Loading...
Attachment 2From: Carol Novello <carol.novello@hssv.org> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2018 10:49 AM To: Council; Town Manager Cc: Stephanie Ladeira; Joanne Jacobs; Cristie Kamiya; Kristen Jahnke Subject: Ordinances 4.10.085 and 4.60.050 regarding feral cats Attachments: HSSV letter to Town Council Los Gatos - feral cats.pdf To the Honorable members of the Los Gatos Town Council and City Manager, Please find attached our letter, regarding the September 4th town council meeting, in response to changes to ordinances 4.10.085 and 4.60.050 regarding feral cats. We hope that by providing additional information you might consider altering your proposed ordinance to meet recommendations made by members in the field of animal welfare, animal control and the community. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Carol Novello President Humane Society Silicon Valley P.S. The winners from each category will become our brand ambassadors for Tails & Ales 2019! Don't waste any time — submit your pet, vote & share with friends! Join the photo contest! ATTACHMENT 2 itr5•N HUMANE S OCIETY s I L I C 0 N ✓ ALLEY September 13, 2018 Town Council of Los Gatos 110 East Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 Dear Members of the Town Council of Los Gatos, Members of our organization attended the September 4'h town council meeting where the ordinance changes for 4.10.085 and 4.60.050 regarding feral cats were discussed. Humane Society Silicon Valley understands the city's concerns with the wildlife attracted by inappropriate feeding of feral cat colonies. Many letters were submitted to the Council around the general philosophy and benefits of regular maintenance for Trap -Neuter- Return (TNR) and we hope you will take the time to review this information. While there was much discussion about colony management and TNR from a wide assortment of people at the meeting, it was perhaps not clear why the concerns raised were not just for the benefit of the feral cats but also for the town and its residents. l am writing to share additional information, offer resources to meet and provide more context, and to urge the Town Council of Los Gatos to consider addressing the points below. In general, feral cat colonies pose two community concerns: inappropriate feeding that attracts wildlife and uncontrolled growth of feral cat populations that become nuisances during breeding and in their search for food. The first, wildlife concerns, can be addressed by requiring feeding to appropriate guidelines that have proved successful in other communities across the United States. This could be a simple code requirement (e.g. feeding during the day on a regular schedule in consistent locations, providing only enough food for the cats in the colony, removal of food after 30 minutes, and feeding on raised platforms so only cats can get to the food). The second, controlling the size of the colony, requires ongoing TNR (and therefore ongoing feeding) because no environment is a truly closed system. There was much speculation at the meeting as to whether or not the city should allow feeding/TNR of the colony for some limited time until all the cats are spayed/neutered and then ban feeding the cats. In addition to being cruel and inhumane, this will not work. The existing colony cats will roam wider and become more of a nuisance trying to find more sources of food to survive (trash cans, restaurants, etc.). And since the environment is not closed, new cats that are not spayed/neutered will enter the population on a regular basis - abandoned by the residents, owned intact cats that roam free, etc. Without continued feeding and TNR, these unfixed cats will have kittens. The colony will grow and county shelters and organizations like HSSV will continue to intake thousands of kittens every year. Thus, as many communities across the country have proved, it is in the town's best interest to promote responsible feral colony cat management. The key points to address would be: • Adherence to appropriate feeding guidelines • Support for ongoing feeding and TNR • No/low barriers for residents who take on the responsibility and cost of feeding/TNR (the current proposed registration and permitting has hard requirements on affiliation and history of colony management, permit costs, 6 month renewals, and undefined rights to revoke at any time) • Protection from interference if feeding appropriately (both an incentive to feed appropriately and gives the city recourse if residents are interfering) Ongoing colony management including feeding and Trap/Neuter/Return is the only humane approach to addressing community cat populations, and it works. We hope that you consider altering your proposed ordinance to meet recommendations made by those of us in the animal welfare, animal control fields, and your community, Sincerely, AilcreffD Carol Novell() President 901 Ames Avenue ! Milpitas, CA 95035 1 408-262-2133 I hssv.org Subject: FW: Remove Section 4.60.050 (permitting) and modify Sections 4.10.085 (feeding) From: Denise Uriarte <denisebvthesea@icloud.com> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2018 10:58 AM To: Council <Council@Ioseatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Remove Section 4.60.050 (permitting) and modify Sections 4.10.085 (feeding) Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice Mayor Leonardis and Council Members Spector, Sayoc and Jensen, I am writing to you this morning to present an alternative solution to passing this ordinance at its second reading on Tuesday. This solution will add only two (2) to four (4) weeks to the timeline for getting an ordinance on the books to satisfy Town Staff's main objectives of updating dog laws and getting the State's law forbidding the feeding of wildlife, into the Town's code so that Code Enforcement may act upon it. This is a much better prospect than Town Staff spending the next few months creating processes that have been proven in other's cities that had tried it not to work, and frankly will do nothing to solve the issues at hand at Towne Terrace. But, rather allow rescue groups, shelters, animal control and other stakeholders the same courtesy extended to the chicken and bees person (one person) that the Deputy Town Attorney stated was out of town. The chicken and bee