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Board approves small commercial kennel on 82-acre farm, rules shared driveway is not an access drive
Summary
Carroll County BZA granted conditional use for a commercial kennel accommodating up to 10 dogs at 4645 Arthur Shipley Road and explicitly found the shared 10-foot deeded driveway is not an access drive under the code for this application; neighbors raised safety concerns about the narrow, long driveway.
The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 7 approved a conditional use allowing a commercial kennel for 10 or fewer dogs at 4645 Arthur Shipley Road in Sykesville and determined the shared driveway serving the site is not an "access drive" under the county code for purposes of this request.
Attorney Kelly Schafer Miller, representing applicants Brian and Christy Davis, opened by describing the site as an approximately 82.7-acre former horse-breeding farm and said the kennel would operate from the residence with no separate parking area and limited client contact: "Clients… do not exit their vehicle, and just loop back out and leave," she told the board.
Brian Davis testified the boarding and day-care operation is based in the basement of the house, uses an attached fenced yard, and maintains a cap of 10 dogs at any time. He said average recent daily demand was roughly four dogs, that drop-off and pick-up windows normally are 7–9 a.m. and 4–6 p.m., and that clients typically text about 10 minutes before arrival so staff can receive the dog from the vehicle.
Neighbors and counsel raised traffic- and safety-related objections tied to a narrow, deeded right-of-way shared by three properties and roughly three-quarters of a mile long. A written statement read for Richard and Teresa Obiso said the driveway "is not adequately designed to accommodate the current two-way traffic," cited a reported undercarriage damage incident and asked the board to deny any variance to reduce driveway width unless safety measures are required.
The applicants introduced a survey and site plan prepared by John Lemmerman of RTF Associates, who was accepted as an expert witness. Lemmerman testified the property meets setback requirements (he placed the nearest dwelling at about 1,250 feet) and described the deeded right-of-way as recorded at 10 feet; he said widening the driveway in areas that cross a stream would require time-consuming permits and expense and concluded the conditional-use criteria were met. He also testified that the requested kennel use is less intense than other allowed agricultural or commercial uses the zoning code contemplates.
Board members considered the competing concerns and ultimately voted to approve the conditional use. The board also included an express finding that the driveway is not an access drive for purposes of this application, which removes the need for an access-drive-width variance in practice. The board’s oral decision will be followed by a written decision within 30 days that may be appealed to the circuit court for Carroll County.
