HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 1456-23 Disposal of Pet WasteINSTR# 2023056479 OR BK 10791 PG 2922 Page 1 of 3
04/03/2023 11:25 AM Rcpt: 2567559 Rec: 27.00 DS: 0.00 IT: 0.00
Nikki Alvarez-Sowles, Esq., Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller
AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA CREATING A NEW SECTION TO CHAPTER
93 OF THE CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS CODE OF ORDINANCES,
SECTION 93.03 ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROPER
DISPOSAL OF PET WASTE; PROVIDING FOR APPLICABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR REPEALER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN CODE; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article V1I1, Florida Constitution of 1968, and Chapter 166,
Florida Statutes, the City of Zephyrhills has broad home rule powers to carry out city government,
including the power to adopt ordinances to provide for the public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, the FDEP has mandated total maximum daily loads for "impaired" water
bodies in Pasco County and has adopted Basin Management Action Plans (BMAP), within the
Springs Coast and Tampa Bay watersheds; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance is part of the strategies implemented by the City of Zephyrhills
to achieve the required pollutant load reductions to meet these total maximum daily loads and
reduce nutrient and bacteria loading into surface waters, springs, the Gulf of Mexico, and Tampa
Bay; and
WHEREAS, implementation of a pet waste ordinance is an approved stormwater best
management practice component of the BMAP and a requirement of Pasco County's Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System Permit; and
WHEREAS, pet waste contains nutrients that can promote the growth of algae in
stormwater and drainage conveyances and natural water bodies; and
WHEREAS, pet waste contains bacteria and parasites that can make surface waters unsafe
for fishing, wading and swimming; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to law, notice has been given by publication in a paper of general
circulation in the City, notifying the public of this proposed ordinance and of a public hearing
WHEREAS, the City Council has conducted duly noticed public hearings as required by
law, at which hearings all parties in interest and citizens were afforded notice and the opportunity
to be heard; and
WHEREAS, the City Council hereby finds and declares that this Ordinance is in the best
interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, and that it advances a valid and important public
purpose.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of
Zephyrhills, Florida, that the following addition to the City of Zephyrhills Code of Ordinance shall
be referred to as the "Pet Waste Ordinance," as follows:
SECTION 1. Authority.
This ordinance is enacted pursuant to Chapter 166, Florida Statutes (2022), and under
the home rule powers of the City.
SECTION 2. Legislative Findings of Fact.
The foregoing Whereas clauses are hereby adopted as legislative finds of the City Council
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OR BK 10791 PG 2923 Page 2 of 3
of the City of Zephyrhills and are ratified and confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby
made a specific part of the Ordinance upon adoption.
SECTION 3. Purpose and Intent.
This ordinance establishes requirements for the proper disposal of pet waste in Pasco
County, Florida, to protect public health, safety and welfare, and increase public awareness.
SECTION 4. Definitions.
For this section, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this section unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Owner/Keepe>" — any person who shall possess, maintain, house, or harbor any pet or
otherwise has physical custody or control of any pet.
"Person" — any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political
subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
"Pet"- a domesticated animal.
"Pet waste" — waste matter, excrement expelled from the bowels of a pet.
"Proper disposal'— placement in a designated waste receptacle, or other suitable container,
and discarded in a refuse container which is regularly emptied by the county or some other
refuse collector; or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper
treatment and disposal.
SECTION 5. Requirement for Disposal.
All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately collect their pet's waste when
deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person and to properly
dispose of the pet waste.
SECTION 6. Exemptions.
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt
from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose. Further, this
section does not apply to the accumulation of animal waste as part of a. bona -fide agricultural
activity.
SECTION 7. Repealer.
All ordinances and resolutions or parts thereof of the City in conflict with the provisions
herein contained are, to the extent of such conflict, hereby superseded and repealed.
SECTION 8. Severability.
It is declared to be the intent of the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, that if
anysection, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision of this Ordinance shall be declared invalid,
the remainder ofthis Ordinance shall be construed as not having contained said section, subsection,
sentence, clause, or provisions and shall not be affected by such holding.
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OR BK 10791 PG 2924 Page 3 of 3
SECTION 9. Inclusion in Code.
It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, that the provisions of
this Ordinanceshall become and be made a part of the Pasco County Code of Ordinances, and that
the sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or re -lettered and the word "ordinance" may be
changed to "section," "article," "regulation," or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to
accomplish such intentions.
SECTION 10. Effective Date.
This ordinance shall be transmitted to the Department of State by the Clerk to the Board by
electronic mail within ten (10) days of the adoption of this ordinance, and this ordinance shall take
effect upon filing with the Department of State.
Th#,9rdinance 145�Z23- was read and passed on the first reading in an open and regular meeting of
tIT ,City Council of theCity of Zephyrhills, Florida, on this 13th day of March 2023.
milrn a City Clerk odi Wilkeson Council President
The foregoing Ordinance 1456-23 was read and passed on the second reading, following a public
hearing, inn open and regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, on
thi' t'a " ch, 2023.
w
Attest
', Lori L. Hillman, :City Clerk Jodi Wilkeson, Council President
fordgoing Ordiaauce 1456-23 was approved by me this 27th day of March 2023.
;�o
G ne Whitfield yor
Approved as to legal form and legal content
Matthew E. Maggard, Cit Attorney
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