section was left as -is until they could get together and work on an amendment. Let's do the same here and get this right. The current issues at hand at Towne Terrace and along Avery Lane do not have ANYTHING to do with rescue group activities or behavior. In fact, to be frank, I'm not so sure why or how, rescue groups were even dragged into this mess! It not their job to regulate or monitor! It their mission to educate, inform and mentor the community. Ann is not affiliated with any group that we know of, and if she stated as such, code enforcement should have done their due diligence and called the rescue group directly to verify her statement. My understanding is that she is NOT affiliated with any group. Nor would any group want her to become affiliated with them, if she is unreachable. I must ask this very important question of the Town Council. Has code enforcement received ANY complaints or have had any major issues at all in regards to the activities of any rescue group and/or a volunteer of such group? If the answer is NO, why create additional regulation surrounding what these folks do? If there are complaints, simply call that group, and I'm sure they will redirect and correct the issue, as they are reasonable and responsible folks. A call is all it takes. Your current proposed ordinance is barking up the wrong tree. It making what is happening out at Town Terrace a "feeding issue", when it is really a mentally ill and disruptive person issue, along with a wildlife nuisance issue. I did not heard anyone really complain about the cats. The issues I heard at the September 4, 2018 Council Meeting were as folows: Issue #1. Problematic elderly lady in the neighborhood causing disruption. Possible Solution: Seek help for her by offering mental/social counseling. I'm sure there are Senior based or mental health based organizations, both public and private in the Town of Los Gatos that can help. Code enforcement and town council should take a compassionate approach to helping her with her illness, rather than issue more citations and fines, which will not help, as they haven't already. or worse yet, have a local news agency pick up the story of the Town of Los Gatos arresting and hauling off a 80+ year old lady for feeding cats! I don't think the public relations on that story would be good, so maybe its time to look at another approach, since citation route isn't 115 helping. Please get Ann some professional help and counseling she needs, through the many agencies out there that offer help to seniors. Issue #2. Residents are having issues with Wildlife Possible Solution: Have the Town of Los Gatos contact and contract with a Wildlife mitigation agency such as WildCare (brochure attached) to come out to to a study of the area and offer recommendations. The recommendations may include such things as ensuring that garabe bins are covered, vents and crawl spaces under the multi -unit building are sealed to prevent raccoon and skunks from using these areas as "latrines", removal of excess foliage, etc). Again, I'm not the expert in this area, but these are some of issues I saw when I went out to the area, to do a walk-through. Town Terrace has done a great job of cleaning up and sealing vents and crawl spaces, but some of the neighboring buildings have not. Once the recommendations/final report is issued, the city can then hold the property owners of these non -compliant property accountable to make corrections, to ensure that crawl spaces are sealed, not only to ensure the buildings and decks are sealed property to keep the raccoons, oppossums from living there, but also ensure that property are up to code from a public safety standpoint, as children can also crawl under the buildings through these large open crawl holes. Property owners must do their part to correct this problem and keep the area safe for their residents. I urge Council members to walk the neighborhood and see these property issues for themselves. Issue #3) The town needs some "teeth" in the Animal ordinance to deal with people feeding in a manner that is not consistent with current feeding guidelines. Possible Solution: Here is the wording taken from the past two versions of section 4.10.085, that could be inserted instead of the current version of section 4.10.085 to cover what Town Staff needs: "It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to wild animals on any public or private property, including properties owned by the feeder, or on any private property that is shared by multiple people, such as condominiums, townhouses or apartment complexes. It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to feral animals or Community cats on any public or private property, including properties owned by the feeder, or on any private property that is shared by multiple people, such as condominiums, townhouses or apartment complexes, in a manner inconsistent with best practices and guidelines for colony management as established by Animal Control and reputable Rescue or TNR agencies." As there are no current related problems cited by Town Staff other than the woman in the Towne Terrace neighborhood and a few others who may not be feeding properly in other areas, the language above should satisfy and enable Town Staff to address these situations and other isolated situations that may pop up, without creating additional problems that the current version of the ordinance would create. (1) Time and energy spent on writing and implementing a permit process that likely will not be used. (2) Two confusing and vaguely worded ordinance sections that are left up to interpretation and alienate the very people that we need helping us with these issues: rescue folks. These people offer their free time outside of their busy work schedules to help our residents solve cat problems in their neighborhoods and do not ask for a dime. If the town wants to help, perhaps they should contract with and FUND the rescue groups. They can use the help and money. (3) Many rescue groups will go where there are fewer barriers to getting their work done. If the Town of Los Gatos make it difficult to help, and trap and fix, or places some kind of misplaced 'responsibility' on the them to manage the feeding practices of the city's residents, or ask that the residents that feed all affiliate. No way will