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Chair Jacobs said that one of the things that the County Commissioners have heard is if the County would just enforce the cruelty ordinance now, this ordinance would not be needed. Part of his question is how many of the cruelty complaints relate to this. Chair Jacobs asked how the size of enclosures relates to tethering. He said that the Tethering Committee did not recommend kennel sizes, but the ASAB did. He also noticed that the kennel sizes in Durham are required to be bigger. He is unclear on this. Bob Marotto said that the Tethering Committee recommended that the ordinance ultimately include or be accompanied by some enclosure requirements, but did not go through the process of the research to determine what those might be. When the ordinance went forward to the ASAB, the board indicated its strong feeling that it would be best to introduce the tethering amendment along with the enclosures themselves. He said that, generally, the assumption is that the pens need to provide a sufficient amount of space for animals that could spend an overwhelming majority of the time enclosed in those pens. Commissioner Nelson said that it was not in the original charge or expertise of the Tethering Committee to look at kennel sizes. Chair Jacobs said that he cannot imagine how the three-hour tethering limit can be enforced, especially in the rural part of the County. Bob Marotto said the basic method of enforcement is the same one used in St. Paul, Minnesota. This particular method was to respond to a complaint and go to the address and speak to someone present, which often resolves issues. If the issue is not resolved, the method is to post a notice that a complaint was received about tethering longer than allowed (when no one is home) and the notice is time stamped. An official then returns to the address three or more hours later to see if there have been any changes in circumstances. If not, the notice remains posted, the animals remain tethered, and this would be regarded as a sufficient basis to believe that there was a violation of the ordinance. There are other methods that could be used. There is some economy and advantage to having the method of enforcement depend upon the neutral party of the Animal Control Officer rather than the perceptions of others. He said that he believes that no tethering is easier to enforce than a time limit of tethering, but because of the strength of the preference that there be a compromise, it was decided to have the time limit. Chair Jacobs asked about the collars that are encouraged for those three hours. Bob Marotto said that the stipulation is that the kinds of collars used to tether were buckle collars, and/or body harnesses. The prohibited types of collars are choke chains, prong collars, and head halters. Chair Jacobs made reference to the previous public hearings about this and the issue about roosters crowing. He asked if there was a way to differentiate legally based on zoning. This has come up in an area that is zoned rural residential. He asked if there were any differences in zoning densities that apply with the ordinance. Geof Gledhill said that these are not land use regulations, but have to do with the safety of people and animals. He does not know whether it makes sense for exceptions to be made with respect to the safety of people and animals based on how densely people live. He said that the County land use regulations cannot regulate bona fide farm activities. Discussion ensued on how these regulations are not based on land use. Commissioner Nelson said that one of the things that is not clear in the ordinance is when someone is in and out of the house and the dog is tethered while the owner is there. He said that the intent of the committee was that if someone is gardening or doing other things in the yard and the dog is tethered, then that is acceptable. He suggested adding the following language in Section 7, #4: "when a tethered dog is in the visual range of the responsible party and the responsible party is located outside with the dog."