby adopted and incorporated herein by the City of Somers Point.
