 Hello and welcome to the Williston Development Review Board of March 14th 2023. My name is Pete Kelly. I'm the chair of the DRB if You are a zoom participant, please sign in with your name on the participant toolbar This is a hybrid meeting taking place in town hall and virtually on zoom All members of the board and public can communicate in real time Planning staff will provide zoom instructions for Okay, first up is the public forum. This is an opportunity for anyone to comment on Items that are not on tonight's agenda So if you're in the room or if you're participating by zoom raise your virtual hand Is there anyone that would like to address the board at this time on topics not on tonight's agenda? So far I've seen no raised hands on zoom or in the meeting room Okay We now transition into the public hearing We have appeal 23-01 Mark Hall Esquire representing the appellants Kim Butterfield and Ron Bliss on the appeal of an administrative permit 23-01 21 For a dog rescue home business at 170 Lamp light lane in the residential zoning district who is present for the appellants Okay, if you would please introduce yourself in your address for the record, please My name is Mark Hall. I'm an attorney at Paul Franklin Collins the address you mean where I'm my home address sure one church Street P.o. Box 1307 Burlington Vermont 05 401 I'm an attorney for Kim Butterfield individually in a group of 16 people in the neighborhood Relative to an application that was approved for a home occupation associated with a dog rescue. I Submitted legal positions already Mark. Yes, Mark. This is this is strictly to Identify yourself in your address. Who are the other two individuals Kim Kim Butterfield? I live at 403 white birch Lane in Williston Vermont 05 Ron Bliss 285 lamp light lane in Okay, so the sequence that we're going to do here is You you will have you will have your time mark Trust me The first up is staff to walk us through the staff report, please Okay, so this is an appeal of the zoning administrators She Issuance of an administrative permit to operate a dog rescue home business at 170 lamp light lane in the residential zoning district Per WDB 54 and as provided by 24 VSA 4465 Any decision of the administrator may be appealed to the DRB the DRB must hold a public hearing Following the hearing the DRB may uphold modify or overturn the decision of the administrator In every case the DRB shall adopt written findings conclude and conclusions supporting its action The DRB's decision on an appeal can be appealed to the Vermont Environmental Court as provided by 24 VSA 4471 Okay, so The subject property is 170 lamp light lane. It's in the residential zoning district The the residential dwelling Has been in in existence since about 1965 I've included a history of This appeal In September of 2022 the zoning administrator issued a notice of zoning violation for the subject property Shortly thereafter Miss Submitted an application for administrative permit to resolve the zoning violation and establish a Permit for a dog rescue home business In November the zoning administrator referred the administrative permit to the DRB The DRB held a public hearing to review the project The DRB deliberated and issued a decision denying the administrative permit for a dog rescue home business In January of 2023 miss Petterzani submitted an application for an administrative permit to operate a scaled-down bulldog rescue home business and Also miss miss Petterzani appealed the DRB decision to Vermont environmental court on January 20th 2023 the zoning administrator issued an administrative permit for the scaled-down bulldog rescue home business and Shortly thereafter on February 1st 2023 miss Petterzani withdrew the appeal to Vermont environmental court on February 2nd Mark Hall Esquire on behalf of the talents Kim Butterfield Ron Bliss and 16 Residents of the lamp light neighborhood filed an appeal The administrative permit issued to Donna Petterzani for dog rescue home business So The administrator approved AP 2301 to 1 on January 20th 2023 as part of the approval the administrator included a letter Enumerating his findings of fact conclusions of law and conditions of approval for the permit The letter is attached to the staff report and reference The appellant statement is attached and referenced her in the appellants are appealing the decision of the administrator because They believe the permit was unlawfully issued and doesn't comply with policies purposes or terms of the zoning bylaw Um for comment letters were received at the time of packet mail-out and Three additional comment letters have been received as of today A legal opinion has not been obtained as part of this review So I will just now go through the appellant statement point-by-point and Basically like state what You know what I think is pertinent to those statements And what you know what the bylaw says in relationship to those statements And then I will point out what the DRB what the DRB's action is to Discuss and make a decision about each of those statements So the the first statement Is that Ms. Petterzani previously applied for and was denied a discretionary permit to operate her dog rescue Vermont law Prohibits the filing of successive zoning