County Board denies application for kennel permit

On each vote — the second of which altered the sunset date of the permit — Commissioners Greg Blaine, Mike LeMieur and Jeffrey Jelinski voted “nay,” while Randy Winscher and Bobby Kasper voted for approval.

Prior to the vote, LeMieur said he had been “stewing” on the matter for a few days. In the time since the Planning Commission meeting, he said he had received multiple phone calls from neighbors who had concerns about the prospective business. The IUP would have allowed Goldsmith to have up to 12 dogs at the property, which could increase to 20 once a planned kennel facility was constructed.

“They have concerns with the existing animals that this applicant already has,” he said. “There’s concerns about — there’s peacocks on one person’s roof, there’s horses in someone else’s barn, there’s dogs on someone else’s property and I know she got rid of the goats, but there was a problem with the goats, too.”

He felt the concerns expressed by neighboring landowners were legitimate. Namely, he felt it could be detrimental to the “use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity,” a standard which must be met when granting an IUP.

LeMieur also noted that Goldsmith already has an active conditional use permit (CUP) for a campground on the property. That permit allowed campers to use the home for its kitchen and bathroom facilities. The kennels, which could hold up to 12 dogs, would be in the same home until the detached facility was built.

He felt those two uses were not compatible.

“I believe the mixture of animals and humans in one facility, it goes against the health, safety and welfare of Morrison County,” LeMieur said, suggesting the IUP went against a second standard for issuance.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the Planning Commission recommended four conditions be placed on the permit, should it be approved. Those were: outside exercise of the dogs shall occur between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; the outside exercise area for the dogs must be fenced; up to 12 dogs may be kept in the home for boarding, up to 20 total dogs may be kept on the premises for boarding after the detached kennel facility is operational; and the IUP shall sunset on Aug. 31, 2024.

Winscher said reports from neighbors that Goldsmith’s horses had gotten out on multiple occasions was concerning to him. He asked what guarantee she could give that the dogs would not be able to escape their outdoor enclosure.

She said the horses had gotten out, and admitted there were issues with the peacocks last summer. However, she said several years ago, before she had fencing on the property, her dogs took off on a couple of occasions. At that point, she installed a 6-foot, chainlink fence and has not had any problems since.

“It’s been a struggle with the land that I have that’s outlying areas, a lot of it’s swampy, so part of it’s just keeping fences up,” Goldsmith said, referring to the horses. “I ended up restricting the fences and pulled it out of the woods some because there’s a lot of dead fall. Part of the problem has been eliminated, but I continue to work on it.”

She explained that the area where the dogs will be is already complete. She has kennels for up to 12 dogs inside of her home, and an estimated 30-by-30 foot run outside, enclosed with a 6-foot chainlink fence.

If she was able to put up the kennel building, which would trigger her allowance under the IUP to have up to 20 dogs, it would be equipped with the same kind of fencing outside.

Blaine said, while the issues regarding the horses and peacocks were important to consider while examining Goldsmith’s track record, the issue at hand was whether or not to issue the IUP for a kennel and boarding facility for dogs.

As such, he said his question was if she had adequate fencing to contain up to 20 dogs on her premises.

“If we went there right now and all got on the bus and drove to your residence, could 20 dogs be there and be confined within the fences that are there right now?” Blaine said.

Goldsmith clarified that, while there was enough fencing for 20 dogs, the initial ask was for 12 dogs. It was essentially a two-tiered request, with the kennel facility being integral to moving into the second phase.

“I guess the outside run area — it’s my house that can’t house 20 dogs,” she said. “The outside area could. I would never put out that many dogs at a time, anyway.”

The second phase is where she had some concerns regarding one of the conditions placed on the IUP; that being the Aug. 31, 2024, sunset. Goldsmith said she would need to get financing for the building, which she estimated would cost about $100,000.

Having a sunset of just 15 months — and the requirements enacted due to that timeframe — would make it impossible for her to get and pay back a loan, as she would need a permit to receive financing. She would be looking at a 10-year loan, and later said, ideally, the sunset date would be extended to a decade.

Blaine asked why the sunset date was set for Aug. 31, 2024, in the first place. Kowalzek said that was done for a couple of reasons.

The first was that the CUP for the campground must be acted on within two years of issuance. If it was not operational by August 2024, the CUP would be null and void. The Planning Commission wanted the two permits at the property to line up in terms of when each had to be established, mainly to see how the two uses could work in harmony.

“I think there was some consternation by the Planning Commission, by some members, that this was really a use that was not compatible with the campground CUP and with the neighborhood,” Kowalzek said. “They wanted to give a small window to allow her to be able to, essentially, try the use on and be able to revisit it.”

Winscher also asked if the limit on the number of dogs allowed at the property included those owned by Goldsmith. Kowalzek said the IUP, as written, allowed 12 or 20 dogs at the home for boarding, so it would not include her dogs.

“There’s nothing to stop the applicant to saying, ‘These 12 are my own and now I’m going to board 12 more,’” Winscher said. “Or, can we say a total including personal dogs?”