rescues take on these calls for help. The amazing positive trend of fewer and fewer free -roaming cats out there that we have seen statically over the last decade, will get disrupted and without trapping, more kittens will be born, and the positive 21Q) trend will be reversed. if barriers are put in place in Los Gatos, rescues will just head over to other cities that do not have such restrictions and help there instead. Permit processes have been tried in other municipalities and have failed. Even. San Jose tried a permit process of sorts and gave up shortly after implementing it. At the September 4, 2018 meeting I proposed a working group of stakeholders and people experienced in writing animal law to come together to help us write a solid, applicable ordinance. Instead of this happening prior to and causing a delay in the dog and wildlife related code, I am now proposing that we go ahead and add the above language instead of tabling the whole thing, thereby giving Town Staff and Code enforcement the "teeth" they need now, and then allow this group to work on a final section(s) to propose as an amendment in 3 months. We have national organizations contacting us asking how they can help, people that are experienced in writing animal law. We have reached out to other municipalities who can share their experiences with us, affording us a chance to not make the same mistakes. As for the viability of a working group, I want to point out that the information Town Staff obtained about the Mountain View working group was inaccurate. This task force met for approximately 3 to 4 months and took perhaps another month or so to publish their report. The outcome was that they determined that legislation was not the right answer. Staff instead proposed instituting outreach and educational initiatives, that did come into fruition through partnership with Palo Alto Humane Society and that still in effect today, helping their residents. Outreach and education has proven to be effective. if the current version of the ordinance is passed, we are simply creating more problems and burden to ourselves as stakeholders and spending time that is better utilized addressing other issues in our town. I propose that in lieu of passing the current version of the ordinance, that the Council moves to: A. Pass the ordinance with the minimum necessary language in Section 4.10.085 proposed above to achieve Town Staff goals stated in the September 4, 2018 Council meeting; B. Strike section 4.60.050 until such time the town decides to do another amendment; C. Direct staff to hire in a Wildlife consultation group such as Wildcare to conduct a study of the neighborhood and issue recommendations, to bring some relief to the neighborhood and the residents that live there. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to answering any questions you might have regarding these recommendations at the September 18, 2018.town council meeting. Sincerely, Denise Uriarte Phone: (408) 410-5268 Email: Denisebythesea@me.com 3 Ig +1witdcare 76 Merl Park Lane San Rafael, CA 94901 www.wildcarebayarea.orewildlifesolutions BULK RATE u S. POSTAGE PAID San Railel. California Pti11111( Na 52 o Tr a ; y; c ▪ a i CF G K. aa g v1ry ifl' n G' ^. tp^yo ,te-• G ro • f GcY ' E$ c .tt Er s] g n R-0r a 3- G- * d G g. G1 G y .. LL y GV .- ."q G N r "- G a V. p r ti G S P. G^ p CS fip.'7 s.�.. ^• 5, � fpp° = y � � _2 7 ti 3J 1 7 .1 � � R.- a “ ^ G g ¢ G_ R. • E. n ' • P. p # ^ ? § v x � ° .— a- ¢ G C P 7 a ,� G a. G 0.r. „,r is ,t 'n n C n C p y n w 7 n G a -0 nk w :2-,,w. C do g"- G f y n ,a 7. 3 O ':e ® r G F.G y 5O K a 2 a n G n a E- n G r. :a.niaia�ptp suounlos a,teppl'M a41 k [.]!!Iti Mkt! f�Ti rl[�'i1 Subject: FW: Animals and Fowl Ordinance From: Diana Grubbs <dgrubbs.bills@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2018 7:11 AM To: Council <Council cr Iosgatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Animals and Fowl Ordinance Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice Mayor Leonardis and Council Members Spector, Sayoc and Jensen, I am writing to you this morning to present an alternative solution to passing this ordinance at its second reading on Tuesday. This solution will add only two (2) to four (4) weeks to the timeline for getting a law on the books to satisfy Town Staff's main objectives of updating dog laws and getting the State's law forbidding the feeding of wildlife into the Town's code so that Code Enforcement may act upon it. This is a much better prospect than Town Staff spending the next few months creating a permit process and related enforcement, just to have it revisited in 3 months when shelter and rescue folks return to request and submit an amendment to applicable sections. I propose that in lieu of passing the current version of the ordinance, Council moves to pass the ordinance with the minimum necessary language in section 4.10.085 to achieve Town Staff goals stated in the September 4, 2018 Council meeting and strike section 4.60.050 until time to make an amendment. This would afford the rescue groups, shelters, animal control and other stakeholders the same courtesy extended to the chicken and bees person (one person) that the Deputy Town Attorney stated was out of town. That section was left as -is until they could get together and work on an amendment. I am making the same request, and at the same time considering that our town needs to address the wild animal issues as well as the improper feeding of Community cats (while chickens and bees had no related hot topics). Here is the wording taken from the past two versions of section 4.10.085, that could be inserted instead of the current version of section 4.10.085 to cover what Town Staff needs: "It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to wild animals on any public or private property, including properties owned by the feeder, or on any private property that is shared by multiple people, such as condominiums, townhouses or apartment complexes. It is unlawful for any person to feed, cause to be fed, offer food to or scatter food, seed or other forms of matter edible (collectively referred to as "feed" or "feeding") to feral animals or Community cats on any public or private property, including properties owned by the feeder, or on any private property that is shared by multiple