applications And the business has not changed Substantially so as to respond to the objections of the original application Therefore the application shouldn't have been considered let alone granted so staff notes that Vermont law Does prohibit applicants from making successive appeals of a DRB decision Essentially applying over and over for the same thing despite a denial an application for a dog rescue at this address AP 230062 was denied by the DRB in November of 2022 I have included a table that Illustrate the differences between the previously submitted application for home business and The subsequent application, which is the subject of this appeal So the previous application There were six kennels that were placed within the subject properties backyard For use by the home business in this application the use of the backyard kennels for the home business has been discontinued in the previous application daily visits to the home business by three to six volunteers each morning and afternoon and And and ours details about ours were not provided This application states that a maximum of two volunteers are at the home business during the hours of 7 to 8 a.m And 3 to 4 p.m. Daily and the applicant has stated that no p.m. Peak our trips are generated Most notably the previous application included transport days where a Large number of dogs are delivered to the property and adopters of the other of those dogs arrive at the arrive Sometimes at the same time or on the same day to pick up the dogs In this application Adoptions now occur off-site eliminating the transport days on the site In the pre the previous application didn't give details about the use of the backyard public testimony Does indicate that the backyard? Let dogs were let out in the backyard not always supervised in this application the backyard is Proposed to be used from 7 a.m. To 8 a.m. For one dog at a time Superb supervised by one volunteer Previously multiple dogs are walked in we're walked in the neighborhood during morning and afternoon shifts This application states that one dog at a time is walked on leash in the neighborhood during each shift As well as taking dogs off-site on field trips so the DRB Should discuss and decide whether the change is made to this Home business operation are significant enough to make it a new and substantially different Application than the one that was previously denied by the DRB I'll move on to the second statement of the appellants Even if this application could be considered Ms. Petter Zanni is running a kennel for commercial purposes whether a non-profit or not Wilson's owning bylaw 20 dot 4 dot 1 Requires a discretionary permit for all home businesses that have more than one non resident employee or generate more than one PM peak hour trip Currently, Ms. Petter Zanni has more than one dog walker at the property at some point during the date and the activity appears To involve more than one PM peak hour trip The zoning administrator therefore Had no authority to grant an administrative permit instead It should have been referred to the development review board for hearing on a discretionary permit just as it was the first time So the DRB should consider whether the home business as described by the applicant exceeds the thresholds established under WDB 20.4.3 namely The discretionary permit is required for any home business proposed in a two household dwelling that will include The overnight parking of a commercial vehicle or any customer or client traffic a Discretionary permit is required for all home businesses that propose to have more than none Then one non resident employee on site or generate more than one PM peak hour trip So the DRB should consider whether agrees with the zoning administrators findings of fact Pursuant to WDB 20.4.3 So the home business proposed by the application by the application or in the application is a one household dwelling And there's no arguing about that really The proposed home business will not have more than one non resident employee So this finding of fact relies on a literal interpretation of employee The plain language the WDB Does not define employee the plain language definition is one employed by another usually for wages or salary and in a position below the executive level so given that The requirement that the bylaws be administered literally the zoning administrator Made a finding that the business will not have more than one non resident employee Because the volunteers are not paid for their work The staff report for the previous home business application AP 230062 Does treat the volunteers as employees for the purposes of administering the bylaw? So I'm noting that the plain language definition of employee doesn't have an absolute requirement for an employee to be paid Says one employed by another usually for wages or salary. So Staff is recommending that the volunteers in this case can be considered the same as employees for the purposes of administering bylaw The DRB should discuss this and decide whether it agrees with finding a fact with administrators finding a fact Are volunteers the same as employees? The third finding of fact The proposed home business will not generate more than one PM peak hour trip in It relies on a