PLDRC continues review of private dog‑diving facility after neighbors raise traffic, noise and enforcement concerns

The Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission on March 20 continued without decision a special‑exception request and companion variances for a private dog‑diving and training facility on Marsh Road, citing unresolved neighbor concerns about traffic, noise, parking and enforcement.

The applicant sought a special exception to operate a privately owned recreational facility offering dog‑diving competitions and appointment‑only training sessions on a 10.56‑acre, split‑zoned parcel. Planning staff described the use as a recreation area permitted by special exception in agricultural zoning but noted the existing pool and shed were closer than the 50‑foot separation typically required for recreational facilities. Staff recommended denial of both the special exception and the variances, but provided a 12‑item list of conditions that could make approval possible.

Neighbors and several adjacent property owners told the commission they feared events planned for the site would exceed what the neighborhood could absorb. Dwight Lewis, an adjacent property owner, said the operators had continued…