HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.0 BOCC Staff Report 10.02.2006REQUEST:
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BOCC 10/02/06
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PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS
Amend the text of Section 5.03.15(8) of the Zoning
Resolution of 1978, as amended regarding kennels
(Public Hearing)
APPLICANT (OWNERS): Josef P. Langegger (represented by Barb Clifton)
Frank & Jeannie Donofrio (represented by Kelly Cave)
I. BACKGROUND
At present, Garfield County regulations regarding dog kennels require that kennels may be allowed,
among other requirements, if the "canine density" is no more than 1 dog per acre of the subject
property. In other words, a 20 -acre property would be allowed 20 dogs in the kennel on that property.
As the request will point out, this appears to be burdensome for smaller properties that wish to have
a dog kennel on their property.
The County defines : kennel a'. follows in Section 2.02.311:
An establishment other than a pet shop or veterinary clinic, in which more than four (4) adult
dogs or domesticated animals are housed, groomed bred boarded, or trained, with or without
fees being charged for services and no more than two litter of dogs or domesticated animals are
bred in any one calendar year. (A. 94-148)
Kennels are allowed / permitted in the following zone districts:
Zone District
Ad
ARRD
Resource Lands (GSLV)
DWC
Permitted
Use -By -Right 'V
Special Use Permit
Use -By -Right
Use -By -Right
Regardless if a Special Use Permit is required or not, all kennels are required to meet certain
performance standards / criteria which are set out here from Section 5.03.15:
(1) All kennels shall be completely enclosed within a building that prevents any sounds from
emanating from the property boundary in excess of the Residential Zone District standards
contained in CRS § 25-12-103, with the exception of CRS § 25-12-103 (2) & (3), that no noise in
excess of 55 db(A) from sunrise to sunset and 50 db(A) from sunset to sunrise will be allowed.
Sunrise and sunset shall be based on the official time as determined by the Old Farmers
Almanac charts of sunrise and sunset for the location of the kennel. A kennel may have dogs
outdoors if the noise from the kennel does not exceed the noise standards cited previously and
complies with other Garfield County regulations as provided in Section 1.07 of the Garfield
County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended.
(2) No dust, noise in excess of the Residential Zone District standards contained in CRS § 25-12-
103, with the exception that no noise in excess of 55 db(A) from sunrise to sunset, and 50 db(A)
from sunset to sunrise as defined above will be allowed, odors or source of filth shall emanate
from the property.
(3) An individual sewage disposal system capable of handling all feces and urine waste from the
kennel or the feces and urine waste shall be stored in a sealed container, capable of being
pumped to allow a commercial hauler to dispose of the feces and urine waste at an approved
solid waste disposal site.
(4) All liquid and solid wastes, as defined in the Solid Wastes Disposal Sites and Facilities Act,
CRS § 30-20-100.5, shall be stored and removed for final disposal in a manner that protects
against surface and groundwater contamination.
(5) No permanent disposal of any waste shall be permitted at a site. This does not include those
wastes specifically excluded from the definition of a solid waste in CRS §30-20-100.5.
(6) Special events that attract more than 25 participants shall be prohibited on a site, unless
approved as a part of the original permit and the proposed special events are well defined as a
part of the permitting process.
(7) Animal and food wastes, bedding, debris and other organic wastes shall be disposed of so
that vermin infestation, odors, disease hazards and nuisances are minimized. Such wastes shall
be removed at least weekly, or more frequently, from the facility and hauled by commercial
hauler to an approved solid waste disposal site.
(8) No more than one (1) dog per acre of land on the property permitted for a kennel, with a
maximum of 60 dogs on a single property.
II. REQUEST
The Applicants, Josef Langagger and Frank & Jeannie Donofrio, request approval to amend the dog
kennel regulation such that no more than 60 dogs could be allowed on a minimum of two acres.
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III. STAFF COMMENTS
One of the Applicants (Langagger) owns a 6.64 -acre property in the A/I zone district which presently
is improved by a veterinary clinic and also allows a Kennel as a Use -By -Right. Due to the demand in
the area, the Applicant would like to operate a boarding / kennel facility as a part of the veterinary
clinic. However, the present kennel regulations limit the dog count on this property to 6.46 dogs
which the Applicant states are not commercially viable. (See Exhibit E) for a petition to change the
rule submitted by the Applicant's representative.)
The other Applicant (Donofrio) runs a "Yorkie Terrier" breeding business in the ARRD zone district
on a property of 3.87 acres. The primary location of these dogs is indoors. The Applicant asserts that
1 -acre per Terrier is excessive and unreasonable in the ARRD zone district that also allows for
outside farming / grazing uses without an animal density. Note, this Applicant's business is a zoning
violation because a Kennel requires a SUP in the ARRD zone district. They have submitted a SUP
application on the hope that this amendment is approved.