literal definition of PM peak hour trip end as trips that occur between the hours of 4 p.m. And 6 p.m. And weekdays and Because Evening volunteers will be on site between 3 and 4 p.m. The zoning administrator Finds that no PM peak hour trips will be generated by the business So the DRB should discuss and decide whether it agrees with this will the business generate more than one PM peak hour trip So if the DRB disagrees with any finding of fact related to the WDB 20.4.3 the thresholds for the review of home businesses Then it must find the zoning administrator did not have the authority to issue the home business permit administratively But that the application should have been referred to the DRB for discretionary permit The next statement 3a The appellate statement reads even if the application can be considered it does not comply with either WDB 20.4.3 or appendix G of the bylaws which govern home patients The kennels in the RZD the dogs are walked in the backyard in the surrounding neighborhood by one or more volunteers Under requirements for home businesses set out appendix G of the bylaw The use shall be entirely within the dwelling or accessory structure and outdoor workspaces associated with the home business are prohibited in the RZD Ms. Petterzani uses the property outside Outside the dwelling as an outdoor workspace for dog walking and other kennel related activities, which are expressly prohibited in the RZD So I will note that per WDB 20.9.1 Kennels used for commercial purposes including boarding and breeding may be permitted as a home business The zoning Administrators conclusions of law Were that the the use of the residential backyard for one dog at a time Supervised by one volunteer limited to one hour per day between 7 a.m. And 8 a.m Does not cause the backyard to be an outdoor workspace as the term is used in appendix G3 Bylaw does not define outdoor workspace Appendix G states in the RZD And VZD zoning districts the space used for the proposed home business Shall be within the dwelling or in an accessory structure that complies with all requirements of this bylaw Outdoor workspaces and the outdoor storage of materials supplies equipments vehicles or goods for sale are prohibited in the RZD RZD and VZD So the DRB should discuss and decide whether it agrees with the administrators conclusions of law stated above Regarding outdoor workspaces Staffs recommending that in making this determination the DRB should consider The intensity of the proposed home business activity in comparison with customary uses of backyards If the DRB finds that the use of the residential backyard for one dog at a time Supervised by one volunteer limited to one hour per day between 7 a.m. And 8 a.m Does constitute an outdoor workspace? It can either deny the permit or establish a condition prohibiting any use of outdoor areas on the subject property Staff notes that dog walking in the public right of ways is allowed and cannot be regulated by the DRB through permit conditions so Moving on to statement 3d appellate statement reads Ms. Pedrazani has no parking sufficient for her volunteers or any visitors parking for the home business under such such circumstances Is required in the RZD? Appendix G states that off-street parking must be provided at a rate determined by the administrator or the DRB The administrator made a determination that three off-street parking spaces are required Two spaces are provided in the driveway and the zoning administrator required an additional formal parking space To be delineated in the side yard for the work vehicle within six months of issue in the permit The prior application for the rescue was submitted at a time when the applicant was using the home for much larger adoption Events called transfers which the applicant is specifically not proposing to conduct on site under this new application Adoption events will take place off-site as described in the home business plan Adoption events which brought large numbers of people to the subject property and generated a need for parking are no longer being held on site Without these events there are few to no visitors associated with the home business and a maximum of two volunteers during the chore times of 7 a.m. To 8 a.m. And 3 p.m. The volunteers generate a need for two parking spaces which can be accommodated in the driveway Staff is recommending that there is adequate parking provided on-site for the home business Staff also notes that on-street parking is allowed as long as it's not impeding the flow of traffic or blocking a driveway and Cannot be regulated by the DRB through permit conditions So the DRB should discuss and decide whether the on-site parking has conditioned in the approval for AP 2301 2-1 is compliant with the requirements under the WDB 20.4 and appendix G If the DRB decides the provision of parking is inadequate for the home business It can either deny the permit or draft a condition establishing a required number of parking spaces. It deems adequate um Moving on to statement number 3c the pellet statement reads Upon information belief and experience the kennel generates more than 1 p.m. Peek hour trip per day Trips to the RZD for home business are strictly limited to one vehicle in the p.m. Peek