Planning commission recommends approval of Lindsey Ward’s kennel with conditions after neighbors raise noise, traffic concerns

Lindsey Ward, the applicant, asked the Culpeper County Planning Commission on May 1 to approve a conditional use permit to build and operate a kennel and boarding facility on a 47.64-acre A‑1 (Agricultural) parcel off Yellow Bottom Road (Route 620) in the Stevensburg Magisterial District.

Staff planner Neil Drumheller told commissioners the zoning ordinance permits kennels in the A‑1 district only as a conditional use and noted the zoning definition of a kennel is five dogs. Drumheller said staff recommended approval with six conditions, including development to match the submitted concept plan, a vegetative buffer or other screening under the landscaping ordinance, a required VDOT land‑use permit and standards for the entrance, no commercial breeding until the owner’s residence receives its occupancy permit, and a requirement that the owner reside on the same parcel as the kennel. Drumheller read a suggested condition that “there shall be no outdoor noise from the barking of dogs aloud after sunset,” and noted the county’s nighttime noise standard begins at 10 p.m. and is set at 65 decibels under the local noise ordinance.

The applicant, Lindsey Ward, described more than a decade of experience operating dog training and boarding services in North Carolina and said the proposed facility would emphasize “luxury suite” accommodations rather than chain‑link kennels and would include sound‑mitigation measures. “We plan to have suites more like what you would look like at a home environment,” Ward said, adding she and her husband intend to live on site and would prioritize finishing the kennel building before completing their residence. Ward said the operation could accommodate about 60 dogs at full capacity, with roughly 10 employees (about five on site at peak) and two separate outdoor play areas designed for up to five dogs each.

Neighbors who spoke during the public hearing expressed concerns about noise, traffic and waste disposal. William Jenkins, a resident directly across Yellow Bottom Road, said he had lived on the property since 1987 and worried that the existing tree line would not reliably muffle barking: “I don't wanna be sitting on the porch here and barking dogs all the time.” Jenkins also asked how animal waste from a proposed compost system would be managed and whether liquids could leach into the ground. His wife, Cindy Jenkins, and another nearby resident, William Jenkins’s wife, raised the road’s safety and internet limitations for any proposed security monitoring.

Applicant and staff answered commissioner questions about the driveway, sight distance and VDOT’s entrance comments. Drumheller noted VDOT flagged sight‑distance and entrance location issues in its comment letter and said adjustments or a realignment could be required at the site‑plan stage. Commissioners asked Ward about hours; Ward said regular daytime operations would be typical and that overnight checks would be possible because the owners plan to live on site.

Commissioners discussed several additional mitigations during deliberations, including a condition that existing tree buffers be maintained while the kennel is in operation and the addition of a screening/noise‑abatement fence around the outdoor play areas. Commissioner Donham moved that the commission recommend approval of Case U‑2254‑25‑1 to the Board of Supervisors with the six staff conditions plus required additional buffering and fencing around the play areas; the motion carried. The commission’s action was a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, not the final permit decision.

The application will next go to the Board of Supervisors for final action, and the applicant must meet VDOT entrance requirements and obtain any required zoning permits and the residence occupancy permit before commercial operations tied to owner residency may begin.