City, lawyer tilt over barking dogs

In a courtroom battle capping years of neighbors’ loud-dog complaints, a judge has ruled the city acted properly when it cited resident Corey Glave for having four adult dogs – twice the number permitted in Hermosa. Glave is an attorney who frequently represents police officers suing the city.

Glave pointed out that the Superior Court judge also struck down a citation for excessive dog noise, and said the citations were issued shortly after a City Council member complained about Glave representing police officers in lawsuits against the city.

Meanwhile, a next-door neighbor of Glave, who complained to the city and maintained a website dedicated to the issue, said the noise from the dogs has greatly decreased for the past nine months or so, and he credits Glave for apparently taking firmer control of the dogs.

City Attorney Michael Jenkins said Glave could have diffused the barking dog issue before things came to such a pass.

“Homes in Hermosa Beach are located very close to one another, and the city seeks to strike a balance to ensure neighbors may enjoy their pets and have the peace and quiet in their own homes,” Jenkins said.

“We go to great efforts to work with residents to resolve noise issues caused by pets,” Jenkins said. “Unfortunately, Mr. Glave sued the city over a matter that could have been resolved through mediation and with consideration for his neighbors.”

Glave said he believes the citations were tied to his involvement in police lawsuits.

“The citations were issued one week after former councilman [Michael] Keegan indicated that the city needed to find a way to stop Corey Glave from filing lawsuits on behalf of police officers against the city,” Glave said.

During a City Council meeting Dec. 9, 2008, then-Councilman Keegan complained of the frequency of police officers’ lawsuits against the city, and called for a report on how much money the city had spent fighting lawsuits filed by Glave.

After the meeting, Keegan said he wanted the report to explore how to fight the lawsuits, whether the lawsuits are frivolous, and whether the city could do something to avoid such lawsuits.

“The citation was then post-dated 13 days. It was proven that the chief of police ordered an animal control officer to cite me even though the animal control officer did not witness any violations of law,” Glave said. “Additionally, when the animal control officer later testified that he had received an e-mail complaint leading up to the citation, it was shown that the e-mail complaint was received after the citation had been issued.”

Police Chief Greg Savelli brushed aside Glave’s allegations.

“Mr. Glave presented his arguments to the court and, based on its ruling in favor of the city, the court didn’t appear to give any weight to Mr. Glave’s accusations,” Savelli said.

Savelli said Glave was not singled out.

“The city is treating Mr. Glave no differently than anyone with animals which become this great a nuisance to the neighbors. His role as attorney for the [Hermosa Beach Police Officers Association] does not immunize him from enforcement under the city’s laws nor does it grant him the special privilege he seems to be seeking,” Savelli said. “He gets treated like anyone else.”

A prepared statement by the city states that Glave and his neighbors were unable to resolve the issue through mediation. Neighbors filed a complaint with the city that led to two citations to Glave in December 2008, one for having more dogs than allowed by the city’s code, and the other for his dogs barking excessively. Neighbors said Glave has three Rottweilers and a coyote-German shepherd mix.

Glave appealed the citations, and a hearing officer ruled in the city’s favor in May 2009, city officials said.

Following the court ruling, Glave must apply for a permit if he wishes to keep all four dogs at his home, Savelli said.

“The neighbors will be notified, and their input will be sought. The response will be reviewed by staff to determine if the permit is issued,” he said.

Glave described the outcome differently.

“There is nothing in this case about keeping or losing the dogs,” he said. “It simply was for a $100 ticket.”

Bruce Bartlett, a next-door neighbor of Glave, said he has heard “dramatic improvement” in the noise problem for the past nine months or so.

“From my perspective the problem is greatly mitigated,” he said.

Bartlett said he would hate to see any of the dogs removed. He said he is happy with the noise reduction.

“If it stays this way it will be wonderful,” he said.

From the time Bartlett moved in five years ago, the dogs barked – and the half-coyote led the others in group howling – throughout the day, Bartlett said.

“If you’re a coyote, you want to howl,” he said.

At night, he said, the dogs did not bark or howl.

Bartlett put up a website, hermosadogproblem.com, which includes audiotape of barking and howling, and a petition signed by 50 people complaining of excessive noise. On Monday Bartlett was surprised to find the website was still up. He said he thought it had been taken down at his request when he first noticed the decrease in dog noise.

“I thought it was no longer serving a purpose,” he said.

Bartlett also said it took too long to get a resolution of the problem.

“I appreciate all the city has done, but maybe it’s not designed to properly handle this type of problem,” he said. ER

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