as Stated in the zoning administrator's letter the applicants home business plan notes that volunteer visits will be the only regular Traffic to and from the property not generated by the applicant themselves The home business plan states that no trips will be generated during the p.m. Peek This element of this application is substantially different from the application that was denied by the DRB Because no transport days or adoption events are proposed to take place at the home business These will take place off-site as described in the home business plan Staff notes that the p.m. Peek hour for single-family residential uses is specifically defined in the Institute of Trap Transportation Engineers trip generation manual as between 4 and 6 p.m. The applicant has stated the business will generate no p.m. Peek hour trips However, volunteers are expected to work from 3 p.m. To 4 p.m. Then they are leaving the site after 4 p.m. Potentially generating traffic during the p.m. Peek hour I will add that having looked at one of the comment letters that came in today there's a log of Volunteer hours, and it appears that the volunteers are leaving no later than 345 In the in the afternoon, so if the DRB were to establish a condition requiring Earlier volunteer hours. I don't think it would negatively impact the this the home business So the DRB should discuss this decide whether the home business generates more than 1 p.m. Peek hour trip And if so discuss whether and how to modify the conditions of approval The DRB can permit an exception to allow additional trips if it finds traffic flow from the proposed home business Will not have an adverse impact on neighboring homes or like I said It could just modify the conditions of approval to require the afternoon short time to be to end by 345 Moving on to statement 3d The applicant statement reads Appendix G requires compliance with chapter 18 the bylaws Chapter 18 prohibits activities there that are a nuisance the presence of the commercial kennel in a residential neighborhood as a nuisance as An initial matter if an activity Represents potential nuisance. It should be referred to the development review board for discretionary permit Based on past and current experiences this activity results in smells from the trash bins Noise from barking dogs and traffic from volunteers and visitors Which in the context of a residential neighborhood is a nuisance and this is not expected to change The zoning administrator letter states that the applicant has in their proposed business plan Stated that one volunteer and one dog will be will go outside the backyard at a time only between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and The WDB 18 and the wilson noise ordinance allow for limits to be exceeded no more than 10 minutes out of the given hour So the zoning administrator finds that Approving the home business is unlike the result and approval of a development that will exceed the limits of the wilson noise ordinance The zoning administrators approval doesn't mention the potential nuisance related to smells from trash bins, but the applicants narrative does The applicants narrative describes how they manage trash They they have his trash shed that houses There's the household recycling trash and the recycling and trash for the rescue dog waste is bagged in wood shavings That the applicant goes to the Redmond Road transfer facility two to three times per week So the applicant has taken steps to mitigate both noise and odors resulting from the home business and The the condition drafted in the zoning administrators approval to move the solid waste disposal shed outside of all said packs should further mitigate odors drifting onto abutting properties And and also I will note that appendix G six which addresses potential nuisance is generated by home businesses does not mention odors so The RB should consider the matter of noise and discuss whether this home business as described would be expected to exceed the limits of The wilson noise ordinance The RB should consider the matter of odors and discuss whether this home business as described Would be expected to produce odors that are not confined to the subject property and or are not adequately mitigated by the So in conclusion Staff's recommending the DRB discuss each point raised by the appellants and make a decision to uphold modify or overturn the zoning Administrator's decision regarding each point Staff notes that none of the issues raised by the appellants require this application to be denied And is recommending that where there are conflicts with the by-law these conflicts can be resolved by modifying conditions of approval so I've included some conditions conclusions of law and Proposed motions which you will need to modify according to what decisions you may Thank you. Okay. Thank you Melinda. Good job Okay, I'm going to turn it over to the appellants now I Assume Mr. Hall you're going to speak Yes, just briefly. I think that the Presentation covers Everything we submitted accurately and well we have I have some disagreements with it the problem overall for the people I represent Are the outside activities in the neighborhood? We think that they are much more intensive than a represented But