Chaining dogs outside overnight will be banned in Columbus under a new city ordinance that places restrictions on how dogs and other animals can be tethered.

The Columbus City Council unanimously approved the new restrictions Monday.

Violators of the new law could be charged with misdemeanors ranging from minor to a first-degree offense. Columbus Humane, formerly the Capital Area Humane Society, would be responsible for enforcing the new rules.

“Life on a chain is a hazard and in direct conflict with the core values I know our city holds to be true,” said Rachel Finney, executive director of Columbus Humane. “Every single day our agents encounter dogs that spend their entire lives on a chain.”

Columbus will join several other central Ohio communities that recently have considered or adopted rules for chaining dogs. Blendon Township trustees passed an ordinance in June restricting how, when and where residents can tether their dogs. Delaware is mulling its own policy.

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“We quickly realized instead of being in the front of the pack in protecting our beloved animals, we were really behind,” Councilman Shannon G. Hardin said.

Columbus residents will be barred from leaving animals chained outside between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and any time there is a heat or cold advisory or severe weather alert.

It also bans tethering “with a pinch, prong or choke-type collar” or “with a tow chain, log chain, padlock chain or any type of tether unsuitable for the animal’s size and weight.”

Tethers cannot allow animals to reach outside the property or into a public walkway or road but must allow the animal to move freely.

Councilman Michael Stinziano said prolonged tethering leads to increased nuisance calls, such as excessive barking. “Inhumane tethering” also can be evidence of other animal cruelty, he said.

“This proposed code is not intended to limit how dogs in particular are walked or trained nor does it seek to outlaw tethering entirely, rather it is intended to enact responsible regulation,” he said.

The council also approved a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement worth about $18.9 million for the Pizzuti Companies, which plans to build an 802,149-square-foot warehouse off Beggrow Street near Rickenbacker Airport.

The Columbus City Schools already has a deal with the company to receive $1.1 million, reading kiosks, equipment for its career and technical education program and 10 paid construction trade internships each year for 10 years.

The building does not have tenants but Pizzuti estimates that it will draw 80 new jobs paying $14.43 an hour in its third year of operation. Those jobs would generate about $900,000 in new income tax revenue over 15 years.

At the start of Monday's meeting, Council President Zach Klein told those in attendance that anyone interrupting the meeting could be charged with disrupting a public meeting.

The reminder came after groups protesting police violence against black citizens in Columbus took over the Sept. 18 council meeting for two hours.

No protesters disrupted Monday’s meeting. Two people spoke during the appointed time about the city’s contract negotiations with its police union.

“We support labor and collective bargaining but the Fraternal Order of Police should not be dictating public policy when it comes to accountability of our police department,” said Nora Balduff, who was representing the group Standing Up for Racial Justice.

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan