FORKS — A proposed ordinance for licensing owners of large numbers of animals is poised for possible approval Monday by the City Council.
The new law would require yearly animal-collector licenses for owners of 11 or more dogs, cats and birds combined on a parcel of property.
Licenses also would be required for three or more nonvenomous reptiles larger than 20 inches in length or 4 pounds in weight, whichever is smaller, and for any animal or reptile that is venomous.
The ordinance will be considered at the council’s regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday in chambers at City Hall, 500 E. Division St.
The proposal was prompted by legal gaps in the city code that were revealed during the controversy over Steve Markwell’s now-defunct Olympic Animal Sanctuary.
“We don’t want to go through the OAS situation again,” Mayor Bryon Monohon said Tuesday.
“We need to have laws on our books to protect ourselves from that.
“We are going to pass it, and then we’ll be through with it.”
A Nov. 11 council public hearing on the ordinance generated one comment, City Attorney-Planner Rod Fleck said Tuesday.
“One local person felt it was something that was needed,” Fleck said.
Breeders with more than 10 dogs would fall under the ordinance, he added.
Fleck estimated the city may receive five animal-collector permit applications a year if City Council members approve the new law.
The ordinance is at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Animalordinance.
Proposed licensing requirements call for 250 square feet of space for each dog, 150 square feet for each cat and 50 square fee for each reptile.
The city would inspect licensed premises to ensure compliance.
Owners would have to prove “adequate provision for sanitary needs of the animals collected.”
They also would have to make available unfrozen, potable water and ensure that “adequate shelter” is provided.
City officials could obtain assistance from “applicable experts and/or agency representatives” in evaluating the animals’ living conditions, according to the ordinance.
License fees would range from $100 for 11 to 20 dogs or cats to $1,500 for 10 or more hybrids or for venomous snakes.
Violators could be fined up to $300 in civil penalties for each violation and have their animals removed.
“The city may, at its sole discretion, seize said animals and transfer ownership and/or dispose of the animals in a manner that is reasonable, expeditious and efficient,” according to the ordinance.
Enforcement will be conducted by the Forks Police Department, Fleck said.
The law is based on Pierce County’s ordinance, he said.
Forks’ existing animal control ordinance covers barking and vicious dogs.
“This ordinance deals with those individuals who, as part of an expression of who they are, need to have a large number of animals,” Fleck said.
Markwell, who founded his facility at 1021 Russell Road in Forks to house dangerous dogs in 2006, received national attention in People magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
Protesters who claimed the animals were living in squalid conditions contacted news outlets and converged on the city in fall 2013.
Markwell left Forks with more than 124 of the dogs in a semitrailer in December and turned them over to the New York state-based Guardians of Rescue in Golden Valley, Ariz.
The dogs have since been placed in new homes or other sanctuaries.
Markwell returned to Forks in February and moved back to the warehouse, saying he kept some dogs as pets but not saying how many.
His cellphone continued to be disconnected as of Tuesday.
“Apparently, he’s in the community,” Fleck said.
“I haven’t seen him, but I’ve had people call me and tell me that.”
Still outstanding is a lawsuit filed against Markwell by the state Attorney General’s Office in July.
According to the complaint, he allegedly did not register his tax-exempt, nonprofit sanctuary with the state as an organization that solicited contributions for the shelter.
The complaint also says he illegally raised at least $266,606 in contributions before registering April 24, 2013.
The most recent court document filed was a Sept. 8 subpoena to First Federal bank in Port Angeles.
The state Attorney General’s Office issued the subpoena for statements, deposits, withdrawals and other records from Markwell’s account from 2009 to present.
“[The complaint] hasn’t moved forward,” Markwell’s attorney, Chris Jackman of Seattle, said Tuesday.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
