Owner raises equine licensing and emergency‑response concerns; committee sends Animal Services review and approves related consent items

An owner of Monteverde Ranch Equestrian Center told the Arts, Parks, Libraries and Community Enrichment Committee that the Department of Animal Services lacks equine expertise for emergency loading and transport, and that the department is misinterpreting Los Angeles Municipal Code requirements for boarding and livery operations.

The speaker said boarding facilities should not be required to obtain an "entertainment permit" for renting horses for trail rides and called for a review of enforcement practices. "As a boarding facility, we are required to take care of our horses. We are not required to do animal services job to provide confidential information of our borders... And that is where I think animal services has misinterpreted the law," the speaker said (public comment, Item 4).

Item 4 (motion Rodriguez/Lee) was read into the record as instructing the Department of Animal Services, with assistance from the City Attorney, to review and report on the interpretation and enforcement of Los Angeles Municipal Code Article 3 section 53.15.0.1 (equine licensing, boarding permits, operations) and to suspend issuance and collection of equine‑related fines, citations and permit revocations pending that review. The committee also approved Item 3, a City Administrative Officer report to retroactively authorize the Department of Animal Services to execute a long‑term agreement with Paws for Life K9 Rescue to provide adoption, veterinary and animal‑welfare services at the Northeast Valley Animal Service Center, and Item 5, a Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners report authorizing a two‑year Kaiser Permanente operations grant application for aquatic programming for 2026–2027.

After a reconsideration and re‑vote the committee approved Items 1, 3, 4 and 5 (3 ayes). The motion on Item 4 directs Animal Services and the City Attorney to report back to the committee with interpretations and recommendations before further enforcement action.