City staff told the Sunnyvale City Council at a Sept. 30 study session that the city has stabilized animal control operations after the December 2024 Milpitas fire at Humane Society Silicon Valley and shifted shelter services to the County of Santa Clara under an emergency procurement effective Feb. 1, 2025.

The presentation, led by Chief Dan Pestor of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety and Captain Jeremy Lima, said the city temporarily suspended a municipal code requirement to impound healthy stray cats by resolution on April 22 so the county partner could use trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) approaches. "The county does not impound healthy stray cats," Lima said, adding that the county’s policy is based on concerns about stress to animals and low reclaim rates.

Why it matters: The shelter provider change has lengthened transport trips and raised travel hours for Sunnyvale officers because the county facility that took the contract is located in San Martin. Staff described an operational increase in workload but said response metrics have improved; the share of calls answered within 24 hours rose from about 51% two years ago to 79% in the most recent year.

Key points from staff presentation

- Program makeup and budget: The city’s animal control team includes two full‑time officers and one senior community services officer and relies on a contracted shelter provider. The FY2023–24 program budget was about $818,000 and rose to roughly $843,000 for the current fiscal year; staffing is about 40% of that cost and contracts about 60%.

- Shelter transition and policy change: After a significant fire at Humane Society Silicon Valley’s Milpitas facility in December 2024, HSSV notified Sunnyvale it would terminate sheltering services; the city and HSSV mutually ended the agreement in June. To continue sheltering, Sunnyvale entered an emergency procurement with the County of Santa Clara on Feb. 1, 2025. To align with county practice, council adopted a temporary suspension of the municipal code provision requiring impoundment of healthy stray cats on April 22, 2025.

- TNR and operations: Under the county model, animals that are injured or under eight weeks old are impounded; healthy adult stray cats are referred to the county’s TNR program or to rescue organizations. Captain Lima said staff logged fewer than 20 calls since the suspension that would have required impoundment under the prior model. Senior Animal Control Officer Marissa Robinson said officers try to consolidate transports and, unless an animal needs immediate care, take multiple animals to the shelter together at the end of the day to reduce trips.

- Impacts of distance: Council members and staff agreed the move to San Martin increased travel hours and trips. Lima said transports increased from 196 to 342 animals year‑over‑year and total travel hours rose from 176 to 269 hours. He noted part of the earlier low number was due to being understaffed in FY 2022–23 for half the year.

Council discussion and next steps

Councilors asked about options to include TNR services in future contracts, whether residents can access photos or microchip checks, and whether the city should fund local trap loans or additional TNR capacity. Staff answered that the county shelter currently provides TNR and that residents who trap cats can bring them to the shelter during set TNR intake hours; the county takes photos of incoming animals and keeps them on file to assist reunification. Robinson said the department maintains two microchip scanners (one with the field unit and one at headquarters) but generally discourages bringing unknown animals into the lobby for safety reasons.

Looking forward, staff said they plan to issue a competitive RFP in mid‑2026 for shelter services. In the interim the city intends to exercise a one‑year extension of the current county agreement to stabilize operations while developing long‑term service requirements and evaluating provider options, including the rebuilt Humane Society Silicon Valley when it becomes available. Staff said it will bring recommended service‑level or budget adjustments through future budget cycles as needed.

Public comment and council requests

During public comment, a speaker urged contracting flexibility (multi‑year terms with optional extensions) to allow the Humane Society to regain capacity once rebuilt and warned of rising costs across providers. Council members asked staff to return with more granular data disaggregating calls by animal type (cats, dogs, wildlife), the number of transports, response timeliness, and how many calls could not be responded to within 24 hours so council can assess staffing or contract choices. Several council members asked staff to continue outreach to local rescues and Humane Society leadership as the RFP is developed.

What the council decided

No formal ordinance or contract award was voted at the study session. Staff said it will proceed with (1) a one‑year extension of the county contract while (2) preparing solicitation materials for a competitive procurement in mid‑2026 and (3) returning to council with data and recommended adjustments as part of future budget and procurement steps.

Ending note

Staff emphasized that despite the increased workload from the distance to the county facility, response times have improved and the team is managing higher call volumes. Staff recommended the phased approach to preserve service continuity while seeking a longer‑term shelter solution that meets Sunnyvale’s proximity and service expectations.