SANTA MONICA - Although they have no limit in their MC, their CityAttorney advises them they can implement the LA County limits automatically:Three (3) dogs/three (3) cats. (Santa Monica requires a kennel permit andcity business license for anyone having above the 'average' number ofpets.)
This is totally Bull. In a recent email from Santa Monica City Attorney Marsha Moutrie, she states:
Ed,
I haven’t advised anyone that we could implement County limits.
Marsha Moutrie
6 comments:
Ed, I did research standard Ca law. The damn City cannot exhempt itself from the county ( overwhelming ) law. An incorporated area may tighten an ordinance, they can't ignore it. They may choose to not enforce it, like a speed limit, but it's still on the books.
Karen, the County does not have priority over incorporated municipalities. Santa Monica can set its own pet limits because they have their own animal services dept. Kevin McKeown, Joseph Lawrence, the assistant city attorney, and Marshe Moutrie are all adamant that S.M. has no pet limits and would work against any imposition.
County rules only apply to areas they serve. County can't dictate to LA City, Santa Monica, Long Beach, etc. what limits they should have.
They are separate legal entities.
Muzika is correct.
Some people don't understand what "county" means. The state is broken up into physical areas called counties e.g., Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, San Bernadino... These are just geographical areas. They do not have anything to do with legal controls.
Each independently incorporated city controls itself such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Los Angeles City. All unincorporated cities are under control of the County Supervisor and that county's laws. Some cities don't have their own animal control so they contract out with an SPCA, another city or the county. West Hollywood contracts out with the county. Beverly Hills contracts out with the city. The cities still retain their own animal regulations if they like. It's kind of confusing,
Let me get this straight. Lets use gay marriage, that's big in California. What is state law, applies to all counties and incorporated areas, what is county code applies to incorporated areas within that county. All these little cities don't get to make up their own rules because they have an AC. Just like San Francisco can't make Long Beach accept gay marriage like SF wanted.
County's per limit rules would apply to County unincorporated areas, but not municipalities that do not use County's Animal Care services. Even those that use County animal services can impose different pet limits than county has for unincorporated areas.
County cannot trump LA city either if they decide to lift the limit on cats and raise dogs to five.
The analogy to gay marriage you bring up I just don't follow.
County's building codes would also apply to unincorporated areas but not municipalities that have their own building and safety regs.
County is not the default if a municipality has decided not to regulate pet limits.
I'm glad I live up north, we haven't seceeded yet. I am a county employee. I get the analogy and I'm not gay.
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