Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animal Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges action on persistent barking; county attorneys and supervisors warn ordinance enforcement is difficult
Summary
A resident reported chronic, late‑night dog barking on Whitins Mill Road and asked the board for relief. County officials said a prior proposed barking‑dog ordinance faced strong public opposition and enforcement challenges; they recommended private nuisance litigation or animal control investigation as more practical remedies.
David Bellinger, a Whitins Mill Road resident, told the Tazewell County Board on Nov. 5 that incessant dog barking from a neighbor’s property (address given as 3819 Whitinsale/Whitins Mill Road) has repeatedly disrupted sleep for older residents, threatened livestock and harmed quality of life for neighbors.
Bellinger said he has recordings of barking at night and at early morning hours and described livestock being chased by dogs and cases where neighbors were unable to rent properties because of the noise. He said repeated calls to law enforcement and animal control had not resolved the situation and asked the board to pursue remedies.
County legal staff and several supervisors responded that a barking‑dog or noise ordinance is difficult to craft and enforce in a largely rural county because of vagueness about what constitutes excessive barking and the practical challenges of measuring and enforcing a decibel‑based standard across large rural parcels. The county attorney recalled a prior effort years ago in which more than 200 residents turned out to oppose a countywide barking‑dog ordinance, and several supervisors warned that a blanket ordinance could unduly burden rural property owners who keep working dogs.
The county attorney recommended that Bellinger consider private nuisance civil remedies or renewed complaints to animal control as the most practicable short‑term steps. Board members and the county attorney also suggested revisiting past ordinance drafts if public sentiment appears to have shifted, but they cautioned that effective enforcement would require a clear, measurable standard and adequate enforcement resources.
The board did not adopt any ordinance at the meeting; members suggested the resident pursue animal control enforcement and civil remedies while the board considers whether to resurrect a previous draft ordinance for public hearing.