in any case if you look at the ordinance Right now because the appendix G the by-law says very specifically the use shall be entirely within the dwelling In a home occupation in this district. There's no exception to that language. There's no Looking at it and say well, that's not that much. It's it's in within the drug within the dwelling Obviously the residential neighborhood the purpose of the ordinance is to provide people to have an occupation At home, which is allowed by statute But the limit of things such as internet business or on the home business and not to move the operation There were significant in that they can parts the operation to move to the exterior of the building In this case, I think that walking the dogs So that are kept outside The outside of the external outside of the building is integral to the business itself. It can't come without that I don't think it matters whether it's Up and down the street or in the backyard in the front yard The question is the business can't go outside the dwelling. So I do strongly disagree with the notion that Once you get on the public land on a sidewalk, but suddenly this provision doesn't apply If you're in the neighborhood, you're outside the drug dwelling with your business and in this case I don't think you can get past this in this circumstance and this is why The neighbors are set It's not the fact there's a home occupation not the nature, you know the business of rescue Associated with the dogs and the volunteers and people coming to the property What we believe is a much more intensive level than is being represented under those circumstances and go right to the ordinance It's very specific residential zones if you're going to have a home occupation that stays in your house period You know, this is not a one-hour exception for the backyard. There's not an exception for walking up and down the sidewalk It's clear clear as about but I mean, that's all I have to say. I mean writing it. I don't need to go over and over again What People here Kim and Ron to explain to you what they see in responding to The application and staff not so Ron or Kim, which one do you want to go? I'm gonna go first We do have a written Record written document for the speech without I'll leave with the zoning administrator So you have something In the future go ahead I'm Ron bliss again From 285 lamp light lane we come before you this evening speaking on behalf of the 16 neighbors of lamp light acres Who opposed the administrative permit? Issued to the Vermont English Bulldog Rescue located at 170 glamp light lane by the Williston zoning administrator our testimony will address the approval of home business permit AP 2301 to one Approved administratively by the zoning administrator Our comments will relate to the selected items of the conclusion of law found in the staff notes of this permit Our concern with this business is the outside activity associated with the business in our neighborhood. It is not With the business activity inside the house or what occurs in remote locations We are not against the dog rescue the outside activity at the dog rescue It affects the quality of life in our neighborhood and I would like to take a moment explain the outdoor Activity that occurs at the rescue which involves frequent deliveries of four to ten dogs Who are maintained on the property by staff or workers who utilize the yards in the neighborhood for care of the dogs? Until they are acquired by their new owners all these activities occur externally to the house With respect to the dog delivery the town had the rescue move the initial delivery to an off-site location at the Masonic Temple building to prevent disruption in the neighborhood However, the problems associated with the delivery did not go away The day prior the day of and the day after the delivery Brings a flurry of activity several workers arrived the day prior to the delivery a rental van is loaded and moves items to facilitate the delivery to the off-site location on The days of the remote literally the workers are in and out of the rescue Dogs not immediately adopted or picked up by their adopters at the remote site are delivered to the house by the workers Which can involve four to six dogs every few weeks? Importantly the change In the delivery to an off-site occurrence prior to the original permit hearing application Assuming this activity was taken care of the first and second zoning permits reviewed without considering the impacts of the dog delivery and Related activities that still occur at the residence The unclaimed dogs are delivered to the house with the same flurry of activity happen all the dogs need Exercise which occurs on the property and throughout the neighborhood when they arrive Once the dogs are at the house the rescue operates seven days a week in the morning One or two workers arrived to care for the dogs and in the afternoon Another one or two workers arrived to care for the dogs each time they arrived to care for the dogs dogs are in the Taken in the backyard for 10 to 15 minutes and are walked in the neighborhood Obviously the operation is 100% reliant on the use of outside areas on the property and in the neighborhood And it's not constrained to the dwelling only