I am flattered!
In my last Rossmoorgate I promised my readers a discussion of Rossmoor’s pet leash law.
The Rossmoor Community Services District News, trying a bit of one-upmanship, took the opportunity to
inform the public that “Dogs must be leashed in district parks” and the “Animal Control Fine is $274.”
Has anyone in Rossmoor been fined for a violation of the leash law?
I think not!
There is a distance between a law and it’s enforcement.
In my opinion Rossmoorians are good citizens.
For the most part we are law-abiding citizens and the leash law is acknowledged by the majority of pet owners. Although, there are so many laws it wouldn’t surprise me if some people did not know the specific
law.
A dog must be on a leash not more than six feet in length if you are in a public place.
The Orange County Codified Ordinance is explicit:
“It is unlawful to be on any public school property with your dog. Setting your dog loose to play, even within a fenced area, at a public school is a direct violation of this ordinance.”
Ditto for certain county parks, or any public beach.
To enforce the leash law requires an enforcement officer. Similar to getting a traffic violation it requires that an officer personally attest to the violation.
In Rossmoor, that is probably not going to happen! Besides, as good neighbors, Rossmoorians don’t want to have their friends paying expensive tickets.
The best way to handle violations of the leash law in Rossmoor is remind violators gently that they are breaking the law.
As an attorney, I know that the best reason for controlling your pet is that a bite by an animal that you own is a strict liability offense. You must pay for damages incurred.
No excuses. I love dog bite cases!
The Rossmoor Community Services District is interested in obtaining the latent power of Animal Control. Orange County provides this service now and Rossmoor is covered by the Orange County Animal Control Ordinances.
What happens if the RCSD obtains Animal Control? Where would the RCSD contract for those services? There aren’t too many choices.
The city of Los Alamitos contracts for their animal control services with Long Beach. If the RCSD contracts with Long Beach we would be obliged to follow the Long Beach Municipal Code regarding animal regulation which is similar to that of the OCCO.
How about the directors on the RCSD board being up front with the public? Do they have any idea about which municipality they are going to contract with for animal service? I was told by Director Jeffrey Ripps at a public meeting that latent powers was a strategy.
I still haven’t found out what the strategy was to achieve. If the Board knows they should share it with their constituents. How about a bit of transparency here?
Joyce Bloom is longtime Rossmoor resident and or member of the Rossmoor Community Services District Board of Directors.