people, such as condominiums, townhouses or apartment complexes, in a manner inconsistent with best practices and guidelines for colony management as established by Animal Control and reputable Rescue or TNR agencies." As there are no current related problems cited by Town Staff other than the woman littering cat food in the Towne Terrace neighborhood and a few others who may not be feeding properly in other areas, this should satisfy and enable Town Staff to address these situations without the following problems that the current version of the ordinance would create: (1) Time and energy spent on writing and implementing a permit process that will have a replacement amendment proposed in 3 months by residents as well as rescue and shelter staff, (2) Two confusing and vaguely worded ordinance sections that are left up to interpretation and alienate the very people that we need helping us with these issues: rescue folks. These people offer their free time outside of their busy work schedules to help our residents solve cat problems in their neighborhoods and do not ask for a dime when they take anywhere from 1 to 6 kittens from a neighborhood, that they then have to spend funds on to have fixed, vaccinated and cared for until they are old enough to adopt out, often for an adoption fee below or barely covering the cost of this care, (3) Many rescue groups will go where there are fewer barriers to getting their work done. They want to help as many people in their limited time as possible, and if they have to apply for a permit for every trapping job or for every one-off trapping of a mother cat and kittens (that they are then burdened with to care for and get adopted), and then on top of this time and energy constraint, they have to pay a fee, they are going to work in Campbell or Mountain View or San Jose. Permit processes have been tried in other municipalities and have failed. Even San Jose tried a permit process of sorts and gave up shortly after implementing it. At the September 4, 2018 meeting I proposed a working group of stakeholders and people experienced in writing animal law to come together to help us write a solid, applicable ordinance. Instead of this happening prior to and causing a delay in the dog and wildlife related code, I am now proposing that we go ahead and add the above language instead of tabling the whole thing, thereby giving Town Staff and Code enforcement the "teeth" they need now, and then allow this group to work on a final section(s) to propose as an amendment in 3 months. We have national organizations contacting us asking how they can help, people that are experienced in writing animal law. We have reached out to other municipalities who can share their experiences with us, affording us a chance to not make the same mistakes. As for the viability of a working group, I want to point out that the information Town Staff obtained about the Mountain View working group was inaccurate. This task force met for approximately 3 to 4 months and took perhaps another 3 months to publish their report (Denise Uriarte has the accurate stats) and, instead of doing nothing, they determined that legislation was not the right answer and instead proposed several educational initiatives that are still in effect today and have proven applicable and effective. If the current version of the ordinance is passed, we are simply creating more problems and burden to ourselves as stakeholders and spending time that is better utilized addressing other issues in our town. Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to answering any questions you might have at Tuesday's meeting. Sincerely, Diana Grubbs Los Gatos Resident 19 years From: Carin Schroff <cschroff@aol.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 9:56 PM To: Council; Town Manager Subject: Los Gatos Town Council Meeting Sep, 18, 2018 section 410.085 regarding animals and fowl Attachments: TowneTerraceKittensFont jpg Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice -Mayor Leonardis, and Council Members: I attended the Sep. 4, 2018 Los Gatos Town Council meeting so that I could hear both sides of the concerns regarding feeding cats. Since most of the complaints are coming from Towne Terrace I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood myself, On Sep. 6, 2018 around 2:30 pm I walked thoroughly on Avery Lane and Towne Terrace and it was immaculate. 1 saw only a couple of cats, everything was clean, no smells, very pristine. A huge improvement already. The apartment manger on Towne Terrace who spoke at the Sep 4, 2018 Los Gatos Town Council meeting commented to me in person on Sep.6 that there has been a huge improvement in regards to the lady feeding cats. I hope that the improved conditions can be taken into consideration. would like to suggest that the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Town Council visit this neighborhood and see what the current conditions are like. Like everyone did for the couple in Los Gatos who will be building a modern home. The same apartment manager on Towne Terrace is fine with a cat feeding station in the neighborhood as long as the food is removed before the evening, so that wildlife would not be attracted. He also commented that there are fruit trees attracting the wildlife to the complex too. Wildlife will still exist there, because of other resources. Los Gatos has so much nature and creeks that wildlife thrive there. That is part of living in Los Gatos. Our rescue group holds cat adoption fairs at Petco in Los Gatos. We get a lot of residents living in Los Gatos asking for help with TNR and rescuing kittens. Because there are only a few of us that trap (we have jobs, and busy lives too) we simply can not physically help most of the residents, so we give advice on TNR, and rescuing kittens and cats. My concern with the proposed ordinance requiring a permit is that it will hinder people from helping cats in their neighborhood, and will do more damage than good, because it will cause less outside cats to get spayed and neutered which will create more outside cats, and lead to more complaints to the town of Los Gatos. I am also concerned about this proposed ordinance, because a few years ago on 5-19-15 I went to trap at the request of the same apartment manager on Towne Terrace who spoke at the Sep. 4 