Over the next 10 to 14 days after the delivery to the house Adopters randomly arrived to complete paperwork and meet the dog most adapters show up With several people to meet the new addition to their family the introductory meeting occurs outside in the front yard Sideyard backyard or in the neighborhood streets this practice has stated above has been up to and including yesterday Monday the 13th The remainder of our testimony will be brief comments related to the conclusions of law on the staff notes Regarding conclusion of law number two the applicant submitted does not represent a significant change from the application Previously submitted for home business Elements in the current application do not represent a significant change from the first permit Including the use of one or more volunteer workers arriving To do the work of the rescue PM peak hours There continues to be trafficked during the peak hours for both workers arriving and departing and Customer traffic of persons coming to the rescue to adopt a dog The use of outdoor spaces backyard front yard in the streets in the neighborhood for walking dogs and processing adoptions with the adopters The items involving volunteers employees PM peak hours trips Customer traffic each required discretionary review by the DRB Since the second permit is clearly not substantially different from the first and by ordinance and state law we would ask the permit 23-121 be vacated as it is the same as 23-0062 We will discuss each of these points and show they are not substantially different from the first permit Conclusion of law number three the proposed home business cannot be reviewed in Administrative leave us a discretionary permit permit review is required by the DRB in WDB 20.4 states a discretionary permit is required for all home businesses that propose to have one one more than one non-resident employee Even though the workers who come to this rescue on a daily basis are not paid. They are engaged in the necessary work for caring of the dogs They should be considered an employee This is clear contradiction by the zoning administrator on this point between the first application and the second as to whether the rescue workers are employees He changed his mind the home business ordinance is Directed at regulating and counting from non-resident persons coming into the residential neighborhood to work at a commercial business It doesn't make any difference whether they are paid or not. They are generating traffic WD 20.4 also states the Discussionary permit is required for all businesses that generate one more than one PM peak hour trip The second dog rescue applications were was permitted by the zoning administrator based on an Altered schedule when the afternoon work period ended before 4 p.m. Based on ongoing observation the rescue has not consistently maintained the schedule They have been multiple instances of workers leaving after 4 in fact workers sometimes don't even arrive until after 4 Also, the zoning administrator did not account for the traffic generated by adopters coming to the rescue The off-site dog deliveries have been occurring every three weeks and these deliveries multiple Doss typically for to Tennell brought back to the rescue where they are kenneled until people adopt them These adoptions happen at the rescue many of them after 4 p.m Given the number of dogs being adopted at the rescue many PM peak hours have occurred in violation of the issued permit and The home business plan the application Knowledge is in item 7 that the dogs are brought back to the dwelling until the doctors can come to complete their transactions for the dogs days after the transport event In the first application the zoning administrator determined it is his position It is the position of the staff that these events exceed what can generate a permit of a home business under zone Zoning permission of transport day operation is not part of any draft set Conditions or approval provided by in the staff report and the findings of the second permit this element of this application Substantially different from the application that was denied by the DRB because no transport days or adoption events are Proposed to take place at the home business These will take place off-site is described in the proposed home business. This is not correct Transfer days are not considered as part of the DB approval process for the first application This is not a substantial difference between the two permits Given that there are multiple employees working in the rescue and the p.m Peak trips are frequently generated by both employees and adopters the application should not have been approved administratively Isn't it is important to note that in the first permit the zoning administrator wrote in the staff notes the dog rescue Operation includes customer or client traffic Where a person wishes to adopt an animal to do so by visiting the residents? Since these elements require a discretionary permit review on substantially similar the first permit per se law this cannot happen Hello, I'm Kim Butterfield and I will speak to the conclusions of law Numbers four through seven on page eight of the staff report regarding Conclusion of law number four any use of outside workspaces