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CC SR 20170919 04 - Coyote Issues ReportRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 09/19/2017 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business AGENDA DESCRIPTION: Consideration and possible action to receive and file a report on Peninsula -wide measures to address coyote issues. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: (1) Receive and file a report on measures that Peninsula cities are implementing to address coyote issues and how they relate to the City's measures. FISCAL IMPACT: None Amount Budgeted: N/A Additional Appropriation: N/A Account Number(s): N/A ORIGINATED BY: Julie Peterson, Code Enforcement Officer j- REVIEWED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, Director of Community Development; APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manage(.-"/�:/--_ BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: Coyotes have been a part of the City since well before its development and incorporation. Historically throughout the South Bay, the City has been on the forefront in engaging its residents in educational campaigns about what to do when encountering coyotes, and what measures to take to keep coyotes out of neighborhoods. In 2013, the City took the lead by implementing the first Coyote Management Plan in the South Bay, which is available to the public on the City's website http://www.rpvca.gov/335/Coyotes). The goal of the Plan is to encourage and "support coexistence with urban coyotes using education, behavior modification and development of a tiered response to aggressive coyote behavior." The City also has available on its website brochures and information on living with urban coyotes made available from the Humane Society, as well as methods to deter coyotes from entering property. Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the reporting of coyote sightings, not only in Rancho Palos Verdes, but in the surrounding Peninsula cities. In response, Councilwoman Brooks requested a report to the City Council on the measures that the other three Peninsula cities have in place to address coyotes as they relate to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' efforts. 1 Coyote Facts Basic facts about coyotes include: • Coyotes are native to California and are found throughout the State. • Coyotes can be a valuable species in wildlife areas, as they are natural predators of mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, feral cats, and other small animals, thereby helping to control rodent populations. • Coyotes are naturally curious and will watch you just out of curiosity. • Coyotes are adaptable and can survive on whatever food is available. They are opportunistic feeders. • Urban coyotes are not necessarily nocturnal, and it is not unusual to see them during daylight hours. • Coyotes have the ability to adjust their litter sizes based on the abundance of food and population density in their area. Coyotes will also repopulate their litter when reduced. Peninsula Cities The recent coyote issues are being addressed by all four cities on the Peninsula. Recognizing that coyotes are less a local and more of a regional issue, the Peninsula cities have been participating in the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) task force meetings on this regional issue. These task force meetings have provided an opportunity for the City to collaborate with other South Bay cities and to exchange information on effective measures to address coyote issues. The cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates have also been working together to implement measures on a Peninsula -wide basis. The following table summarizes coyote measures taken by all four Peninsula cities, and some of the measures are described in greater detail below the table: 2 Rolling Hills Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Measures Rolling Hills Estates Estates Verdes Website Yes Yes Yes Yes http://ci.rolling- www.rolling- Information hills.org www.pvestates.org www.rpvca.gov hills-estates.ca.us Coyote Management Plan Yes No Yes Yes List -Serve News Blasts Yes No Yes Yes Web -based Coyote Tracking Yes No Yes Yes Application LA County Dept. LA County Dept. of Animal Pest LA County Dept. Coyote Services of Agriculture Agriculture Management of Agriculture 2 Coyote Management Plan All four Peninsula cities agree that education is a key component in coyote management. Rancho Palos Verdes was the first city to prepare and implement a Coyote Management Plan, followed by the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates (referred to as Coyote Management Strategies). Education involves public outreach to raise awareness on coyote attractants and deterrents, such as the following: • Don't leave pet food outside. • Don't leave small pets or children outside unattended. • If you compost, use enclosed bins and never compost meat or fish scraps. • Install motion -sensitive lighting around the house. • Make sure your fences are 6 feet high with no gaps at ground level — coyotes are good diggers. • Put bird feeders away at night to avoid attracting rodents and other coyote prey. • Remove fallen fruit from the ground. • Remove sources of water. • Talk to your neighbors to make sure they're following the same procedures. • Trim ground -level shrubbery to reduce hiding places. Hazing is another method that makes use of deterrents to move a coyote out of an area or discourage