CC SR 20210720 05 - Coyote Management PlanRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 07/20/2021
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive a status report on the implementation of the
City’s Coyote Management Plan.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1)Receive and file a status report on the implementation of the City’s Coyote
Management Plan; and,
(2)Direct Staff to conduct a town hall consisting of a panel of specialists on the
implementation of the City’s Coyote Management Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Rudy Monroy, Code Enforcement Officer RM
REVIEWED BY: Ken Rukavina, Director of Community Development
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A.2021 (January – July 9, 2021) Coyote Activity Map and Data (Page A-1)
To view the City’s Coyote Management Plan, Keep Me Wild brochure, and Home & Yard
Checklist for Wildlife on the City website, go to rpvca.gov/coyotes.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
Coyotes have been part of the City since well before its development and incorporation.
Within the South Bay, the City has been at 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 implemented the first
Coyote Management Plan in the South Bay. In September 2018, the City updated the
Coyote Management Plan to reflect best practices from the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Wildlife Watch Program and to coincide with the coyote
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management plans of Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills Estates . The City has also
been active in disseminating public information and brochures on living with urban
coyotes, as well as methods to deter coyotes from entering propert ies and for reporting
coyote activities via the City’s web-based platform.
This report is intended to describe the City’s Coyote Management Plan and
implementation measures since January 2021, which include:
• Coyote related community services;
• Yard audits;
• Trappings;
• Public education and outreach;
• Participation in the Wildlife Watch program; and
• Coyote sighting application and dashboard
Coyote Management Plan
The goal of the Coyote Management 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 tiered response requires active
participation on the part of the entire community, including residents, homeowners
associations (HOAs), volunteers and city personnel. This plan is based on research and
best-known practices and includes a full spectrum of management tools. Basic principles
that guide the plan are based on the following:
• Do not leave pet food outside.
• Do not 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 and climbers.
• 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.
The Coyote Management Plan (and Staff in its public outreach) also recommends hazing
as a deterrent method to move a coyote out of an area or discourage an undesirable
behavior or activity because some coyotes have become too comfortable in the close
proximity of people. Hazing, also known as “fear conditioning,” is the process that
facilitates a change in behavior and is effective when a community responds consistently
to negative encounters with coyotes. The more often an individual animal is hazed, the
more effective hazing is in changing coyote behavior . To safely coexist, it’s important to
modify the behavior and attitude in resident-coyote populations. Habituated coyote
behavior needs to be reshaped to deter coyotes from coming in contact with humans and
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pets.
Hazing should be conducted in a manner that allows the coyote to return to its normal
habitat (i.e., canyons and open space areas). Hazing is the process that facilitates this
change and is, by necessity, a community response to encounters with coyotes. The more
often an individual animal is hazed, the more effective hazing is in changing coyote
behavior or activity. As coyotes can easily become acclimated to individual items and
sounds, a variety of tools should be used in hazing, including loud noises, spraying water,
bright lights, walking sticks, throwing objects, and shouting.
The Coyote Management Plan describes the following City-level tiered response to
specific coyote actions or behaviors.
• Level 1 (coyotes are either heard or seen) - The City’s response to the sighting is
to provide informational material to educate the resident on typical coyote
behavior.
• Level 2 (coyote encounters a person or pet) – The City’s response to the encounter
is to conduct yard audits to identify ways to deter coyote entry and to improve pet
management.
• Level 3 (coyote enters yard or pet is injured or killed) – The City’s response to the
incident is to gather information and report it to the appropriate agencies, conduct
a yard audit, develop a hazing team for the neighborhoodd implement the Wildlife
Watch program.
• Level 4 (coyote shows teeth, back fur is raised, lunges towards a person, bites or
injures a person) – The City’s response to the characteristics of an aggressive
coyote is to initiate a trapping assessment and to coordinate with the Los Angeles
County Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures
(Agricultural Commissioner). Biting is reported to the CDFW.
Coyote-Related Community Services
The Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner has contracts with the cities of
Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates for coyote-related
community services. The City of Palos Verdes Estates contracts with a private company,
Animal Pest Management. The City of Rolling Hills also contracts with Animal Pest
Management for added services not provided by the county’s contract. It is important to
note that the CDFW does not handle coyote complaints made by residents or
jurisdictions, nor does the L.A. County Department of Animal Care and Control (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 residents have concerns about coyotes, 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 residents about what they can do to secure their
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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,
City Staff and an Agricultural Commissioner officer will conduct a yard audit to assess
what can be done to deter coyote activity further.
