Wicomico County Council narrows kennel setback, grandfathers existing special exceptions after public outcry

The Wicomico County Council on Feb. 18 adopted a revised kennel ordinance after reconsidering a veto and working through several amendments that council members said were needed to avoid unintentionally shutting existing kennel businesses.

Council President Cannon opened discussion after the county executive's veto of Legislative Bill 2025-01 required the council to reconsider the measure at its next legislative session. The bill, as originally amended at a prior session, had included a 1,000-foot separation requirement between kennels and neighboring residences; council members and staff said that figure would have effectively prevented many existing or prospective kennel operations from complying.

The council replaced the 1,000-foot separation with a 500-foot standard, struck the prior wording that measured set‑backs from property lines in a way that created uncertainty, and added provisions to…