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July 13. 2012 12:25AM
Londonderry moves to regulate dog kennels
LONDONDERRY — Since the Zoning Board’s denial of a Litchfield couple’s application to build a large, commercial kennel in Londonderry last spring, town officials have been doggedly working toward a town ordinance to better regulate canine facilities in the future.
In early May, Zoning Administrator Richard Canuel urged the Planning Board to work with him to determine how kennels fit into the town’s scheme of things.
As it stands now, the town’s commercial zoning ordinance doesn’t include kennels or other such pet facilities in the list of permitted uses, meaning Canuel and other town officials would have no choice but to consider them a “service establishment.”
“Presently our ordinance has no provisions for kennels, as they have been treated as some sort of residential agricultural home occupation,” Canuel told the board this week.
The topic of kennels arose during a public hearing before the Zoning Board earlier this spring, when Litchfield residents Leonard and Jane Vigeant appeared before the board in hopes of building a commercial dog kennel facility on 15 acres near 300 Nashua Road, located within the Route 102 Performance Overlay District.
Following a lengthy debate, the board denied the application on the basis that the kennel’s sounds and smells could prove detrimental to the quality of life for the residents living in nearby homes.
“Of course, the ZBA struggled with this,” Canuel said. “I don’t foresee we’ll get an onslaught of commercial kennel applications after this, but we should at least provide for the opportunity.”
Canuel added that kennels “really don’t fit in very well with other service establishments.”
“You wouldn’t want 100 barking dogs next door to a restaurant with outdoor seating,” he said. “So if we were to go forward with this ordinance, I’d suggest we keep kennels in the Industrial I zone.”
Town Planner Cynthia May said she’s researched other communities’ response to kennels, only to discover that Londonderry is far from alone in its failure to place them.
The town of Bedford only permits kennels in commercial zones, though many other area towns don’t have any provisions for kennels on the books.
“There’s just not a lot of action,” she said. “But keeping these types of businesses in the industrial areas would assure we don’t end up with kennels as home occupations.”
Right now, the town of Londonderry has no limit on how many pets a residential property owner may keep on the premises, town officials said, so allowing kennels as a home business seems a recipe for disaster.
“In the past, I’ve experienced problems involving private properties where people have kennels,” said May. “Boarding (animals), for example, usually generates a lot of angst in the community.”
Instead, May suggested allowing individual applications to dictate approval of such projects in other areas, by making such businesses subject to a Conditional Use Permit.
A Planning Board workshop on the pending dog kennel ordinance will take place later this summer.
April Guilmet may be reached at AGuilmet@newstote.com.
In early May, Zoning Administrator Richard Canuel urged the Planning Board to work with him to determine how kennels fit into the town’s scheme of things.
As it stands now, the town’s commercial zoning ordinance doesn’t include kennels or other such pet facilities in the list of permitted uses, meaning Canuel and other town officials would have no choice but to consider them a “service establishment.”
“Presently our ordinance has no provisions for kennels, as they have been treated as some sort of residential agricultural home occupation,” Canuel told the board this week.
The topic of kennels arose during a public hearing before the Zoning Board earlier this spring, when Litchfield residents Leonard and Jane Vigeant appeared before the board in hopes of building a commercial dog kennel facility on 15 acres near 300 Nashua Road, located within the Route 102 Performance Overlay District.
Following a lengthy debate, the board denied the application on the basis that the kennel’s sounds and smells could prove detrimental to the quality of life for the residents living in nearby homes.
“Of course, the ZBA struggled with this,” Canuel said. “I don’t foresee we’ll get an onslaught of commercial kennel applications after this, but we should at least provide for the opportunity.”
Canuel added that kennels “really don’t fit in very well with other service establishments.”
“You wouldn’t want 100 barking dogs next door to a restaurant with outdoor seating,” he said. “So if we were to go forward with this ordinance, I’d suggest we keep kennels in the Industrial I zone.”
Town Planner Cynthia May said she’s researched other communities’ response to kennels, only to discover that Londonderry is far from alone in its failure to place them.
The town of Bedford only permits kennels in commercial zones, though many other area towns don’t have any provisions for kennels on the books.
“There’s just not a lot of action,” she said. “But keeping these types of businesses in the industrial areas would assure we don’t end up with kennels as home occupations.”
Right now, the town of Londonderry has no limit on how many pets a residential property owner may keep on the premises, town officials said, so allowing kennels as a home business seems a recipe for disaster.
“In the past, I’ve experienced problems involving private properties where people have kennels,” said May. “Boarding (animals), for example, usually generates a lot of angst in the community.”
Instead, May suggested allowing individual applications to dictate approval of such projects in other areas, by making such businesses subject to a Conditional Use Permit.
A Planning Board workshop on the pending dog kennel ordinance will take place later this summer.
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April Guilmet may be reached at AGuilmet@newstote.com.
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