THROUGH MY EYES -- RON DAVIS

It’s just a question of fundamental fairness. When we pass laws

designed to protect a number of average Joes -- the you’s and me’s of

Huntington Beach -- do we ignore those laws because a large number of

people benefit from the violation? Do we ignore those laws because the

violator has clout with the city of Huntington Beach?

I don’t have to tell you dogs bark. I probably don’t have to tell you

a number of dogs, concentrated and playing in one area, are more inclined

to be a disturbance than a single dog in a backyard.

For the past five years, the residents in the area of Talbert Avenue

and Edwards Street have been howling about a pooch park placed by the

city in our Central Park, located just about 200 feet from their homes.

The city has partially confirmed what the residents have continually

growled about. And that is this concentration of canines, located in

close proximity to their homes, begin to bark as early as 5 a.m. and

continue late into the evening. Residents said this pooch-party continues

seven days a week, 365 days a year.

But, we have a law in Huntington Beach that makes it a nuisance for

anyone [city of Huntington Beach] to allow animals [dogs] on their

property, which make sounds [barking], which interferes with the

comfortable enjoyment of life of a neighborhood or a considerable number

of persons.

I suspect that if you or I built our own doggie domain, concentrating

20, 30 or 40 dogs an hour within the same proximity to homes and

engendering the same level and number of complaints, just like the city

did, we’d find ourselves in the dog house faster than you could say Alpo.

The park owner shouldn’t violate the rights of these residents to enjoy a

comfortable life simply because the owner of this hound heaven is a fat

cat -- the city of Huntington Beach.

We often speak of the right of the majority, but the owners of these

cacophonous canines, even though they might outnumber the affected

residents, are really a minority compared to the citizens who passed the

law. And they certainly aren’t the people the majority had in mind to be

protected by the law. It is absurd to think that it is a violation of law

if one dog disturbs these property owners, but it isn’t a violation if 20

dogs do.

The sad aspect of this doggie park situation is the way the residents

have been handled by the offending party and the party with a legal

obligation to unleash code enforcement -- the city of Huntington Beach.

Can you imagine hounding your neighbor about their noisy dogs and being

told by the neighbor they’d look into the matter over the next five or

six months? That, in essence, they’d look into the matter while their

dogs continue to bark, bark and bark? That’s exactly what the city has

done, not for just the past few months, but for the past five years.

Meanwhile, the dogs continue to do what dogs do -- bark, bark, bark,

bark.

The city of Huntington Beach is the alleged violator. Since when have

we gotten to the point where the accused gets to determine whether

they’ve violated the law? When that cop shows up to tell you your party

is too loud, just try and tell him you’ll look into the matter and get

back to him over the next couple of weeks.

Dog parks and loud parties have something in common. Sometimes the

woofers are too loud. And when the woofers are too loud, the rights of

the residents, even a single resident, are superior to those of the

party animals, no matter the number of party animals.

I realize this sounds a little gruff, but the yapping’s been going on

for five years, and it’s time for the city to curb the double standard

and take this pup for walk.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 RDD@socal.rr.com.f7