Staff notes that kennels (and how they should be regulated) have been discussed in the County for
many years. In 1995, the BOCC required kennels to obtain a Special Use Permit in the ARRD zone
district. As part of that, while the BOCC required certain standards be met that dealt with noise,
odor, hours of operation, and method of waste management, there was no dog density requirement.
The BOCC revisited the kennel question again in 2002 where the subject "one dog per acre" was
made a requirement with a maximum of 60 dogs on any one property.
Primarily, the discussion around kennels was generally focused on noise from barking dogs and dog
waste management resulting in unhealthy situations as well as odor. It remains unclear as to the
origin / discussion that resulted in the "one dog per acre" rule other than it appeared in 2002 and was
required by Resolution 2002-85 by the BOCC. Note that Weld County requires a maximum of 50
dogs per kennel.
As you will remember, much of the kennel discussion was the result of neighbors contesting musher
operations in the County where there were large numbers of dogs on one property that lived a large
portion of the life outdoorswhich was noisy. Bill Pinkham's musher operation in Dry Park (south of
Glenwood) is a good example of a musher operation. In fact, the most recent regulations are the
result of his operation. Perhaps, the "one dog per acre" may have come from the fact that Mr.
Pinkham had 40 dogs on 40 acres.
As with any potentially impacting land use, proper mitigation of the impacts on neighboring uses is
achieved through effective standards. In this case, the first seven standards or criteria in Section
5.03.15 are intended to deal with odor, noise, environmental and animal health issues. The number of
dogs per acre appears to be irrelevant and arbitrary if the impacts generated from a "kennel" are
properly mitigated through the already approved standards.
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From the State perspective, the Colorado Department of Agriculture also regulates kennels and
breeding operations where they require licenses to operate which are updated every year and also
periodically inspect facilities for compliance. Other kennels in the area exist on small acreages such
as Red Hill Animal Health Center which boards up to 52 dogs at one time and is located in an urban
commercial / residential area. Aspenglo Kennel in the County is a 42 -acre property which has been
operating prior to the one -dog per acre rule change but only operates with up to 15 dogs for boarding
and primarily training.
The State requires the following space standards for indoor enclosures:
d. Space Requirements. All primary enclosures shall be constructed to provide sufficient space
to allow each pet animal to exercise normal postural movements.
(1) Primary Enclosures for Dogs.
Minimum space requirements:
(a) Each individually enclosed dog that does not have access to a run or exercise
area must be provided a minimum amount of floor space, calculated as follows:
Find the mathematical square of the sum of the length of the dog in inches (measured
from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail) plus 6 inches; then divide the product
by 144 and multiply by 2. The calculation is: (length of the dog in inches + 6) x
(length of the dog in inches + 6) =144 x 2 = required floor space in feet. The
maximum required floor space is 24 sq. ft. The minimum floor space is 6 sq. ft.
(b) Each primary enclosure, in which a dog spends the majority of its day, shall
have the following minimum requirements:
x -small dogs up to 10 inches high — 4.5 sq. ft.;
small dogs up to 16 inches high — 6.0 sq. ft.;
medium dogs up to 22 inches high — 9.0 sq. ft.;
large dogs up to 26 inches high —12 sq. ft.;
extra large dogs up to 30 inches high —16 sq. ft;
giant breeds over 30 inches high —18 sq. ft.
The height shall be 1' times the height of the dog at the shoulder with a maximum
height required of 48 inches and a minimum height of 18 inches.
if more than one dog occupies these primary enclosures, space will bef gured for the
first dog, with each additional dog needing one-half of the minimum space required.
These dimensions are not considered to be exercise areas. An exercise area or run is
required for each animal housed in such an enclosure. The exercise area or run may
be, but need not be, contiguous with the primary enclosures specified above. Each
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dog housed in the specified primary enclosure space must be provided the
opportunity to exercise for a minimum of 60 minutes in 24 hours. An exercise plan is
required pursuant to Subsection D2d(2)(e) below.
(c) If crates are used with the written consent of the owner to house dogs,
including weaned puppies, the minimum space requirements are as follows:
Dogs, regardless of weight, will have a crate that is a minimum of the length of the
dog from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, plus 3 inches, shall allow a
minimum clearance in height at the shoulder of 3 inches while the dog is standing
and shall permit the dog to turn around and lay down. Crates of this size are not to
be used for exercise areas. Crates of these minimum dimensions shall be used to
house one dog only.
An exercise area or run is required for animals housed in a crate. Dogs housed in
crates shall be provided an opportunity to exercise for a minimum of 60 minutes in
24 hours. An exercise plan is required pursuant to Subsection D2d(2)(e) below.