meeting. I used a can of food to bait the trap. The trap was near where the cats were usually fed. Apparently one of the "concerned" residents (1 never met) took it upon them self to assume I was feeding cats instead of speaking with me directly. I was actually trapping kittens for rescue and trying to trap adults cats for spay neuter, and not actually the feeding cats. I came from San Jose to volunteer my time to help. Because residents on Towne Terrace and Avery Lane are too lazy to actually try to get to the root of the problem and help, instead they choose to complain. Since I received the citation I stopped trapping there, so cats continued to reproduce. I am very concerned that the proposed ordinance will cause harassment towards people who trap and rescue, like what happened to me with the citation. I also request that people making false statements be held responsible, since this person was 100% assuming (guessing) and never saw what I was actually doing, 1 would like to help trap there again, but I am very apprehensive that some of the residents will think I am feeding. I have also offered to loan a trap to the apartment manager on Towne Terrace after he recently left me a voice message asking for help trapping a mom and kittens, but no reply from him. A problem with the permit process is that If someone comes across a cat in distress (starving, injured, or sick) on public property or on a multi -unit property, and they can't reach the property owner, and Animal Control is not able to come out that day (In most cases Animal Control will ask the concerned party to bring that animal into the shelter, because they do not have the manpower.) then the cat in distress with not get help or be rescued, because the concerned party may not have a permit at that time, and may fear being cited, As for cats needing to be TNR'd. There really is not a risk for wildlife eating cat food during TNR or rescuing a kitten or cat with a trap, because the food remains in the trap and is removed with the trap. Traps are only out temporarily I would suggest a feeding ordinance similar to the Jacksonville, FL city municipal code Sec. 462.312. which I have included at the bottom of this email. I oppose of the proposed ordinance section 4.10.085 regarding animals and fowl. I hope that any new ordinance will be a win win for everyone. Sincerely, Carin Schroff Executive Director Furrever Cat and Kitten Rescue https://www.facebook.com/furrevercatandkittenl 408-997-9332 Sec. 462.312. - Feeding of cats and dogs outdoors. SHARE LINK TO SECTIONPRINT SECTIONDOWNLOAD (DOCX) OF SECTIONSEMAIL SECTION (a) Rules applicable to all dogs and cats, excluding managed community cats covered in subsection (b) below, are as follows: (1) The feeding of cats and dogs outdoors shall take place primarily during daylight hours to minimize the risk of domestic -wildlife interactions that have increased potential of rabies exposure for the cats or dogs. Any food provided after daylight hours shall only be provided for such time required for feeding, and no longer than 30 minutes, after which it shall be removed. (2) Feeding outdoors is only allowed when an appropriate amount of food for daily consumption of the cat(s) and/or dog(s) being cared for is provided. Food must be appropriately placed in a sanitary container sufficient for the cat/dog being fed. Automatic feeders that are properly maintained and secured may be used to dispense daily food rations and may be present during night hours. (3) Dumping excess quantities of food on the ground, placing excess quantities in bowls or other containers, and leaving open food packages is prohibited. (4) Feeding outdoors must take place on the property owned by the person placing the food or be done with the consent of the property owner. Feeding on public property, road right-of-ways, parks, common land of a multifamily housing unit or any property without consent of the owner is prohibited. (5) Violations of this Section are subject to a fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. (b) Community Cat Management Initiatives: The City of Jacksonville recognizes the need for innovation in addressing the issues presented by feral, free -roaming and other community cats. To that end it recognizes that there are community care givers of cats, and acknowledges that properly managed community cats may be part of the solution to the continuing euthanasia of cats; and establishes the following requirements: (1) All managed community cat colonies/groups must be maintained on private property of the caregiver, or with permission on the private property of another landowner (including city, state, and federal public property). A free community cat caregiver certification program may be developed to educate people about community cats, the importance of a veterinary provider relationship to best address community cat needs, common disease(s) and proper care, good management practices, and maintenance of the community cats. The educational program shall be developed by community veterinarians, community cat caregivers, ACPS and citizens through an ad hoc advisory committee that will be disbanded upon recommendation to the Chief of ACPS. The Chief of ACPS may remove any member at any time for any reason within his/her discretion. Periodically, ad hoc committees will be convened to review, revise and update the program as needed. (2) All cats that are part of community cat management programs must be sterilized, (3) vaccinated against the threat of rabies, and ear -tipped (preferable on the left ear) for easy identification; if these requirements are met the community cat is exempted from licensing, stray, at -large and possibly other provisions of this ordinance that apply to owned animals. If a person is providing care for the community cats, he or she is required to provide(4) certain necessities on a regular/ongoing basis, including, but not limited to, proper nutrition and medical care as needed. If medical care is unavailable or too expensive, the caregiver must not allow the cat to suffer. (i) Food must be provided in the proper quantity for the number of cats being managed and is to be supplied no less than once per day. Food must be maintained in proper feeding containers. Water, if supplied, must be clean, potable and free from debris and