PURPOSE

The City of Flagstaff (“City”) is committed to ensuring that all members of the public can utilize City services and facilities with ease and comfort. The City has developed this policy to assist individuals with disabilities who use Service Animals to access City facilities, services, and programs. This policy will also provide City employees, licensees, and permitees with guidance on how to assist individuals who use Service Animals at City facilities.

Service Animals play an important role in ensuring the independence of individuals with disabilities, and it is the City’s policy to welcome Service Animals at all City facilities. This policy is designed to assist City employees and individuals with disabilities in complying with all state and federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).

APPLICABILITY

This policy is applicable to City employees, licensees of City facilities, permitees of City facilities, and all individuals with disabilities who utilize City services and facilities. This policy is not applicable to City housing developments or the Pulliam Airport. In addition, this policy is not applicable to ADA accommodation requests made by City employees.

DEFINITIONS

1. “Direct Threat” means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health and safety of other individuals.
2. “Individual with a Disability” means an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual; an individual with a record of such impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
3. “Owner/User” means an Individual with a Disability who requires assistance with one or more daily life activities from a Service Animal or Service Animals.
4. “Service Animal” means any dog or miniature horse that is individually trained or in training to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an Individual with a Disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Service Animal does not include other species of animals, whether wild or domestic or trained or untrained. Possible tasks that Service Animals may perform include but are not limited to guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired to the presence of people or sounds, pulling a wheelchair, fetching dropped items, assisting an individual during a seizure, retrieving medicine or alerting the individual to a telephone call, providing physical support to assist with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and assisting individuals including those with cognitive disabilities with navigation. An Emotional Support Animal is not a Service Animal.
5. “Emotional Support Animal” (also referred to as “comfort animal” or “therapy animal”) means an animal that may provide a sense of well-being, emotional support, comfort, or companionship to a person (including individuals with disabilities), but which is not individually trained to perform specific tasks of daily living to assist people with disabilities. Emotional Support Animals are subject to the City’s policies and procedures regarding pets.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Service Animals are welcome in all City facilities.
   1. Pools have special regulations. Service Animals should be allowed in the enclosure of pool facilities, but Service Animals are not permitted in pools.
2. City employees, licensees, and permitees may ask the following questions to verify that an animal is a Service Animal:
   1. “Is this a service animal that is required because of a disability?”
   2. “What work or task(s) is the animal trained to perform?”
      1. These questions should not be asked if it is obvious that an animal is a Service Animal.
3. Emotional Support Animals and pets are not permitted in City facilities. Exceptions may be made for City-sponsored programs involving animals.
4. Service Animals are not required to wear a vest or special collars or harnesses, and are not required to be licensed, certified, or have identification papers issued by a training agency.
5. Any trainer or Individual with a Disability may take an animal being trained as a Service Animal to a City facility for purposes of training it to the same extent as an Owner/User.
6. Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to be accompanied by their Service Animals in all areas of City facilities where members of the public, participants in services, programs or activities, or invitees, as relevant, are allowed to go.
7. City employees, licensees of City facilities, and permitees of City facilities shall not discriminate against individuals with disabilities who use Service Animals if the work or tasks performed by the Service Animal are directly related to the individual’s disability.
   1. Discriminatory actions include those prescribed in Arizona Revised Statutes § 41- 1492.02 and the following:
      1. Refusing to permit an Individual with a Disability to enter a public place with a Service Animal or interfering with the individual’s right to enter or use the public place.
      2. Failing to provide an Individual with a Disability the same services and access to the same areas of the premises as afforded to others.
      3. Attempting to impose a charge, fee, or deposit because an Individual with a Disability is accompanied by a Service Animal.
      4. Requiring an Individual with a Disability to disclose disability-related information.
      5. Requiring provision of identification for the Service Animal.
8. The Owners/Users are not limited in the number of Service Animals they may have as each may provide a different type of service.
9. The Owner/User must be in control of the Service Animal(s) at all times. Generally, this is accomplished with a tether, leash, or harness. However, these devices may be difficult for some disabled individuals to use and may interfere with the animal’s ability to perform its tasks. Other effective controls such as voice, signal, or electronic tether are also acceptable.
10. The Service Animal(s) must be appropriately trained and be able to perform its tasks for the benefit of the Owner/User.
11. An Owner/User’s right to access City facilities, services, and programs with the assistance of a Service Animal may not be denied based on another patron’s or employee’s fear of animals or allergy to the Service Animal.
12. Employees may ask an Owner/User to remove a Service Animal from a City facility, program, event, or class only if one or more of the following limited circumstances apply:
    1. The animal poses a Direct Threat to the health or safety of others.
    2. The animal fundamentally alters the nature of the public place, or the goods, services, or activities provided.
    3. The animal poses an undue burden.
    4. The animal is out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control the animal.
    5. The animal is not housebroken.