CC SR 20160719 05 - Coyote Management Plan Update_RedactedRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 07/19/2016
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to receive a report on the City’s Coyote Management
Plan.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a report 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: Julie Peterson, Code Enforcement Officer JP
REVIEWED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, Director of Community Development
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Coyote Management Plan (page A-1)
B. Website Information (page B-1)
C. Humane Society Informational Brochures (page C-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
Coyotes have been a part of the City since well before its development and
incorporation. However, over the past several months, there has been a significant
increase in the reporting of coyote sightings, not only in Rancho Palos Verdes but in the
surrounding Peninsula cities as well. In response, at the May 3, 2016, City Council
meeting, Councilwoman Brooks requested a report to the City Council on the measures
the City has in place to address coyotes.
Coyote Facts
The following are basic coyote facts:
• Coyotes are native to California and are found throughout most of the State.
• Coyotes are a valuable species in wildlife areas, as they are natural predators of
mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, feral cats, and other small animals, thereby
controlling rodent populations.
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• Coyotes tend to be 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.
Who to Contact When Coyotes are Observed
Rancho Palos Verdes, as well as the cities of Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates,
have entered into a contract with Los Angeles County Agricultural Commission-
er/Weights and Measures (Agricultural Commissioner) for coyote services. It is
important to know 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 will refer calls back to the City or to the Agricultural
Commissioner , and Animal Control will only respond if the coyote appears sick or is
dead.
Currently, when a resident has a concern with a coyote, they are asked to call the Code
Enforcement Division to discuss the issue. 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. Often times, informing a resident of what they can do
to secure their yard to deter coyotes is all that is needed. However, in a few instances,
Staff may feel that a visit from the Agricultural Commissioner is warranted. In those
cases, an Agricul tural Commissioner officer will visit the property to assess what can be
done to deter coyote activity. To date this year, the Agricultural Commissioner received
nineteen (19) calls from Rancho Palos Verdes residents directly. Seven of those calls
were simple questions that the Agricultural Commissioner answered over the phone,
and twelve were referred to the City’s Code Enforcement Officer. In only one instance
this past year did the Code Enforcement Officer ask the Agricultural Commissioner to
follow up with the property owner on site. In that case, the Agricultural Commissioner
officer was able to make suggestions to the homeowners to help further coyote-proof
their property.
Coyote Trapping or Relocation
Thus far, the Agricultural Commissioner has not found it necessary to trap any coyotes
in the City 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
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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.
Coyote Management Plan
In response to coyote concerns raised by the community and the City Council, in 2013
the City prepared a Coyote Management Plan (Plan), 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, as summarized below.
Deterrent Measures
The following suggestions are intended to deter coyote activity and to avoid conflicts
with coyotes by helping keep them in their natural habitat areas:
• 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.
Coyote Sightings & Hazing
When a coyote begins to make an appearance in or near your yard, most agencies
recommend something called hazing. Hazing is a method that makes use of deterrents
to move an animal 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 Humane Society explains that 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
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increase the intensity of your hazing. It is 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.
Community Outreach
In an effort to increase public awareness and information regarding living with coyotes,
in addition to the Plan and brochures available on the City’s website, Staff intends to
publish an article in the next quarterly City Newsletter and to attend a Rancho Palos
Verdes Council of Homeowners’ Associations (CHOA) meeting for a presentation
regarding how to coexist with coyotes. Staff will also be available to meet with
individual HOAs who would like a presentation made to their homeowners. Additionally,
Staff recently met with representatives from Rolling Hills Estates, Wildlife Watch, the
Agricultural Commissioner’s office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to
discuss how information is disseminated to the public, and to consider implementing the
CDFW ’s pilot program, called “Wildlife Watch.” Wildlife Watch is a new program, similar
to the Neighborhood Watch program 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 preventions techniques, such as
hazing. Prior to launching this pilot program, City Staff, along with Staff from the other
three Peninsula cities will attend an “agency counseling” training session facilitated by
CDFW to ensure consistent information is being disseminated to the public throughout
the Peninsula.
CONCLUSION:
With the semi-rural topography that the City provides, coyote sightings throughout the
City are not uncommon. 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. Staff will continue to inform and educate residents about
what measures can be implemented to safely coexist with coyotes.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action is available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Provide direction to Staff for different and/or additional public outreach
measures to address the control of coyotes.
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