TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Libby Bretthauer, Finance Director
Toni Page, Revenue Services Supervisor
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of the Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance to Amend Municipal Code Chapters 5.01 and 5.04 Related to Dog Licensing (Second Reading/Adoption) (No Budget Impact) (Finance Director Bretthauer).
ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 25-0006
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 25-0006 to amend Chapters 5.01 (Animals - Pound: Dogs) and 5.04 (Licensing of Dogs) of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code regarding Animal Licensing.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The fiscal impact of amending Title 4 - Chapter 5 of the City’ s Municipal Code relating to dog licensing is unknown at this time, however, through these code amendments, the City anticipates a higher rate of compliance in obtaining animal licenses from pet owners within the community thereby increasing animal license revenues in
the General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The City requires any person within the City who has, keeps, maintains, or harbors any dog four months old or older for a period of 30 days to obtain an annual dog license.
On June 17, 2025, the City Council introduced Ordinance No. 25-0006, amending Chapters 5.01 (Animals - Pound: Dogs) and 5.04 (Licensing of Dogs) of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code regarding Animal Licensing to:
A) Update the frequency of dog license renewals from a fixed September to September term to align with each dog’s rabies vaccination expiration date (MBMC 5.01);
B) Establish a life-time dog tag to replace the current requirement of issuing a new dog tag annually upon renewal of the animal license and update language to reflect “license fee” for consistency (MBMC 5.01); and
C) Require veterinarians practicing within the City to issue a rabies vaccination certificate to the pet owner and provide a duplicate copy to the Animal License Authority (MBMC 5.04).
Adopting the ordinance will modernize the City’s licensing practices, improve alignment with rabies vaccination schedules, and promote public health through improved data reporting and tracking.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 25-0006, amending Chapters 5.01 (Animals - Pound: Dogs) and 5.04 (Licensing of Dogs) of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code regarding Animal Licensing, and becoming effective on the 31st day after its passage.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it consists of an administrative activity of government that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance No. 25-0006
2. Staff Report - June 17, 2025