[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the City of Hagerstown 9-25-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-33[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 87,
Dogs and Other Animals, adopted as Ch. 6 of the 1967 Code, as amended.
A.
The Board of County Commissioners, as the duly constituted legislative body for Washington County, Maryland, has enacted a certain ordinance to provide for the control of animals in Washington County, Maryland. Said Animal Control Ordinance was passed in accordance with the provision of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended. Said ordinance was passed on January 30, 2001, and is incorporated herein and made a part hereof, as from time to time amended, and as specifically amended in Subsection B.
B.
Said Animal Control Ordinance shall be amended as
follows:
(1)
Section 28, Animal Waste, Subsection (a), shall read
as follows: "It shall be unlawful for any owner or custodian to allow
his or her animal or any animal under his or her care to urinate or
defecate on the property of another without the property owner's consent,
unless the owner or custodian of the animal immediately thereafter
removes and disposes of any waste in a sanitary manner."
(2)
Section 32, Public Nuisance Animals, Subsection (a)(2),
shall read as follows: "When an animal damages, soils, defiles or
defecates on any private property, other than that of the owner, or
when an animal does so on common grounds or jointly owned property,
and the owner or custodian has not immediately remedied the problem."
(3)
Section
35, Vicious and Dangerous Animals, shall be amended to add new subsections
thereto, to be known as Subsections (f) and (g), to read as follows:
[Added 6-19-2007 by Ord.
No. O-07-12]
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(f)
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It shall be unlawful for any person to own, possess, keep or
harbor a vicious and dangerous animal, including, but not limited
to dogs, within the corporate limits of the City of Hagerstown. For
purposes of this subsection an animal shall be considered vicious
and dangerous if:
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(1)
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After the effective date of this subsection, the animal is declared
so by the Agency, or by any other agency or governmental unit having
jurisdiction over said animal at the time of the declaration, and
such declaration remains unchanged after all rights of appeal are
exhausted; and
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(2)
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The behavior upon which the declaration is founded consists
of an attack or attacks upon a human or a properly confined, restrained
or controlled domestic pet.
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(g)
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Any owner, custodian or keeper of a vicious and dangerous animal
who shall violate the aforegoing Subsection (f) shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor and shall be subject to incarceration not to exceed
90 days and a fine not to succeed $500. Each day of the violation
shall be considered a separate and distinct offense.
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C.
The City of Hagerstown hereby adopts the Animal Control
Ordinance, as amended herein, which was adopted by the County Commissioners
for Washington County, Maryland as hereinabove set forth. The City,
through its duly constituted legislative body, does hereby request
the county to enforce the provisions of the same within the corporate
limits of the City of Hagerstown insofar as they are applicable to
the City, except for those provisions hereinafter set forth which
are not contained in the county ordinance.
It shall be unlawful to keep and maintain within
the corporate limits of the City any animals generally considered
to be farm animals, except in areas now zoned agricultural and in
established stockyards and livestock auctions where such animals are
kept for a brief period of time.
Every person owning or occupying any lot or premises within the corporate or sanitary limits of the City and keeping thereon any farm animals permitted in § 87-2 shall remove all manure, excrement or other filth and shall at all times keep the same clean and well-limed. The provisions of this section apply to both owners and occupiers of lots and premises within the City.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dead
animal to permit the carcass to lie within the City limits longer
than a reasonable time for removing or burying the same.
Any owner, custodian, or keeper of any animal
which violates the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a
municipal infraction and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed
$1,000.
[Added 8-26-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-29]
A.
Prohibition. Except as otherwise provided herein,
dogs are prohibited in all City-owned parks and recreational facilities.
B.
Exception. The aforegoing notwithstanding, dogs shall
be permitted in City-owned parks and recreational facilities in certain
designated areas of some parks or facilities, as from time to time
determined, established and designated by the City, subject to compliance
with the regulations contained in this section.
C.
Regulations. At any time an individual has a dog in
a City-owned park or recreational facility, the following restrictions
shall apply:
(1)
Dogs must remain in the designated dog areas at all
times.
(2)
Dogs must be kept on an unbreakable leash not exceeding
six feet in length at all times.
(3)
Dogs must be maintained under the control of an individual
physically capable of maintaining control of the dog and at least
12 years of age. Children under 12 must be supervised by an adult
capable of maintaining control of the dog.
(4)
No individual shall be permitted to walk more than
two dogs at any one time.
(5)
The custodian of the dog shall not allow the dog to
defecate on City-owned park or recreational facility property without
immediately thereafter removing and disposing of the waste material
in a sanitary manner.
D.
Restrictions. The exception contained in Subsection B above notwithstanding, no dog shall be permitted on any City-owned park or recreational facility property, even in designated areas, if said dog has previously been determined to be dangerous, is currently acting in a dangerous or aggressive manner or is currently in heat.
E.
Penalty. Any dog owner, custodian or other individual
who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a municipal
infraction and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $50 for each
violation. If an individual is convicted of violating any provision
of this section, and is subsequently convicted of another violation
hereof, said individual shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100
for each violation.