by the dog rescue is prohibited by the home business ordinance Appendix G clearly states in the residential zoning district the space used for proposed home business shall be within the dwelling and Outdoor workspaces and the outdoor storage of materials supplies Equipment vehicles or goods for sale are prohibited in the RZD The business uses outdoor space every day in the morning and in the afternoon Workers take dogs out to walk in the front yard around the neighborhood or in the backyard both in the morning and Afternoon the zoning administrator allowed for one dog at a time supervised by one worker To be in the backyard between the hours of 7 and 8 a.m Dogs are also brought to the backyard on a daily basis during the afternoon 3 to 4 p.m. Work period, which is not allowed in the permit There have been multiple occasions where more than one dog and more than one volunteer are observed in the front yard and entering the backyard for example After the double dog deliveries on January 21st and 22nd 10 dogs were brought back to the rescue eight of them puppies Rescue workers were seen carrying puppies two at a time into the backyard both morning and afternoon over the course of a week The numerous adopters who are purchasing these dogs Come to the rescue meet with dogs outside and sometimes will complete adoption paperwork in the front yard There have been anywhere from six to ten dogs that are brought back from delivery events to the rescue Where the adoption transactions happen this can involve multiple people outside in the yard at the rescue and sometimes multiple dogs The rescue Facebook page has pictures from at least ten separate Adoptions that have occurred at the rescue dwelling both inside and outside For example on January 31st two people were observed arriving at the rescue after 4 30 p.m Where there are two personal dogs to meet with a non-resident worker? Who introduced them to two different rescue dogs in the backyard? During this 40-minute time period dogs could be heard barking in the backyard This particular meetup involved two vehicles parked at the rescue during p.m peak trip hours Regarding the original application the zoning administrator stated the yard around the kennels may not be used as an outdoor workspace in The second or current application He reversed himself now allowing the backyard to be used as outdoor workspaces for both adoptions and exercising dogs The use of the open front yard as well as the frequent outside activity generated by Adoptions at the rescue was not addressed at all. This commercial business does not comply with the home business Ordinance as stated in appendix G Regarding conclusion of law number five The three proposed parking spaces required as a condition of approval for this permit are not Adequate to serve the needs of both the business and the residents When addressing the second application the zoning administrator stated that the proposed home business requires Three parking spaces in addition to spaces needed for the residential use This would be a total of four spaces Later in the same document in the decision for the permit the zoning administrator required only three off-street parking spaces Noting that one was for the vehicle belonging to the residents. There is not adequate parking for the business The lack of sufficient off-street parking for the workers and adopters coming to the home Forces on-street parking at a busy intersection at the entrance of the neighborhood There are often several rescue related cars parked on the street Creating safety issues at this location where neighbors and children actively walk and bike on the street Cars Park Bear create congestion as cars and school buses are trying to turn or move through the intersection when it snows plows need to clean around the park car of the intersection on The permitted home business plan states under item 7 that the police advised that parking on public roads is okay That this is true in a broad sense. However, the police do not enforce zoning decisions In summary of number 5 the DRB's decision regarding the first application concluded that the movement and street parking of volunteer vehicles on Lamp light lane at the subject property creates congestion on the street. This still applies Number six with regard to conclusion of law number six the home business often generates more than one PM Pete our trip This has been addressed by Ron previously as part of conclusion of law number three part C Conclusion of law number seven The presence of this home business in our residential neighborhood is a nuisance While noise from barking typically decreases in the winter months There have been Continuing instances where several dogs have been brought to the backyard for the morning and afternoon dog care Resulting in significant parking at other times multiple dogs are outside for a meet and greet between adopters dogs and A dog being considered for adoption also resulting in excessive barking If this continues into the late spring and summer the noise will rise to the level of nuisance The odor issue was seemingly addressed in the permit by requiring the removal of the trash holding structure to a location outside of the required setback This has not yet happened