algae. (iii) If shelter is provided, it shall be unobtrusive, safe, and of the proper size for the cat(s). Violations of this Section are subject to a fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. own Terrace lens rescued fro ,t At 5/2015, but there are more kittens like Subject: FW: Concerns regarding revisions to Chapter 4 of Los Gatos' municipal code From: Peter Wolf <peterw@bestfriends.org> Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 9:36 PM To: Council <CouncilPlosgatosca.gov> Cc: Lynne Lampros <LLampros@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Concerns regarding revisions to Chapter 4 of Los Gatos' municipal code Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice -Mayor Leonardis, and members of the Los Gatos Town Council, Let me begin by thanking you for your ongoing efforts to address the concerns of the animal welfare/rescue community —especially those involved with trap -neuter -return (TNR) programs —in revising Chapter 4 (Animals and Fowl) of Los Gatos' municipal code. The revisions made thus far do not, however, go far enough in addressing these concerns. The permit requirement, for example, is likely to deter TNR and rescue groups from working in your community since such bureaucratic barriers don't exist in neighboring communities. And the requirement that feeding of "feral animals" —which is critical to successful TNR efforts —at condominiums, townhouses, or apartment complexes be done only with "the express written consent of the owner of the property and all tenants/residents living on that property" (Sec. 4.10.085) effectively prohibits TNR from the very properties where it's typically most needed. As I've pointed out prior to the last vote on this matter, restrictions against feeding community cats are likely to backfire. Such policies, which essentially criminalize kindness, are virtually impossible to enforce (as has been demonstrated in Antioch) and a waste of scarce tax dollars. And there's no evidence that feeding restrictions reduce community cat populations. On the contrary, such efforts only impede efforts to reduce their numbers through targeted trap -neuter -return (TNR) programs, such as those promoted by San Jose Animal Care Services (SJACS) and the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. Again, I encourage you to postpone any decision on the matter and instead work with the local rescue/TNR community to work through this issue. A legislative solution is, I think, both unnecessary and likely to be counterproductive. You might be interested in Best Friends' collection of online resources, including "Working with Local TNR and Rescue Groups." If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to askl Respectfully, Peter J. Wolf Research/Policy Analyst Best Friends Animal Society 602.499.1474 i Subject: FW: Los Gatos Town Council Meeting Sep. 18, 2018 section 4.10.085 regarding animals and fowl From: Lyn Thompson <lynthompson@verizon.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 7:50 PM To: Rob Rennie <RRennie@Iosgatosca.gov>; Steven Leonardis <SLeonardis@losgatosca.gov>; Marcia Jensen <MJensen@Iosgatosca.gov>; Marico Sayoc <MSavoc@loseatosca.gov>; BSpector <BSpector@losgatosca.gov>; Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@Iosgatosca.gov> Subject: Los Gatos Town Council Meeting Sep. 18, 2018 section 4.10,085 regarding animals and fowl Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council Members, I'm writing to voice my concern regarding section 4.10.085 TOWN CODE ENTITLED ANIMALS AND FOWL. I've been a Los Gatos citizen since 1992 (with a brief stint away in Morgan Hill). My grandparents lived in Los Gatos (in the house live in now) since 1984, but lived in neighboring Saratoga since 1968. My parents have lived in Saratoga since 1976 and my mom taught at Rolling Hills Middle School (in the Town of Los Gatos) from 1968-2013. Both my sisters have lived in Los Gatos for many, many years and while they both live in Southern California, they still own their homes in Los Gatos. My niece was rasied in Los Gatos and attended Los Gatos High. My daughters (who attended Westmont High) are currently life guards (saving lives) at Los Gatos High. One of my daughters won the Los Gatos Community Service Scholarship - partly because of the work she does fostering and saving cats and kittens. We are very much native or long time residents of Los Gatos and the surrounding areas. I'm embarrassed to know a new section to the town code regarding feeding of feral cats may go into effect in a town that is the Spanish word for cats. How can we call ourselves Los Gatos when we are threatening to starve homeless cats? The majority (if not nearly all) of the feral cat feeders are responsible, animal loving people that can't bear to see homeless cats starve. I foster (and bottle feed) kittens for a rescue group. We nurse the kittens back to health, get them spayed or neutered and get them adopted into loving homes. However, there are some cats (parents of the foster kittens) that can't be socialized enough to be adopted as pets. These cats are trapped (using food as bait) and spayed or neutered and returned to the area they came from - but without the possibility of reproducing. If people aren't allowed to use food as bait to trap these animals, they will not be fixed and will continue to reproduce, thus causing a much larger problem. And there will be thousands of starving, sickly cats in the Town of Los Gatos. How do we explain to our friends, family, neighbors, and children that while we have the resources to feed and protect (and stop the cycle of reproducing) these cats, our Town (of The Cats) won't allow that? The police would be forced to fine citizens for feeding the cats - while allowing drivers to speed by my house on Quito Road at speeds in excess of 70 mph. In summary, I oppose of the proposed ordinance section 4.10.085 regarding animals and fowl. It's a step in the wrong direction and it's sad that you would think this is a good solution to and issue of cats in the Town of Los Gatos. (Next up - banning all angels in Los Angeles.) Lyn Thompson Ivnthompson(Wverizon.net 1 Subject: Attachments: FW: Animal Ordinance on Feeding IMG_1925,JPG; IMG_1979.JPG From: Lori Ingle <loriinglel@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 3:52 PM To: Rob Rennie <RRennieplosgatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>; Clerk <Clerk@losgatosca.gov> Cc: Lori Ingle <Ioriinglel@gmail.com> Subject: Animal Ordinance on Feeding Dear Mayor Rennie, the Entire Los Gatos Town Council, Town Manager, and Town Clerk, The reason for our email is to strongly encourage you all to oppose the proposed ban on feeding feral animals in Los Gatos. we have lived in Los Gatos my entire life, the last 25 years on Newell Avenue in LG. We personally own a cat trap, through feeding abandoned felines have been able to trap, neuter/spay, vaccinate, socialize and find loving homes for over nine cats just this year. One of the ferals that was in need of the most work is the one we ended up keeping. She is now a healthy, sweet and loving addition to our home. Attached are photos of her. Notice her clipped ear denoting she went through the Trap, Neuter, and Release program. Our neighbors on either side of us have similar situations with ferals, where they were able to feed them, gain their confidence, and are now part of their households. As you are all aware, Los Gatos stands for 'the cats'. We find this proposed ban not in the town's best interest and, in fact cruel, and quite uninformed. We should all be supportive of any compassionate individual trying to help any unwanted animal. We urge you all to oppose this ban. Thank you so much, Lori and Bruce Ingle �.�,� �. TL' �' ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS FROM ALLEY CAT ALLIES 4. tQl 4. I 'O G t.n. OL V fC O -d 3) 'IAC V, 4,2 -a -L EL4 u -" — 7 m c .w Ivoa b .a = V Rt O O N vet .�, Lam' <Y E 9 crl -0 u u •• y o ° u o rtt r'aSam,...., t5: [ o O 5 FY it Ci co v a 0.- at:, G E o= 40 E o O - � w � tt .- c-' O E o Le a.. 0 3 -a c ,�m ',4 U ' m E a v V TOWN OF LDS GATOS CLERK MEHT RECEIVED TRAP -NEUTER -RETURN ORDINANCES ACROSS THE UNITED S ENDNOTES 4) veo d m 4,4 k L) w M 0 ti k E _w 55 G tt 4 E o 0 in C 0 0 X U O C O 0' E R E6.7 0.0 N o -�; 0 o Vc 4 0. a,,5 v ecn 7-1 u O z 'O • a. o 0 0 l t i) "10 rri z u s4. 0 U 0 440, 5 E -14 a 3rd v'' a\ t 0444, Ea Qj N -b�; r o0 O N ,40 4-1 4.4 4-4 a 4 4) 4) E C 4) 0 u 0 rri 04 O 0 0 in U0 2'" w c 4 m o U °02 0 [n t) c U C 0 V 4) 0 v c0 o u v r u cl 0„ m w v°) 0 ui 0 *0 0 0 O) O U a a) ai 44 0 o _51 7 a a) Qo m 1 -} ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS FROM ALLEY CAT ALLIES in the United States: UNITED STATES (2014) TRAP -NEUTER -RETURN ORDINANCES ACR ENDNQTES boo ro aNT O 0-1 o s4 d 14 0 0 e 4 GC,Q t' 0 r 0 et v 4 0 4) 2 0 O 0 UO p 44 U a V v h 0 0 v Etoo +c m � C ,a 44 W O 1=4 rd Zo vi 0 n 0 rn 4 U N To 4-4 -3 c I. 0 o m e 0 0 n 0 a m Q7 } ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS FROM ALLEY CAT ALLIES ENDNOTES V cl.<4 g v ogel o+ G cg 'n w 0 a. ,,..60 a, 0 F` 0,, 0 L -Z ti y ztl ' to P �` _ C U 4 W 00`r' pup c^ N . L+ p., CJN cd Q gam. G - -N c- 2 V c v O I .4 . •� �" u" N °'d" ' 6.1 4. A, y cd N �' tl C � W O a a. 1 'Ts, q 0, 7u L. u U O O Q t, u .1 " I-.tl o .E c eeto — o tC)f v con `l .p, ,1 4 t Q C .� c ..< .' ti m IC 81:1 E an E a . 4 . I ., d OE Ci v o ' ,x c LI b 01 4 .� Z •O N 0 ear vm N r Z �-n 4 1.,`. 0 tx„ - — ' _ -� o z u 0 V Q d u a v c 0. _g Q 3 44 Nn U v N ell • v 0. -0 ti Q kr+ `d' N N at c44 0 .65 U -D 3 a 0 (6 >- i-, 44 m } a3 e C 0 0 0 U A 34 a U) (1) r 44 ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS FROM ALLEY CAT ALLIES nd Policies in the United States: ER -RETURN ORDINANCES ACROSS THE UNITED ENDNOTES o co 5 G m bGA t q E ,A ?t , • cn m f m O y aJ C} p ,'C • 0 c 1] is GyY a .v, RS N m a r, o E. • R., E a) iIiI 5 ai o • • o a, • a g= E aAti G m c w o c �. ?_ ° M pA a; � .-O .c a o o L,� a • -s-pA r ma ° .8 b Ga ..0 C 00 E A 3 j` m p !il CD V id+,a. O uv G ti G L @ a) § qI rn)- 7 cC [6 L 12 N T U I @ N O @ @ O E p=o o O , G ` O a1 g.V 3 N E -0 C O w .L- 2 N • ,�. oA ^o N -- y. cd -, c 0 a, a) a; O u' O al CZ p ,-4 7 a3 d E m g • n0 LI , 0 . Gl 0 f✓7 a 4 ra s°3. cd ▪ .� �° � G U ar �% W pA rf ad v; ' a a • a ,-+ a - V S` v �. Q• � y i. V 0 . �yy t j N v • - d W Q �+rNa .a' v_ 14 • o 0 4 a :..u14 *O -• tl Ua) a1 1 oC Vi 'va. , co "tt y d c -d .� en • 0 C Cais N v '� ,G 2 u u C7 c L., " o H x G a o 0 • c ad u Cy -0 ' 0 v • 0 y a .� � Ti Na o ,.r; ., c R 0 0 V 2 0, r1 E. 0 is 0 0) 0 m 0 3 � e c a O u N o -a G1 N an W co c N G 0) ter. 16 Jan. 2014. 9. Schlueter, J. E-mail message to From: C McBride <nbmcbride@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 2:41 PM To: Rob Rennie; Steven Leonardis; Marcia Jensen; Marko Sayoc; BSpector; Lynne Lampros Subject: Ordinance Amending Chapter 4 of Town Code. Animals and Fowl Attachments: A review of feral cat control.pdf Good Afternoon Council Members, I am resident of Los Gatos and live on Avery Lane. Avery Lane evidently being the epicenter of the feral cat issue that prompts changes to the town code. I have lived here for 8 years. I am not in favor of the current proposed changes to the ordinance regarding the feeding of the feral cat population in my neighborhood. I do believe the feral population of cats needs to be controlled for both their health and the will being of our pets. I would like to propose the city consider adopting more vigorous and engaged stance on the TNR method of controlling feral populations of cats. I include a peer reviewed article addressing the success of TNR on the reduction of feral cat populations and can supply more scientific and professional data to support TNR and its positive impact on reducing feral cat populations. I realize TNR is a complex and difficult policy to institute and execute. But I believe much more humane and much more likely to work than restricting food and hoping this increases the mortality rate sufficiently to reduce the population. Additionally I expect there will always be a kind soul who will feed these animals whether or not it is prohibited by a town code. To this end I might point out the TNR is a controlled and measurable action that will result in a reduction of the population feral cats regardless of food availability. Perhaps, in the meantime, if feeding the animals is creating an issue for a few residents, the feeding can be limited to daylight hours and conclude a few hours before sunset? The city might also describe the type of food fed and the location of such food? Thereby limiting the amount of food that might attract nocturnal animals such as