Agenda - 09-22-2008 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~a EXCERPT FROM MAY 20th BOCC MEETING APPROVED 9/2/2008 EXCERPT from MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING May 20, 2008 7:30 p.m. b. Proposed Animal Ordinance Amendment on the Tethering of Dogs The Board conducted a public hearing for a proposed ordinance amendment to the Orange County Animal Ordinance restricting the tethering of dogs, and considered adoption of the ordinance amendment. Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said that there has been a concerted effort involved in staff and the citizen advisors and the process has gone on for a year and a half or more. He said that this issue came to the Animal Services Advisory Board from the community as a serious issue for the community to consider and address and to seek to resolve. He thinks that the concerned citizens have driven the process that staff has pursued. One of the citizens advisory boards appointed by the Board was the Tethering Committee, which met more than six times in 2007. This resulted in a proposal for the ordinance amendment. The Animal Services Advisory Board has considered this issue five additional times. He said that he would underscore that the Tethering Committee and the ASAB have tried to balance some conflicting concerns. He said that there are some exceptions to the three-hour tethering limit and the proposal is not an outright prohibition of tethering. He said that there has been a strong commitment to encourage education and seek to implement this amendment over a period of time that would span 18 months, 12 of which would be dedicated to education and awareness. After the first 12 months, there will be another six-month period in which the new ordinance amendment would not be fully enforced, but would be enforced with warnings. The amendment would become effective and fully enforced as of January 1, 2010 and would become effective as of July 1, 2009. Vice-Chair of the ASAB, Susan Elmore recognized the Animal Services staff. She said that there are strong passions concerning this issue on both sides of the fence. She said that she is here in support of this proposal. She pointed out pages 16-17 of the Tethering Committee report, which outlines the tasks of the committee. She said that the committee considered all of the concems on both sides. Commissioner Nelson commended the Tethering Committee and said that it was hands down the best committee he has worked on, everyone genuinely listened to each other, and there was a tremendous amount of discussion on this topic. He said that the committee really listened to the community and the staff was extraordinary. Commissioner Carey commended Bob Marotto and said that the ASAB worked really hard to be reasonable and to educate regularly. He thinks that the proposal reflects the character of what the County Commissioners are trying to do in Orange County. Chair Jacobs said that there are 22 people signed up to speak and he encouraged people not to repeat what previous speakers have said. 14