an undesirable behavior or activity. Hazing can help maintain a coyote's fear of humans and deter them from neighborhoods. Using a variety of different hazing tools is important as coyotes can habituate to individual items, sounds and actions. The simplest method of hazing involves being loud and large: stand tall, wave your arms and yell at the coyote, approaching it if necessary, until it runs away. If a coyote has not been hazed before it may not immediately run away when you yell at it. If this happens, you may need to walk towards the coyote and increase the intensity of your hazing. It is 3 Rolling Hills Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Measures Estates Rolling Hills Estates Verdes Who to Report LA County City Manager's PVE Police RPV Code Aggressive Coyote Agriculture Sightings to Commission Office Department Enforcement City Sponsored Trapping No Yes No No Private Trapping Permitted Yes Yes Yes Yes Prohibition against Yes Yes Feeding Coyotes RHEMC 6.05.010 No No RPVMC 6.04.020 Penalty Fines for $100/$200/$500 N/A N/A $100/$200/$500 Feeding Coyotes Participation in the Wildlife Watch Yes No Yes Yes Program Coyote Management Plan All four Peninsula cities agree that education is a key component in coyote management. Rancho Palos Verdes was the first city to prepare and implement a Coyote Management Plan, followed by the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates (referred to as Coyote Management Strategies). Education involves public outreach to raise awareness on coyote attractants and deterrents, such as the following: • Don't leave pet food outside. • Don't leave small pets or children outside unattended. • If you compost, use enclosed bins and never compost meat or fish scraps. • Install motion -sensitive lighting around the house. • Make sure your fences are 6 feet high with no gaps at ground level — coyotes are good diggers. • Put bird feeders away at night to avoid attracting rodents and other coyote prey. • Remove fallen fruit from the ground. • Remove sources of water. • Talk to your neighbors to make sure they're following the same procedures. • Trim ground -level shrubbery to reduce hiding places. Hazing is another method that makes use of deterrents to move a coyote out of an area or discourage an undesirable behavior or activity. Hazing can help maintain a coyote's fear of humans and deter them from neighborhoods. Using a variety of different hazing tools is important as coyotes can habituate to individual items, sounds and actions. The simplest method of hazing involves being loud and large: stand tall, wave your arms and yell at the coyote, approaching it if necessary, until it runs away. If a coyote has not been hazed before it may not immediately run away when you yell at it. If this happens, you may need to walk towards the coyote and increase the intensity of your hazing. It is 3 important to continue to haze the coyote until it completely leaves the area. You may need to use different tactics such as noise makers, stomping your feet or spraying the coyote with a hose to get it to leave. In addition, carrying hazing tools while walking your dog, such as a whistle, squirt guns, or sticks or rocks that can be thrown towards the coyote as a deterrent. Coyote Tracking Application Over the past several months, the City's Information Technology Staff have been developing a web -based coyote tracking application, and are pleased to announce its availability to the public for use on mobile and desktop devices (view the application at http://coyotesightings.rpvca.gov). The application benefits all the Peninsula cities, and although its development was led by the City's Staff, it was a collaborative effort with the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates, whose residents and staff will utilize this program as well. The purpose of this application is to provide information on coyote population and sighting trends. Residents will be asked to report a coyote sighting and describe the coyote's behavior or incident on this application. The reported information will be documented and forwarded to City Staff. Additionally, a map of the Peninsula that is available on the website will identify the location of the reported coyote and its activity. Staff will be introducing this application at tonight's City Council meeting. Coyote Services Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures (Agricultural Commissioner) has contracts with the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates for coyote -related services. The City of Palos Verdes Estates does not have a contract with the County, and contracts with a private company, Animal Pesi Management. The City of Rolling Hills contracts with Animal Pest Management for added services not provided by the County's contract. It is important to note that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) does not handle coyote complaints made by residents or jurisdictions, nor does Los Angeles County Animal Control. CDFW refers calls back to the City or the Agricultural Commissioner, and Animal Control will only respond if the coyote appears sick or is dead. In Rancho Palos Verdes, when a resident has a concern about a coyote, they are asked to call the Code Enforcement Division. Code Enforcement Staff will assess the situation and determine if the problem is one that can be handled by the use of preventative measures, or if the situation needs to be escalated to the Agricultural Commissioner