skunks, raccoons and opossums. Since it appears the "mess" and attraction of these animals seems to be a common complaint? Please find attached the journal article describing successful TNR programs conducted in the US, I hope this gives you a viable and humane option to controlling the feral cat population in Los Gatos and enables you to address this issue with a sound and successful plan. Finally I would like to point out that about 40 cats have been trapped and neutered or spayed in the last 4 years by Ann in our neighborhood. I calculated the number of animals that did not enter the feral cat population due to this one woman modest effort. A graphic representation is below as well as the assumptions that were made in my calculations. Please note this is a very conservative estimate and the number of animals removed from the population is likely higher. Animals added to population if no TNR Number of Anima 35C 25C 15 1CC yes Assumptions: 3.5 Number of litters per year Avg number of kittens per litter Sex ratio Number Cats spayed or neutered Duration in yrstype Distribution Number of litters in first year of life Kitt' survive 2 4 0.5 40 4 even 1 0.! Thank you for your consideration and your time. Please let me know if you might like additional peer reviewed articles regarding the efficacy of TNR or to discuss this data. Kind regards, Celeste McBride 2 /2 Lynne Lampros From: Janette Judd Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 11:35 AM To: Sylvia Carrillo Cc: Lynne Lampros Subject: RE: Ordinance on Feral Cat Feeding - Sylvia Carrillo Hello Sylvia, Unfortunately your revised comments/additional e-mail was received after the final public submittal deadline for inclusion in materials for tonight's meeting. http://www.losgatosca.gov/2126/Public-Guide-to-Town- Council-Meetings. You are welcome to attend and deliver your comments in person. Please note that there is a three (3) minute limit for verbal communications (or potentially shorter at the Mayor's discretion, dependent on considerations that could include number of speakers and length of meeting.) Thank you again for contacting the Town of Los Gatos. Janette Judd • Executive Assistant Town Council and Town Manager • 110 E. Main St., Los Gatos CA 95030 Ph: 408.354.6832 • JJudd(LosGatosCA.gov www.LosGatosCA.gov • https://www.facebook.com/losgatosca From: Sylvia Carrillo <sylviac27@icloud.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 11:13 AM To: Janette Judd <jjudd@losgatosca.gov> Subject: RE: Ordinance on Feral Cat Feeding - Sylvia Carrillo Importance: High Hi Janette, thank you for contacting me. l have revised my statement, see attached. Do I need to send it to the town council again. I will read my revised statement at the meeting today. Thank you for your help, Sylvia Carrillo, HR Consultant Los Gatos, CA 408-506-9321 From: Janette Judd <jjudd@losgatosca.gov> Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 8:33 AM To: sylviac27@icloud.com Cc: Lynne Lampros <LLampros@losgatosca.gov> Subject: FW: Ordinance on Feral Cat Feeding - Sylvia Carrillo Importance: High cc: Town Council Town Manager Town Attorney's Office Town Clerk Good morning, Thank you for your e-mail, received by the Town Council and Town Manager. As you are aware this matter was continued from the August 7 Town Council meeting and is currently scheduled for discussion at the September 4 Town Council meeting. Your communication was received after initial public submittal deadlines have passed for the September 4 meeting agenda and Addenda: http://www.losgatosca.gov/2126/Public-Guide-to-Town-Council- Meetings. However, your comments will be included (along with all Public Comment) in supplemental materials distributed to Council for tonight's meeting. By copy of this message, the Manager's office is referring your message to the Town Attorney's office as lead staff for this matter. Should you have further questions or comments, Deputy Town Attorney Lynne Lampros can be reached at (408) 354-6880 or LLampros@LosGatosCA.gov. Once again thank you for contacting the Town of Los Gatos. Sincerely, Janette Judd • Executive Assistant Town Council and Town Manager • 110 E. Main St., Los Gatos CA 95030 Ph: 408.354.6832 • JJudd@LosGatosCA.gov www.LosGatosCA.gov • https:J/www.facebook.com/iosgatosca From: Sylvia Carrillo <sylviac27@icloud.com> Sent: Saturday, September 01, 2018 5:27 PM To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Ordinance on Feral Cat Feeding - Sylvia Carrillo Importance: High September 1, 2018 To Los Gatos Town Council: have lived here in the bay area for 57 years. I have lived here in Los Gatos for the past 11 of those years. Since 2015, Ann (the cat lady) has been feeding the cats, and thus this has created chaos here in the Town Terrace neighborhood. I also have heard that there are others who are feeding the cats at 4am in the morning. There has been an increase in cockroaches, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and cats. I am not able to walk at night, the animals and the crows are fighting and making a lot of noise as they all fight for the food. I have seen Ann feeding the cats many times and she leaves food on the property at 141 Towne Terrace and 200 Avery Lane. This property is located across the street from where she lives. I have confronted her and have told her to stop many times, but she refuses. In 2015, I called the police and the police called code enforcement. Dolores Salazar came and witnessed the cockroaches and the cat food on the street. There were cans of cat food and milk and the cockroaches were all over it. I was in the middle of the street, wearing boots and spraying the cockroaches. 1 showed Dolores where all the cat food is being placed and all the cockroaches. It was a horrible site!! This problem has gone on for too long now. This needs to stop immediately, feeding the wild animals is not healthy for them as well as for us humans. I know if this stops, the animals will go somewhere else to look for food. Hopefully they will go back to the mountains where they belong. I would appreciate you all passing this new ordinance, so we can have our neighborhood back. Thank you for your time, Sylvia Carrillo Los Gatos, CA PS: In 2015 Allen Meyer came to see me during the day and saw the cat food that was on the property located at 141 Towne Terrace.