The city of Lancaster is considering adopting stiff penalties for owners of "potentially dangerous" and "vicious" dogs, particularly those that law enforcement officials say are favored by gang members and used for intimidation.
The proposed ordinance would also require spaying and neutering of all varieties of pit bulls and Rottweilers, including mutts that have "predominant physical characteristics" of those breeds.
"I want gangs out of Lancaster," Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a recent interview. "I want to make it uncomfortable for them to be here. Anything they like, I want to take it away from them. I want to deliberately harass them."
If the ordinance is approved Tuesday, Lancaster will join a growing list of Los Angeles County municipalities that have adopted laws aimed at curbing canine populations. But it would go a step further by specifically trying to identify dogs that are "potentially dangerous" or "vicious."
California law allows local authorities to target specific breeds for spaying and neutering, but specific breeds cannot officially be branded vicious.
Under the Lancaster ordinance, however, a hearing officer could deem an individual dog to be potentially dangerous or vicious.
For example, dogs that are unprovoked and engage in aggressive behavior, requiring a person to take defensive action, may be found to be potentially dangerous.
And dogs that are trained to be aggressive for fighting, inflict severe injury or death or are already listed as potentially dangerous may be determined to be vicious.
The ordinance would allow dogs in either category to be impounded and vicious dogs to be destroyed if deemed to be a significant threat to the public safety, officials said.
If an impounded dog was cleared for release, its owner would have to pay for the animal to be properly licensed, fitted with a microchip and vaccinated, in addition to other measures.
A fine of up to $500 would be leveled for each offense committed by a potentially dangerous dog and up to $1,000 per offense for a vicious dog.
And the owner of a vicious dog could be prohibited from possessing any dog for up to three years.
"It's really like [gangs] having a weapon that they are allowed to display and intimidate people," Parris said. "If they have a pit bull, they may as well put a sign on their head saying, 'Come get me.' "
Not everyone is happy about the proposed ordinance.