for further review. Many times, informing a resident about what they can do to secure their yard to deter coyotes is all that is needed. However, in some instances, Staff may determine that a visit from the Agricultural Commissioner is warranted. In those cases, an Agricultural Commissioner officer will visit the property to assess what can be done to deter coyote activity. El Coyote Trapping or Relocation Based on limited reports to the City's Code Enforcement Division thus far, the Agricultural Commissioner has not found it necessary to trap any coyotes in Rancho Palos Verdes due to aggressive behavior. In the event an aggressive coyote is observed, pursuant to County procedure, the coyote will be trapped and shot at the site. This is because the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 1, Subdivision 2, Chapter 5, Subsection 465.5(g)(1) Section 465.5 requires that all furbearing and nongame mammals that are legal to trap must be immediately killed or released. As for relocating coyotes that have been trapped, this is not permitted per the California Code of Regulations Title 14, Division 1, Subdivision 3, Chapter 3 Subsection 679(f)(4), which states that no person, facility or organization can accept, possess or relocate nuisance wildlife. The Code further states that any healthy wildlife trapped in towns or cities or removed from under buildings or otherwise taken or trapped shall be immediately released in the area where trapped or disposed of as directed or authorized by CDFW. The private trapping of coyotes by residents on private property is legally permitted in all four Peninsula cities. The cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates have not proactively sponsored the trapping of coyotes. Rolling Hills has approached trapping differently than the other three Peninsula cities. Because the City is entirely comprised of private property, a resident can call the City and request that their property be considered for "coyote control". The resident fills out an authorization and a staff member from the Agricultural Commissioner's office will investigate. This year, the County has trapped coyotes on approximately 15 to 20 properties in Rolling Hills, and the County's cost for this service is approximately $95 per hour. It estimated that the time spent at an individual property is approximately 3-4 hours. Cities that consider a coyote trapping program must comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). City Staff recently learned at the September 6t" SBCCOG Coyote Task Force meeting that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued the City of Arcadia for allegedly not complying with the requirements of CEQA, and claimed the City's decision to implement a project to trap and kill coyotes was a discretionary decision subject to mandatory CEQA review. The City Council eventually voted to rescind the appropriation for a professional services contract related to coyote trapping. In order to implement a coyote trapping program in Rancho Palos Verdes, a CEQA determination involving either a Mitigated Negative Declaration or an Environmental Impact Report, including mitigation measures, would have to be adopted by the City Council at a duly -noticed public hearing. Participation in the Wildlife Watch Proaram Wildlife Watch is a CDFW-administered program that is similar to a Neighborhood Watch program in that enlists the participation of citizens to bring neighbors together and helps train them to recognize and distinguish wildlife sightings, wildlife threats to public safety, and natural versus unnatural wildlife behavior. It also helps with the �� implementation of basic wildlife conflict prevention techniques, such as hazing. This program requires the participation of an entire neighborhood to keep coyotes out of neighborhoods. Staff from the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates have participated in an "agency counseling" training session facilitated by CDFW to ensure that consistent information is being disseminated to the public throughout the Peninsula. In Rancho Palos Verdes, a public workshop was held on February 2, 2017, and approximately 25 residents from the Peninsula attended. A similar workshop was held in the City of Rolling Hills Estates at around the same time. In response to interest expressed at the workshop, CDFW Staff attended meetings in the Portuguese Bend and Miraleste Hills neighborhoods to introduce the Wildlife Watch program. At this time, none of these or other neighborhoods have yet implemented the program. The Wildlife Watch program has been successful in Culver City, Irvine, and many other neighborhoods in Southern California in reducing their coyote population. CONCLUSION: With the semi -rural topography that the City provides, coyote sightings are not uncommon throughout the City. Informing residents about typical coyote behavior and what can be done to deter coyotes from entering yards and neighborhoods is an important step in coyote management. Residents are encouraged to report coyote sightings and incidents on the City's tracking applications, and to report aggressive coyote behavior to the City's Code Enforcement Division for further investigation. ALTERNATIVES: In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action is available for the City Council's consideration: Direct Staff to develop additional measures to address the City's coyote issues for the City Council's future consideration. Al •