Homeless in Arizona

Sometimes the cops solved the problem. Sometimes the cops were worthless as they always are and they didn't solve the problem.

If I remember correctly the cops didn't like this method because it got them involved in neighborhood fights of dog owners vs non-dog owners. The police departments in both Phoenix and Tempe lobbied to get the city governments to change the laws in both Tempe and Phoenix where private citizens had to file complaints against other private citizens who had barking dogs that disturbed the peace.

And of course the cops loved the new method because it got them out of the loop. It didn't make them look like *ssholes around people who love dogs, or make that love barking dogs

But the new laws didn't work very well at all, because it forces the people who have problems with barking dogs to get into a court fight with the oweres of the barking dogs.

Personally I suspect these laws where you have to get a group of people to complain about barking dogs are unconstitutional per the "equal protection" clause in the Arizona Constitution and the 14th Amendment of the US Constitutional.

I have always been an introvert who keeps to my self and doesn't talk to or even know my neighbors. So these laws made it impossible to deal with the problems of my neighbors barking dogs which kept me awake at night.

Currently the process to deal with a barking dog which keeps you up at night it's a long complicated time consuming process where you have to jump thru all these hoops to complain about a barking dog:

1) instead of calling the cops about a barking dog Tempe residents must file a complaint online through the city’s 311 system.

2) a few days later a Code enforcement officers then send a letter to alert the dog owner that a complaint has been filed and to offer suggestions to resolve the issue.

3) If and only if a second complaint is received, the complainant must gather signatures from three residents in different households who can attest to the excessive barking. If the petition is filed, a second violation notice is issued to the dog owner.

4) If the issue is not resolved in two weeks, code enforcement officers can issue a citation to the dog owner. Officials can hold off on issuing a citation if the complainant and the dog owner agree that the situation is improving and want to give it more time to be resolved.

Source

Barking dogs keeping you up at night? Tempe could make it easier to cite dog owners

Paulina Pineda, Arizona Republic Published 6:30 a.m. MT July 13, 2019

Will Tempe help make it easier to cite owners of barking dogs? A second public hearing and council vote is scheduled for July 31 on proposed changes.

Find it hard to sleep at night with the neighbor’s dog yapping? It could soon be easier for Tempe residents to file a complaint.

The Tempe City Council is considering loosening the requirements to cite someone for excessive dog barking under the city's nuisance laws.

The proposal includes decreasing the number of residents complaining about the barking from three households to two.

Councilman Randy Keating said Tempe has been inundated with emails from residents complaining about excessive barking in their neighborhoods — and that the process to file a complaint is too difficult.

Since 2012, about 1,800 people have started the complaint process and only four complaints have made it through the entire process, he said.

“I think this is a needed change to our code,” Keating said.

The City Council held a public hearing on the proposed changes June 27. A second public hearing and council vote is scheduled for July 31.

How to file a complaint

It is illegal under the city’s nuisance laws to have a dog or other animal whose excessive barking or cries “annoys or disturbs a neighborhood or any number of persons.”

Currently, Tempe residents must file a complaint online through the city’s 311 system.

Code enforcement officers then send a letter to alert the dog owner that a complaint has been filed and to offer suggestions to resolve the issue.

If a second complaint is received, the complainant must gather signatures from three residents in different households who can attest to the excessive barking. If the petition is filed, a second violation notice is issued to the dog owner.

If the issue is not resolved in two weeks, code enforcement officers can issue a citation to the dog owner. Officials can hold off on issuing a citation if the complainant and the dog owner agree that the situation is improving and want to give it more time to be resolved.

Fines for an excessive barking violation range from $200 for the first offense to $400 for a third offense.

The dog owner can dispute a citation and have the case heard in court. Under the city's current rules, all three complainants must appear in court and keep logs with dates and times of barking incidents.

Proposed changes

If approved, the code change would:

require a complainant to gather signatures from two residents in different households who can attest to the excessive barking, instead of three.

require only one resident to appear in court for the case to move forward if the dog owner disputes the citation. The complainants would not be required to keep a log of barking incidents.

The city would also provide information to residents on available mediation services for neighborhood disputes.

Proposal gets mixed response from residents Residents weighed in on the proposed changes prior to the council’s discussion last month.

Of the 165 residents who responded, 93, or 56 percent of respondents, opposed the change. Sixty-nine residents supported the measure, while three others were undecided.

Those opposed worried that residents could take advantage of the lax reporting requirements.

“Two households makes it too easy for disgruntled neighbors to gang up on a neighbor.”

Tempe survey respondent

“Two households makes it too easy for disgruntled neighbors to gang up on a neighbor,” one respondent wrote. “Proof of barking must be shown in order to weed out general animosity towards a neighbor.”

Others noted that it shouldn’t be difficult to get three signatures if the barking is truly a problem.

Some respondents felt that this was a neighborhood issue and that the city should keep out.

Many of those in favor recounted personal experiences with barking dogs and said reducing the requirements would make it easier for the issue to be addressed.

Others said reducing the number of people required to sign the petition from three to two made sense because barking typically affects next-door neighbors on either side of the house.

Reach reporter Paulina Pineda at paulina.pineda@azcentral.com or 602-444-8130. Follow her on Twitter: @paulinapineda22.