Committee OKs use
of electronic fences
MANALAPAN — The Township Committee has adopted an amendment to a municipal ordinance that sets guidelines by which dogs are allowed to run free on their owners’ property.
The amendment was adopted by a 5-0 vote on May 12. No one spoke about the ordinance during the public hearing that preceded the governing body’s vote.
The amendment adopted by the committee amends municipal law to add the following definition: electronic fence — A fence which is designed to contain dogs within its boundaries by using a hidden electronic signal intended to contain the dog within the electronic boundaries of the fence."
With that definition in place, the section of the ordinance dealing with running at large states that no person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall permit the dog to run at large outside the premises of the owner — and adds the following — unless (1) the dog is restrained by a fence, enclosure or leash or (2) an electronic fence has been installed on the property and an individual at least 12 years of age is present at all times.
Certain requirements exist as they pertain to electronic fences:
• Electronic fences [that will be] installed after Sept. 1, 2004 may be installed no closer to the front property line than the front of the existing structure of the home.
• Electronic fences are prohibited in the front yards of any property unless they were installed prior to Sept. 1, 2004.
• Any electronic fences that were properly installed in the front yards of properties as of Sept. 1, 2004 may remain provided there are permanent signs next to the driveway and at any sidewalk leading directly to the house indicating that the property has an electronic fence.
The amended ordinance will be enforced by the chief of police, his designee, or the health officer or his designee. A citizen may initiate enforcement of the ordinance by registering a complaint with the police department or the health department.
The question of a dog running free on a homeowner’s property has been an issue in Manalapan since a June 2002 incident in which a 9-year-old township boy went after a ball that had gone onto a neighbor’s property. A border collie was on that property and contained by an electronic fence. The dog did not leave its yard, but ended up biting the youngster after the child entered the dog’s yard. The dog caused what was described as severe bodily injuries to the child. The boy’s parents subsequently asked the committee to enact a law that would tighten animal control regulations.
The committee tried to do just that when it introduced an ordinance in the summer of 2003. The law proposed by the committee would not have prohibited the use of an electronic fence, but neither would have it considered the electronic fence to be a fence. In order to use an electronic fence, the owner of the dog would have been required to keep his dog on a leash on the property or have a person over the age of 12 present with the dog as it ran free on the property.
Residents who spoke during a June 11, 2003 public hearing on that ordinance told municipal officials that enacting either of those requirements would defeat the purpose of having an electronic fence which allows a dog to be on the property unsupervised and without a leash. The resident said the electronic fence prevents the animal from leaving the property by means of an electric shock if the dog attempts to do so.
Committee members tabled the ordinance and asked Township Attorney Donald Lomurro to come up with a revised proposal. He did, and that was the amendment approved by the committee two weeks ago.
In other committee business on May 12, Raymond Lehrer was appointed to the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee and Jean Carepta was appointed recording secretary to the Economic Development Council.
During the pubic portion of the meeting Steven Johnson, of Pension Road, asked the committee to have all new ordinances placed on the township’s Internet Web site and to have Township Committee meeting agendas placed on the Web site with more than one or two days notice.
Committee members said they would consider the request.