The Agricultural Commissioner has provided the Peninsula animal-related support with
outreach, education, audits and trapping since 2017, in part due to the support and
discretionary funding by L.A. County Board of Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office. This
funding continues to provide a full-time dedicated deputy from the Agricultural
Commissioner for coyote management services on the Peninsula Monday through
Thursday, and occasionally on Fridays, between approximately 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. These
increased hours have enabled City Staff to engage the county in scheduling the yard
audits described in greater detail below.
Yard Audits
Since the beginning of the year, the City’s Code Enforcement Division, and in some
instances, in collaboration with the Agricultural Commissioner, ha ve conducted yard
audits in the following neighborhoods:
• Vista Grande
• Grandview
• Portuguese Bend
• Sunnyside Ridge
Yard audits involve working closely with numerous residents in a neighborhood by
coordinating informative and educational outreach to identify potential coyote attractants,
such as fallen fruit, overgrown brush, inadequate fencing and coyote scat. As part of the
yard audit, residents are provided with a copy of the City’s Coyote Management Plan, a
Keep Me Wild brochure and a Home & Yard Checklist for Wildlife. In some cases, through
yard audits, the Agricultural Commissioner has identified signs of aggressive coyote
behavior and has set up traps.
Coyote Trapping
The Agricultural Commissioner provides trapping services only when the City determines
that an aggressive coyote exists. As it is well known that trapping and euthanizing coyotes
is not as effective as other methods of hazing contact, the City shall be the one to
determine, based on field observations and assessing incident s, if a case needs to be
brought to the County’s attention or if simply additional education is needed. If the county
is contacted by the City because the City feels that a coyote may be “aggressive” and
cause concern for public safety, the County will still conduct its own assessment to
determine if trapping should occur. This year, seven traps have been set-up in the City,
with one coyote caught.
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If residents are concerned with coyotes in their area, the City recommends following the
guidelines in the Coyote Management Plan and other handout material in decreasing
attractants and increasing pet safety to help shape coyote behavior to avoid human
contact. A resident may contact the City’s Code Enforcement Division with any questions
or to report an aggressive coyote. As previously noted, the City’s Code Enforcement
Division is trained to conduct property assessments to assist property owners in
minimizing coyote attractants.
According to state laws, coyotes are considered “non-game wildlife,” therefore any
residents can initiate, at their own expense, action to protect themselves and their
property from coyote attacks, including trapping. No private individual is authorized to
discharge a firearm within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to deter or kill a coyote.
Section 9.08.010 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code states:
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it shall be unlawful within the
boundaries of the city for any person to fire, discharge, shoot or operate or to
assist or participate in firing, discharging, shooting or operating any gun, revolver,
pistol, firearm, spring gun, air gun, sling, slingshot or device designed or intended
to discharge or capable of discharging any dangerous missile or any cartridge,
shell, ammunition or device containing any explosive substance designed or
intended to be used in or fired from any gun, revolver, pistol or firearm.
Although residents have the ability to initiate, at their own expense, trapping and removal
of coyotes, a private trapper must be certified/licensed by the State of California.
Public Education and Outreach
In addition to conducting yard audits, the City’s Code Enforcement Division is both
proactive and reactive in canvassing City neighborhoods to raise awareness about
deterrent measures to keep coyotes out of neighborhood s and adjoining canyon areas.
Code Enforcement Officers spend an average of 15 hours a week meeting with residents
in response to calls and posts on the City’s website to raise awareness. This includes
conducting yard audits and providing residents with copies of the City’s Coyote
Management Plan and related informational brochures (i.e. Keep Me Wild brochure and
Home & Yard Checklist for Wildlife). Since January of this year, the City held meetings
with the Rancho Palos Verdes Estates HOA, Portuguese Bend HOA, and Peninsula Rim
HOA. Staff will continue to proactively coordinate and educate neighborhood meetings
with other HOAs this summer.
The neighborhood meetings have led to conducting individual yard audits. More often
than not, residents are not aware of the information and programs that the City has
available to them, which is indicative that more outreach is needed and will occur over
the next several months, including social media outreach.
In 2018, the City, in collaboration with the other three Peninsula cities, held a townhall
meeting on the Wildlife Watch program to raise awareness on coyotes specifically to
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understand the differences between sightings and imminent threats. The townhall
meeting included a panel of specialists representing California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the L.A. County Agicultural Commissioner, and Wildlife’s Natural Resources
Volunteer Program. The townhall was well attended and well received by the public. Since
it has been over three years since the last townhall, and recently, the City has seen a
significant increase in public concerns regarding coyote sightings, Staff recommends that
the City Council direct Staff to conduct a townhall on the City’s Coyote Management Plan
by September 30, 2021. The townhall should include a panel of specialists similar to the
panel in 2018.
