09-28-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28, 2015 7:00 o'clock p.m. 9. #15-3768 MICHAEL AND LISA LARSON, PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT RELATED TO DOG BOARDING AND GROOMING IN B-1 ZONING DISTRICT (condnued) Mike Larson stated solid waste will be immediately picked up, placed in biodegradable bags, and taken to a site that is designed for pet waste. The floor will have epoxy on it and an Aqua Air cleaning system will be installed to sanitize the place immediately. Larson stated the intent is to sanitize the entire facility every night. Walsh asked if there are OSHA requirements that must be met. Lisa Larson stated there are and that they regulate the chemicals used as well as the noise. Walsh stated he has been in these kinds of facilities before, and when you walk in the entryway, you do not know there are any dogs inside. Walsh stated in his view it is more of a concern with the very tight nature of the business district and the outside noise. Walsh stated if the dogs go outside every two hours for 10 or 15 minutes, if there are 30 to 50 dogs, they will be out there every hour on the hour for about 10 hours. Walsh stated he has more of a concern that it is too tight of an area and that this facility might be more practical in an industrial area. Walsh stated his concern is not the inside of the building. Lisa Larson stated today she drove to Adogo over by Ridgedale and their outdoor facility is between the German hospital and the Midas. Larson indicated she sat in her car with the windows down and recorded it with her iPhone. Larson stated there was a little bit of barking but that it was not constant even though there were probably 15 large dogs out there. Mike Larson stated they have been visiting these sites to see if their business model works and that there have not been any complaints from the residents. Lisa Larson noted they are also talking about small dogs. Larson indicated they are planning on hiring animal behaviorists that are trained to deal with dogs and are able to silence the dogs very quickly. Larson stated they are not planning on hiring 16 -year-old kids to watch the dogs and that they intend to hire professional people who are used to handling dogs and managing their behavior. Larson noted there are over 35 of these facilities in the Twin Cities area and they are successful. Larson stated none of those facilities focus on small dogs and none of the facilities have done the amount of sound mitigation they are proposing. Larson stated they will never let the dogs be outside and bark nonstop. Walsh noted small dogs are usually 25 pounds or under, but that this facility will take dogs that are overweight, which could mean 30 or 35 pounds. Lisa stated they will take overweight dogs. Mike Larson stated the average dog bark is 85 decibels, with the range being from 60 to 113 decibels. McMillan stated it probably depends on the breed and not necessarily the size of the dog. Page 13 of 27