The Palm Desert City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Thursday that comprehensively updates the city's animal control regulations for the first time since 1998.
The council voted 5-0 to introduce the proposed amendments to Title 6 of the Municipal Code, which add mandatory microchipping and spay-neuter requirements for pets, establish new procedures for handling dangerous and noisy animals, and prohibit backyard breeding and the public sale of animals. The ordinance also updates enforcement authority, impoundment procedures, and adds provisions for rabies control.
The city's current animal control regulations were established in January 1998, according to a staff report prepared for the meeting. Since their adoption, they have not been revised or updated.
The amendments modernize definitions, expand chapters, and incorporate references to state law while selectively adopting relevant sections from Riverside County's animal control ordinance. The city chose not to fully adopt the county ordinance because doing so "would not enhance enforcement methods or reflect best practices for the city's animal control program," according to the staff report.
Pedro Rodriguez, the city’s code compliance and support services manager, told councilmembers that full adoption of the county ordinance would eliminate enforcement authority for quality-of-life regulations such as requiring pet owners to clean up after their pets and prohibiting farm animals in residential zones.
The new regulations address gaps in current law involving noisy animal nuisances, microchipping, administrative remedies, backyard breeding, and dangerous animal regulation. The ordinance adds a new chapter on potentially dangerous animals with clear definitions and impoundment guidelines, and another new chapter on noisy animals that includes nuisance declarations and administrative hearing procedures.
The offenses chapter includes updated language defining unlawful backyard breeding, prohibiting livestock in city limits, restricting animal tethering, and establishing trap-neuter-return programs. The licensing chapter now requires mandatory microchipping and spay-neuter procedures in addition to clarifying licensing requirements.
Staff presented the proposed amendments to the Animal Services subcommittee on Oct. 16, resulting in several corrections including updating the definition of "service dog" to include persons with disabilities, requiring pet owners to update address changes with the county and microchipping companies, and changing microchipping exemption language from "athletic ability" to "animal mobility."