Participation in the Wildlife Watch Program
Wildlife Watch is a CDFW-administered program that is similar to a Neighborhood Watch
program in that it 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 with an emphasis on coyotes. 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. Since January, Staff has coordinated with block captains in the following
neighborhoods:
• Elkridge/Longhill Community
• Shorewood/Basswood Community
• Pembina/Fond Du Lac Community
• Bridle/Rockinghorse Community
• Rancho Palos Verdes Estates Community
• Deluna/Dianora Community
• Portuguese Bend Community
• Sandbrook/Via Sonoma
In collaboration with the block captains, Staff has established a single point-of-contact to
address coyote-related issues and serve as the conduit between Staff and the
neighborhood. Overall, the Wildlife Watch program continues to be an extremely
beneficial tool for residents to deter coyote activity.
Coyote Sighting Application and Dashboard
In 2017, the City’s Information Technology (IT) Staff launched a web-based coyote
sighting application that the public can use on mobile and desktop devices, which is
available at rpvca.gov/reportcoyotes. The application benefits all the Peninsula cities, and
although its development was led by City Staff, it was a collaborative effort with the cities
of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates, whose residents and staff utilize this
application as well.
The application provides information on coyote population and sighting trends. Residents
report a coyote sighting and describe the coyote’s behavior or incident on this application.
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The reported information is documented and forwarded to City Staff. Additionally, a map
of the Peninsula is available on the website that identifies the location of the reported
coyote and its activity. Attached to tonight’s report is data collected between January and
July 9, 2021, and a corresponding map for Rancho Palos Verdes (Attachment A).
To improve the public’s ability to review the data collected via the coyote sighting
application, the application includes a dashboard to view real-time coyote sighting
information. Earlier this year, the City’s IT staff launched the MyRPV mobile app, which
includes a coyote reporting feature residents can use from anywhere, via their
smartphone or tablet. The data on the dashboard is displayed using charts, widgets, maps
and other visual elements. The dashboard can be viewed on the City’s website at
rpvca.gov/CoyoteSightingDashboard.
The public is encouraged to report coyote sightings and behavior using the coyote
application to allow the City to monitor, among other things, population and behavior
trends.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) – Coyote Management Plan
Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the reporting of coyot e
sightings and incidents with residents and pets, not only in Rancho Palos Verdes but in
the surrounding Palos Verdes Peninsula cities and throughout the South Bay area.
Recognizing that coyotes are a regional issue, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is in the
process of collaborated with the SBCCOG to discuss a more regional solution. In
developing regional solutions, one strategy being considered is a South Bay Coyote
Management Plan. Such a plan would address a tiered approach, including trapping, that
is consistently implemented throughout the South Bay. This regional solution is in the
early stages and will be discussed with the South Bay City Managers at their monthly
meeting on July 21. In order to proceed with such a regional solution, the South Bay cities
will need to agree and be willing to contribute resources towards its implementation. The
City of Rancho Palos Verdes has expressed its willingness to lead this regional solution
with support from the other South Bay cities, but will not implement a regional plan in
other cities. Such implementation would need to be facilitated by each participating City .
Staff will update the City Council on the progress of a regional solution.
CONCLUSION:
With the City’s semi-rural topography, coyote sightings are not uncommon throughout
Rancho Palos Verdes. 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
using the City’s tracking applications and to report aggressive coyote behavior to the
City’s Code Enforcement Division for further investigation.
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ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action is available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Direct Staff to develop additional measures to address the City’s coyote
issues for the City Council’s future consideration.
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0 1 20.5
Miles
Coyote Sightings in Rancho Palos Verdes
January 1, 2021 - July 9, 2021
Coyote Activity
!(Coyote seen moving or resting in the area (266)
!(Coyote following or approaching a person (30)
!(Coyote entered a yard without pets (77)
!(Coyote entered a yard with pets (54)
!(Coyote entered a yard and injured a pet (3)
!(Coyote entered a yard and killed a pet (6)
!(Coyote showing aggressive behavior (i.e. showing teeth, lunging, nipping without contact) (4)
!(Other (72)
Rancho Palos Verdes
Total Sightings Reported: 512
±
City of Rancho Palos Verdes GIS | July 2021
A-1