ORDINANCE NO. 1624

AN ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO THE KEEPING OF DANGEROUS, WILD OR EXOTIC ANIMALS, ANIMALS HAVING POISONOUS BITES, LIVESTOCK AND VICIOUS DOGS, AND PROVIDING PENALITIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF STRONG CITY, CHASE COUNTY, KANSAS; AND REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 1157 AND AMENDMENTS THEREOF.

BE IT ORDAINED by the Governing Body of the City of Strong City, Kansas:

SECTION 1. ANIMALS: KEEPING PROHIBITED. It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor, own or in any way possess within the corporate limits of the City of Strong City, Kansas;

1. Any warm-blooded, carnivorous or omnivorous, dangerous wild or exotic animal including but not limited to non-human primates, raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes and wild or exotic cats or small rodents of varieties used for laboratory purposes. Any animal or reptile having poisonous bites, boa constrictors, python snakes, pit bull dogs, livestock, such as hogs, cattle, mules, sheep, goats, roosters or poultry and other fowl and horses except as authorized pursuant to Section 2 and Section 3.

2. Any vicious dog shall be prohibited per Chase County Resolution No. 13.

3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to ferrets, hamsters, non-poisonous and non-dangerous reptiles, and fish, kept as pets, and not for breeding for sale and maintained in quarters so constructed so as to prevent their escape, and such quarters, if out of doors, are kept in a clean and sanitary condition and so maintained as to eliminate objectionable odors.

SECTION 2. EXCEPTIONS. This Ordinance shall not apply when any of the above animals are brought into the City limits of Strong City, Kansas for the purpose of any organized livestock show, exhibition, fair, or USD No. 284 Project Based Learning Program, or a parade in which said events are sponsored by the city or some other non-profit organization, or the Flint Hills Rodeo Association, Inc. which would sponsor said parade and which is approved by the Governing Body of the City of Strong City, Kansas. Excluded from the prohibition cited in Section 1 would be any fowl or birds of an exotic or unusual nature that are kept as pets, totaling no more that twelve (12) per household. Such pet or pets must be confined to a pen or pens at all times.

SECTION 3. KEEPING OF REGISTERED HORSES. 1. Annual Permit Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain horses within the corporate limits of the city, without first obtaining an annual permit at a cost of five dollars ($5.00) per year permit therefore from the governing body of the City of Strong City, Kansas.

2. Same; Number Limited; Setbacks. Any lot upon which a horse is kept shall be, at minimum, one-half acre and shall border the outside city limits. A minimum of one-half acre shall be required per each horse thereafter. No more than twelve (12) poultry or other fowl may be permitted to be kept at any one location.

SECTION 3. PUBLIC OFFICER: The governing body shall designate a public officer to be charged with the administration and enforcement of this ordinance.

SECTION 4. COMPLAINTS; INQUIRY AND INSPECTION: The enforcing officer shall make inquiry and inspection of premises upon receiving a complaint or complaints in writing signed by two or more persons setting forth probable cause that a violation of this ordinance exists and describing the same and where located or is informed that there is probable cause that a violation of this ordinance may exist by the board of health and environment. The enforcing officer may make reasonable inquiry and inspection when he or she observes conditions which appear to constitute probable cause of a violation. Upon making an inquiry and inspection the enforcing officer shall reduce his or her findings to a written report.

SECTION 5. NOTICE OF VIOLATION: 1. The governing body shall cause to be served upon the owner, any agent of the owner of the property or any other person, corporation, partnership or association found by the enforcing officer to be in violation of this ordinance a formal notice stating the specific manner in which a violation has been committed. The notice shall be served on the owner or agent of such property by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, then by mailing the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner.

2. If the owner or the agent of the owner of the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice sent pursuant to this section, the city council shall have the notice or any further orders to abate or remedy the violation from such property delivered by personal service and if personal service is unsuccessful then by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice or such order on the property, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first class mail pursuant to K.S.A. 12-1617e.

