Animal shelter plans cause complaints

Worries over the county’s proposed new animal shelter, and the potential for noise, declining property values and a negative environmental impact, brought concerned citizens before the Board of Commissioners during a recent work session and again at a public hearing last month.
After plans to renovate the current facility trended over the original budgeted amount, the board voted to approve a site for a new animal shelter at Blackburn Park at its June 15 meeting. Plans for the new shelter have started to come together, as renderings of potential site plans were presented at the Dec. 11 Board of Commissioners retreat, however no official plans for the site have been approved.
Concerns were first brought up at the January 18 work session, following discussions by the board and staff on how to eventually fund the project.
“People that are in this area here are just concerned about where you’re putting the project, we wanted to know if we had some input in it and we were curious about when it’s going to get started,” Will Howell said during the public comment section of the work session. “We saw it in the paper so we came to just ask and get information, basically.”
Howell, a builder and developer of nearby Riverwalk Subdivision, said noise was his main concern.
“We know where they’re thinking about putting it….They’re putting it close to the road and we’re just concerned about the noise.”
Commissioner Chairman Chris Dockery said they were open to reassessing the plan.
“I think that’s certainly something that we need to look at,” Dockery said. “We certainly value your input. I tell you, if we can just look at it after the meeting, I think we can meet with staff and look at where it’s at and see what the proximity is to your residence and then maybe we can address it.”

SHELTERED PROJECT

As Howell left the lectern, seemingly satisfied to be acknowledged and considered by the board, nearby resident on Blackburn Road Kevin Copp came with even more concerns.
“This proposed shelter is approximately 50 foot from my driveway,” he said. “I have concerns about possible runoff to my well, my drinking water. I moved out of Cumming to be in the country and to me, bringing this in makes it not the country anymore. I lose the privacy. The traffic, the noise, the smell. I just didn’t know how to go about it. Have you guys already voted on it? Is it going to happen? Do we have any say?”
Dockery assured Copp that nothing was set in stone at the moment.
“From our earlier conversation, we’re just in the planning stages,” he said. “We do have a need for a new animal shelter, so we’ve identified a potential site that we’re looking at. I think the board’s agreed on that potential site. We certainly value your input and respect your opinion.”
Dockery also said that the county could not go forward with a plan that harms drinking water.
“When you’re talking about contamination of your well and things like that, we would not be able to do anything without the proper approval from the state environmental health,” he said. “So we’re not going to turn any runoff on your property.”
Copp then asked “What about property values?” To which Dockery replied quickly.
“We’re not going to debate it here,” Dockery said. “I’d be more than glad to talk to you and certainly respect the fact that you’re the next-door neighbor. We’ll look at it and make sure that we're making the best decision on behalf of the taxpayers of Lumpkin County and look after your interest.”
Copp finished by saying that the county owns a lot of property in the area and that he doesn’t understand why the shelter has to go right there.
Dedee Formica, who also lives nearby calmly agreed that she felt the location of the proposed shelter was in the wrong place.
“There are a lot of us that will be impacted by this dog shelter,” Formica said. “Not only from the aspect of the noise which will be the number one factor, but I think it will really hurt our property values….I’m personally not at all opposed to building an animal shelter. I’m not opposed to it being in Blackburn Park. I do object to the location in the park and I look forward to being able to talk with y’all about seeing if we can’t find a mutually agreeable place somewhere else in Blackburn to do this.”

ROUND TWO

When the board held its public hearing to discuss the potential changes to the land use codes in Lumpkin County, people were once again itching to talk in opposition of the proposed new shelter. In the six days between the work session where the concerns were first brought up to a somewhat surprised board and the public hearing on January 24, tensions from the looming project had affected the tone of the public’s comments.
Formica was the first to address the proposed shelter at the hearing.
“In the sense of this framework discussion that we’re having tonight, it seems like we’re discussing new development coming in and private businesses coming in, but I’m wondering is there anything in this code that requires the county departments and and venues to comply with the character areas?” she said. “The reason I’m asking is because…this is Blackburn Park…it’s in a rural character area….I see that the dog shelter is presently located in an industrial area…and I imagine that it was placed there because of the negative impact that it could have on the surrounding things such as the noise, the smell….That’s why I’m wondering how a county owned…department could move something from an industrial area and put it into a rural area that borders on the agricultural preservation, without having negative impacts.”
While the meeting was not intended to be about the proposed animal shelter, it quickly became focused on it as Byron Baudo followed Fermica with more worries.
“The concerns raised by the public regarding the impact the animal shelter will have are very important, I feel like,” Baudo said. “...There are numerous cost effective solutions using modern technology to repair and update the existing Lumpkin County Animal Shelter at a reduced cost that complies with county requirements.”
Baudo also mentioned requiring all new residents that are also pet owners to microchip their animals and that abandoned animals in the area could prove to be a liability for the nearby Blackburn Elementary School. Lastly he challenged the board to conduct a thorough study of how other animal shelters combat the mentioned impacts as well as the effects on neighboring residential property values.
The board will discuss the matter at a future meeting.