“You certainly have the ability to do that, if you’d like,” Kowalzek said.

Jelinski went back to the topic of fencing. He asked if it was cement or grass, and photographs of the property showed it is grass and rock.

The reason for the question, he said, is that dogs like to dig and can sometimes burrow underneath a fence.

“To me, that’s not adequate at all for a run,” Jelinski said, looking at the photo. “I’m just being up front about it. They’re gone. They’ll dig underneath that and they’re gone just that fast, because that’s just their nature.”

He also asked if the CUP for the campground could be addressed. If the campground was out and the kennel was in, he said it “might change the flavor.”

Blaine, again, said while the CUP could be considered, it was more important for the Board to address the issue of the IUP for the kennel. He turned the conversation to whether or not Goldsmith would be the lone caretaker of the animals on the property.

She said she currently does run the facility — in which she has already been boarding up to three dogs at a time, which does not require a permit — by herself. However, that could change if the number of dogs were to increase. In that case, she would possibly hire someone to help.

“Especially if there was a new building and 20 dogs, I would not be doing that by myself,” Goldsmith said.

Winscher said, for him, the big issue was the fact that her horses had gotten out. He said, in his opinion, horses are easier to keep from escaping an enclosure than dogs. That was due, in large part, to the digging issue.

He asked if a condition could be added that required cement along the bottom of the fence, or that the chainlink be buried “a few inches” into the ground. Kowalzek said the kennel performance standard spelled out in county ordinance stipulates that fences must be “a minimum height of six feet and shall deter dogs from escaping over, under or through fence materials.”

“If what she’s got is not adequate, that is a performance standard already in there,” Kowalzek said.

Winscher and Jelinski expressed that they disagreed with the sunset date. This was due, in large part, to the fact that if the permit was issued, Tuesday, Goldsmith would have to come back and, in a sense, re-apply in August 2024. They said that put her at risk of spending $100,000 on the kennel facility only to have the IUP denied upon reapplication.

“Could you put a sunset on the timeframe for the building?” LeMieur asked.

Kowalzek said the existing conditions already did not allow her to go up to more than 12 dogs until the building was operational.

“In order to put up the building, I would need a long-term — there’s no way I could put up the building without this being a 10-year plan,” Goldsmith said. “I could put it up right away, but I have no guarantee to pay for the building.”

She said she had no problem with her dog being included in the total number allowed. In regard to the CUP, she said her intention was to switch to just the boarding and kennel facility.

If the sunset date was put out to where she could afford to put up the building and pay for it, she said she would have no problem forgoing the CUP.

“I need to have a business at my property to live, basically,” Goldsmith said. “The 20 dog limit in the building, unless the sunset date is put out to where I can afford to pay for that, is not something that I can even start.”

Ultimately, Kowalzek said the Board had two choices. It could table its decision, which would give Goldsmith time to come back and show that she was in compliance with all performance standards in the kennel ordinance. It could also require that, before she goes up to 12 dogs, the property must be inspected by someone from the Land Services Office.

Blaine said, as the discussion wore on, he thought it might be worth tabling a decision to give Goldsmith time to secure financing for the building. Kowalzek said, under the county’s 60-day rule, it could extend a decision out as far as late May. Anything beyond that would require Goldsmith to waive her right to a decision within 60 days.

“Right now she is boarding dogs, but she’s keeping it under four,” Kowalzek said. “This business is happening on a very small scale. In order for her to exceed that, she would need an IUP.”

Winscher said, if the Board extended its decision by 60 days, it would allow members to visit the kennel. He asked Goldsmith if she would have a problem with that, as it would delay her ability to expand to boarding 12 dogs.

She said it would be a burden, but it could happen. It would require her to turn dogs away for boarding once spring comes.

“I’m currently boarding, generally, three dogs at a time, so I’m coordinating who can come and who can go when,” Goldsmith said. “I’ve been turning down a significant amount of dogs. My clientele has built up to where they’re fighting for positions. That was the point of coming in to increase my numbers before spring came.”

Jelinski asked if it would work if they approved the IUP and, after having 60 days to secure a loan for the building, she could come back to the Board and ask for an amendment to the permit. She could then come back, again, when the building was constructed and ask for another amendment to go up to 20 dogs.

Goldsmith said most of that sounded fine, other than the fact she couldn’t get financing without the permit. She said she needed approval for 20 dogs prior to building.

After more than 90 minutes of discussion, the matter came to a vote with four amended conditions. They were: outside exercise must be between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; outside exercise area must be fenced; up to a total of 12 dogs may be kept on the premises at any one time — with the understanding she would come back to amend when she was ready — and a sunset date of Aug. 31, 2025.

In a roll call vote, the measure failed, 3-2. Blaine then brought forth a second motion that put the last condition back at the recommended date of Aug. 31, 2024. Again, it failed.

“In reference to previous activities, there’s too many things happening that affect each other,” he said. “I want to have a shorter window of time to look.”