Barking could lead to fines

Some people think a new Costa Mesa ordinance aimed at dealing with barking dogs will decrease noise around their neighborhoods. Others worry the ordinance would slap undeserving residents with exorbitant fines and allow vindictive neighbors to involve the police in issues that could be solved without them.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 3-2 in favor of the ordinance, which streamlines the complaint process, clarifies what can be reported, and imposes a $200 fine for the first offense.

Councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina Foley voted against it because of what they considered excessive fines. Foley asked the council to consider reducing the fine for an initial offense to $50, but Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor, Mayor Eric Bever and Councilwoman Wendy Leece were in disagreement.

“I’d like to keep it as stated. It has worked well for the county, and I think it will work well for us,” Mansoor said of the fines.

Before the change, residents who wanted to lodge a complaint about noisy pets would have to go through a process that many considered too laborious. It required the resident to join forces with at least one other affected resident and fill out a significant amount of paperwork. Few of these dog issues — 10 out of 748 last year — ever escalated to formal complaints, according to police records.

In an e-mail to the Pilot, Costa Mesa resident James Little stated his support of the new ordinance.

“Not only am I innocently being harassed and stressed by a neighbor’s pet while trying to conduct business out of my home office,” he wrote, “I have to solicit another neighbor to join me in a time consuming campaign against a thoughtless person who obviously doesn’t care about the impact of his lifestyle decision on fellow homeowners.”

With the new ordinance in place, a single resident’s complaint about a noisy dog would be investigated by animal control and a warning would be given requiring the dog owner to fix the problem within 10 days.

After that, police could give a $200 citation for the offense with citations for successive violations increasing.

“I think it’s a little severe. Having been a victim of people with bad intentions, that would be a pretty hefty fine,” said Mesa Verde resident George Hanold.

Hanold, who owns two dogs, said police came to his house 25 times because of barking complaints that he said were caused by others provoking his dogs.

Police Chief Chris Shawkey said the new ordinance was brought forward, in part, to prevent people from unfairly harassing neighbors with calls to police. Under the ordinance, a resident who complains must sign a statement under penalty of perjury.

“We’re hoping it will cut down on people calling in on their neighbors,” Shawkey said.

Foley and Dixon stressed their support for the ordinance, but not the fines.

“I think the system that we’ve been discussing is much better than the one we have now… but we need more leniency to make sure that we don’t pit neighbors against neighbors,” Foley said.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.