(2) Runs and Exercise Areas for Dogs.
Minimum space requirements.
(a) The length of the runs and exercise areas shall be a minimum of 3 times the
length of the dog from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail; the width shall allow
the dog to turn around easily; and the height shall be 11/2 times the height of the dog
at the shoulders, with the maximum height required of 48 inches, the minimum of 18
inches.
(b) Indoor/Outdoor runs that have the primary enclosure and the exercise area in
combination shall for measuring purposes be considered one exercise run and shall
be measured from the extreme inside to the extreme outside for length determination.
(c) Outdoor or indoor runs used as primary enclosure and exercise area in
combination shall be measured fromone extreme end to the other extreme end for
length. The same criteria will apply to free standing runs used for exercise areas
only.
(d) Runs and Exercise Areas. Dogs housed as described in Subsections
D2d(1)(b) and (c) above shall be provided with runs or exercise areas.
i. Runs and exercise areas may have wire flooring provided that the
wire is of a gauge adequate to prevent sagging under the weight of the
animals or injury to the animals' feet, and the mesh is small enough to
prevent their feet from passing through.
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ii. Exercise areas do not need shelter or dog houses if they are not
primary enclosures, but must have shade provided with the shaded area of a
size directly proportional to the size of the dog being shaded.
(e) Dogs housed in primary enclosures or crates described in Subsections
D2d(1)(b) and (c) above shall be provided the opportunity to exercise fora minimum
of 60 minutes in 24 hours. The licensee shall submit a plan to the Commissioner for
approval regarding exercise periods for dogs. The plan shall address the owner's
specific requests concerning exercise.
Take my dog JEB as an example under the state's guidelines. He is a 751b male yellow Labrador. He
would be classified as a "large dog" by the State (large dogs up to 26 inches high and 36 inches long
from nose to tip of tail) requiring a minimum indoor enclosure of 12 sq. ft. For outdoor run needs, he
would need a minimum of 27 sq. ft. for an outside dog run. So, if there were 20 JEBs, you would
need a minimum of 240 sq. ft. of interior kennel space with at least 540 sq. ft. in dog runs.
These regulations do not address noise or canine density in terms of acreage per dog. The County's
regulations do address noise from barking in the following regulation:
(1) All kennels shall be completely enclosed within a building that prevents any sounds from
emanating from the property boundary in excess of the Residential Zone District standards
contained in CRS § 25-12-103, with the exception of CRS § 25-12-103 (2) & (3), that no noise in
excess of 55 db(A) from sunrise to sunset and 50 db(A) from sunset to sunrise will be allowed.
Sunrise and sunset shall be based on the official time as determined by the Old Fanners
Almanac charts of sunrise and sunset for the location of the kennel. A kennel may have dogs
outdoors if the noise from the kennel does not exceed the noise standards cited previously and
complies with other Garfield County regulations as provided in Section 1.07 of the Garfield
County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended.
Again, the discussion around kennels has primarily been focused on noise from barking dogs and
dog waste management resulting in unhealthy situations as well as odor. It remains unclear as to the
origin / discussion that resulted in the "one dog per acre" rule other than it appeared in 2002 and was
required by Resolution 2002-85 by the BOCC. Perhaps, the "one dog per acre" may have come from
the fact that Mr. Pinkham had 40 dogs on 40 acres that primarily live outdoor a large part of the year.
As with any potentially impacting land use, proper mitigation of the impacts on neighboring uses is
achieved through effective standards. In this case, the first seven standards or criteria in Section
5.03.15 are intended to deal with odor, noise, environmental and animal health issues. The number of
dogs per acre appears to be irrelevant and arbitrary if the impacts generated from a "kennel" are
properly mitigated through the already approved standards.
6
IV. PLANNING RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the Board of County Commissioners approve
the proposed text amendment to the Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended dealing with dog
kennels in the following manner:
Amend Existing Section 5.03.15(8): No more than one (1) dog per acre of land on the property
permitted for a kennel, with a maximum of 60 dogs on a single property.
New Language for Section 5.03.15(8): No more than 60 dogs shall be allowed on a property having
a minimum of two acres.
Additionally, Staff also suggested the Board may wish to require a copy of the license issued by
the State as a requirement for kennels and breeders in the County.
V. SUGGESTED FINDINGS TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
1. That the meeting before the County Planning Commission and the hearing before the
Board of County Commissioners was extensive and complete, that all pertinent facts,
matters and issues were submitted and that all interested parties were heard.
2. That the proposed text amendment can be determined to be in the best interest of the
health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity and welfare of the citizens of
Garfield County.
3. That the application has met the requirements of the Garfield County Zoning Resolution
of 1978, as amended.
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