Dog Hotel expansion complete

Dog Hotel expansion complete; permit application lags behind

Aug. 21, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

A public hearing to discuss an expansion of the Dog Hotel on Highway 184 between Dolores and Mancos was held Monday, but the problem was that the owner completed the project without going through the planning process stipulated in the Land-Use Code.

"It should not have come to this," said commissioner Gene Story. "These issues should have been worked out before the expansion was put in."

In December 1999, owner Tom Overington doubled the boarding capacity at the Dog Hotel to 127 kennels. Any commercial or residential building built after the enactment of the Land-Use Code, in July 1998, is required to go through the public hearing and planning process, but Overington did not do so. He told the commissioners he was unaware of the regulations and was told there were none.

"My contractor and my realtor told me there was no applicable land-use code for rural Montezuma County at the time," he said. The original business was put in before the land-use code was enacted and has been grandfathered in.

The commission was perturbed that the planning process was missed. They said that it was the responsibility of the owner to check personally on the county requirements before building an addition, and they were sympathetic to neighbors suffering from the noise.

"No excuses," Story said. "People have to take the initiative and check on regulations, but now it is after the fact and as a result we have to look at measures to be taken that deal with the noise from barking dogs. I know that can be very annoying."

Several supporters attended to praise Overington’s business as well run, and questioned whether the noise was that bad.

"I went to one of the neighbors houses early in the morning and could just barely hear the dogs, you would have to have bionic ears for it to be a problem," said Dave Harrison.

But for the Baeumel family across the highway, and others, the noise is not science fiction; it is a nuisance that is negatively impacting their lives, they testified.

"It has affected me and my family’s happiness, it is affecting our mental health, our property value. It prevents us from enjoying our property," said Rudy Baeumel, who is the closest neighbor to the Dog Hotel. "I cannot live the rest of my life listening to barking dogs."

"It has been a problem at night," agreed another neighbor. "There have been lots of nights that I have had trouble sleeping, and people need to get their sleep without having to drink four beers."

Baeumel said he has no issue with Overingtons’ right to operate the business or their service quality that people said was reputable.

"I support that, but this could be solved by sound-proofing and keeping the dogs in at night," he said.

An agreement was reached between neighbors, and Overington earlier had the dogs in by 7 p.m., Story said, but that compliance has not continued. Overington explained he did not follow it because the limit was not healthy for the dogs to stay in for so long so he let them stay out till 9 p.m. He admitted that there were times when the dogs have been left out longer.

"I understand to a point the complaints; that is why I put it out in a rural area. I’m willing to work with solutions that are reasonable," Overington said.

At the request of audience members supporting Overington, the commission declined to check whether decibel levels at Overingtons property line exceed 55 decibels, the maximum level allowed for at a commercial property boundary adjacent to residential areas.

"We do not want to get to that point," said chairman Kent Lindsay. "Let’s work this out."

Story agreed, saying that barking dogs can be particularly aggravating for neighbors, and noise needs to be controlled at the kennel as part of the after-the-fact permit.

Some solutions discussed included installing sound baffles within the building to muffle the barking from the outside, operational changes that leave dogs outside less, better ventilation systems to promote more inside boarding, and closing windows to block the sound.

The public hearing was continued until September 10 at 10 a.m. at the commissioners meeting room. Overington was instructed to come up with a plan to reduce the noise, and present it to the board.

The commission also:

• Discussed the importance of educating the public about the land-use code. They said real-estate agents especially need to be made more aware of the requirements. The county will be installing Colorado Department of Transportation signs that inform people that the county is a zoned community.

• Heard from Dolores Parks Committee member Wendy Mimiaga on a new playground planned for Joe Rowell Park. The commission signed a letter in support of the community project, which will replace an aging playground that has been deemed unsafe. Funding is being sought from a Great Outdoors Colorado grant.