SECTION 6. SAME; CONTENTS: The notice shall, with particularity, state the condition(s) which is (are) in violation of this ordinance. The notice shall also inform the person, corporation, partnership or association that:

1. He, she or they shall have 10 days from receipt of the notice to abate the condition(s) in violation of this ordinance, or

2. He, she or they have 10 days from receipt of the notice to request the city prosecutor to file a formal citation in the Municipal Court of Strong City, Kansas stating the alleged violation.

3. Failure to abate the violation(s) or to request a hearing within the time allowed may result in prosecution as provided by Section 7 and/or abatement of the condition(s)by the city as provided by Section 8.

SECTION 7. FAILURE TO COMPLY; PENALTY: Should the person fail to timely comply with the notice to abate or remove the violation or request the enforcing officer to file a formal citation according to Section 6 the city prosecutor may file a verified complaint in the Municipal Court against such person and upon conviction of any violation of provisions of this ordinance, be fined as follows:

1. For the first offense, a fine of not less than $25.00, nor more than $100.00;

2. For the second offense, a fine of not less than $50.00, nor more than $500.00;

3. For the third and any subsequent offenses, a fine of not less than $100.00, nor more than $500.00

4. The registration and permit of the owner to keep horses within the City shall be revoked for one (1) year upon any conviction.

5. Every twenty-four (24) hour period that a provision of this ordinance is violated shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. Each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues after notice has been served shall constitute an additional or separate offense.

SECTION 8. ABATEMENT: In addition to, or as an alternative to prosecution as provided in Section 7 the enforcing officer may seek to remedy violations of this ordinance in the following manner. If a person to whom a notice has been sent pursuant to Section 5 has neither alleviated the conditions causing the alleged violation or requested that a citation be filed within the time period specified in Section 6 , the enforcing officer may present a resolution to the City Council for adoption authorizing the enforcing officer or other agents of the city to abate the conditions causing the violation at the end of 10 days after passage of the resolution. The resolution shall further provide that the costs incurred by the city shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the violation was located. A copy of the resolution shall be served upon the person in violation in one of the following ways:

1. Personal service upon the person in violation:

2. Service by certified mail, return receipt requested; or

3. In the event the whereabouts of such person are unknown the same cannot be ascertained in the exercise of reasonable diligence, an affidavit to that effect shall be made by the public officer and filed with the city clerk, and the serving of the resolution shall be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city newspaper and by posting a copy of the resolution on the premises where such condition exists.

4. If the owner or the agent of the owner of the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice sent pursuant to this section, the governing body shall have the notice or any further orders to abate or remove a violation from such property delivered by personal service and if personal service is unsuccessful, then by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first class mail.

SECTION 9. COSTS ASSESSED: If the city abates or removes the violation of this ordinance pursuant to Section 8, the city shall give notice to the owner or his or her agent by certified mail, return receipt requested of the total cost of the abatement or removal incurred by the city. The notice shall also state that the payment is due within 30 days following receipt of the notice. The city also may recover the cost of providing notice, including any postage, required by this section. The notice shall also state that if the cost of the removal or abatement is not paid within the 30 day period, the cost of the abatement or removal shall be collected in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1, 115, and amendments thereto, or shall be assessed as special assessments and charged against the lot or parcel of land on which the violation was located and the city clerk, at the time of certifying other city taxes, shall certify the unpaid portion of the costs and the county clerk shall extend the same on the tax rolls of the county against such lot or parcel of land and it shall be collected by the county treasurer and paid to the city as other city taxes are collected and paid. The city may pursue collection both by levying a special assessment and in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1, 115, and amendments thereto, but only until the full cost and applicable interest has been paid in full.

SECTION 10. SEVERABILITY: If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.

SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force from and after its publication in the official city newspaper.

PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council this 9th day of April, 2013.

ATTEST Shari L. DeWitt City Clerk

MAYOR Michael W. Cahoone

Visit the Home Page for Kansas A service of the Kansas State Library

© Copyright 2000 City of Strong City