City Council votes to allow commercial pet boarding kennels

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By ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star

The City Council voted Monday to allow previously banned commercial pet boarding kennels within the city limits.

The council unanimously approved the ordinance, which will go into effect with the mayor’s approval in a little over two weeks.

Another ordinance allowing those kennels to be built in commercial areas also passed.

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The kennels must be built 200 feet away from a residential area unless a special permit is issued.

The second ordinance was met with opposition from Councilman Jonathan Cook, who said he was concerned about going from one extreme to another.

For now, he said, a good middle ground is allowing kennels only in industrial areas within the city.

“If in time we feel like we can extend that, that’s OK,” he said. But, if the council were to regret a decision to approve kennels in commercial areas, “we really can’t go back.”

Cook was the only council member to vote against the second ordinance.

Kennel owners from outside the city limits were largely opposed to the ordinance. At a public hearing two weeks ago, they questioned whether it would allow new business owners an unfair advantage.

The owner of a franchise for  Camp Bow Wow has been pressing for a change in the city code in order to develop a Lincoln location.

The council also approved an amendment to the first ordinance, proposed by Councilman Ken Svoboda, which will allow businesses to operate as both kennels and pet shops or animal supply stores at the same time.

Svoboda was supported by Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Bruce Dart, who said concerns about the risks allowing family pets and pets for sale to mingle together weren’t founded. He said government oversight should be enough to prevent any health risks.

Councilmen Cook and Doug Emery questioned the amendment.

Cook suggested erring on the side of caution when it comes to potential health risks.

“It’s an unknown at this point,” he said. “I guess I think the mixing issue is one we ought to be careful about.”

In other council action:

* A few people spoke at a public hearing mostly in favor of the potential annexation of the Firethorn subdivision southeast of Lincoln.

Firethorn, built in the 1980s, was facing costly upgrades to its private sewer and water system and, after studying the issue, determined annexation would be more cost-effective.

The Firethorn homeowners association reported nearly 80 percent of residents voted for annexation during a May vote.

The proposed annexation is expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million.  The development's owner plans to recoup much of that cost by building 95 homes.

Each homeowner also will pay $4,000 toward road, sewer and street improvements needed as part of the annexation. 

Council members will vote later on whether to approve the annexation, which would add a large portion of the subdivision’s $72 million in property value to the city’s tax rolls.

* Council members voted to delay action on proposed stormwater regulations until June 25, when a public hearing is scheduled.

The regulations would help the city meet the requirements of the federal stormwater discharge permit the city received in 2002 to discharge stormwater into Salt Creek and several tributaries.

To comply with the permit, the city must prevent pollutants from being washed into U.S. waters to keep water fishable, drinkable and swimmable. The council is hoping to resolve the issue before the Environmental Protection Agency audits Lincoln’s stormwater program in July.

Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7395 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.