The trash structure is still against the fence watering the side property line It is less than 30 feet from the neighboring house and it's near a bedroom window There is a concern with continued noxious odors being evident even if it is moved We have presented evidence that the application submitted has not substantially changed from the application previously submitted for a home business There is more than one worker doing the work of the rescue more than one p.m. Peek trip Securing there is customer traffic at the rescue to adopt dogs And there is a prohibited use of outdoor space by the home business The items involving volunteers employees p.m. Peek our trips the customer traffic each require a discretionary review by the DRB You see the outdoor Spaces is expressly prohibited in the town ordinance State law perhaps Prohibits a second review of the same permit by the DRB. We would ask that this permit be vacated It is the same permit as twenty three zero zero six two the use of outdoor spaces in a home business in the RZD zone is prohibited by the town ordinance allowing such in this case Could set a precedent for future future home business Applications in town. Thank you Okay. Thank you very much DRP members questions any questions any questions from the DRB You mentioned the parking situation if the parking such situation was corrected would this still be a nuisance Would we would we still have the same problem? I think if the proper spaces were off the street. No Okay No, I think they were if it was maintained that way and it doesn't violate the PMP issue Okay, thank you other questions Volunteers if they're bitten by a dog are they covered by the rescue or would they actually have to sue the rescue? Who's that question for the the appellants? Oh That's that's the problem. I'm having here. We're being invited to ask questions of the appellants, but Probably most of our questions are for the dog owner So that's why I'm not I'm not coming up with a lot of questions right off here I think I think the appellants made a clear presentation. Thank you for that Don't necessarily agree with everything you say, but I appreciate the way that you presented Well, we can have the We can we can certainly hear from the business owner and we can ask questions. Is the is the business owner present? Okay So so why don't we exhaust any questions that we have for the appellants? and then we can and then we can ask Donna to To come up and field questions from the DRB So are there any other questions for the appellants? None here. Okay hearing none. What about Lisa? Lisa are you are you good? Yeah, I'm good. Sorry. It's sort of how to unmute there. I am good. Okay. No problem Okay, Donna, would you please come forth? to a In an adjacent. I'm a little handcuffed because I'm not there but come forward to the testimony table and State your name and address for the record, please Sure Donna Petters on a 170 lamp Lake Lane Williston Thank you. DRP questions, please One question is they brought up the concern of people coming after hours for finalize the transactions of the Adoptions, is that happening currently or do you have that occurring at the off-site location? So what I will say so first I want to say that I submit in a Legal memorandum answering each of the issues that the appellants have raised and I Could keep you here all night going through 52 pages. I don't really want to do that But I do want to touch on what's relevant What frankly surprises me That is being made here because these are people who have Now and never any conversations with me about any of their complaints. I know that we're being filmed constantly which is just Beyond intrusive. No, that's actually legal But I'm saying it's intrusive if you're running a business It's legal, but no not 24 7 That they would have no way of knowing what is going on at my house Who is a visitor who might actually be a caseworker for my daughter from the Howard Center? Who might be someone that's a delivery person the assumption is that every car? That pulls into my yard is Someone associated with the rescue. They would have no way of knowing that They would have no way of knowing that I am conducting an adoption at the house unless they are standing there with me We do not use the front yard. In fact the front yard is not even walkable for a human let alone a human with a dog my My job if you want to call it a job running a non-profit dog rescue is that I Foster the dogs for the rescue it is not a commercial business and I can read the definition of a commercial business which is Defined as relating to or connected with trade traffic or commerce in general and Commerce defined as the exchange or buying and selling of goods Productions or properties. We do not buy and sell anything I've submitted is one point of reference our latest last year 2021 tax returns That are itemized page by page that show that there is not income derived from the rescue And yet we're being referred to as a commercial business. We are not a commercial business. We are a non-profit our Volunteers are being referred to as employees and again if you go to the definition which might take me a moment to find The definition of so one cannot and this is in my paperwork One cannot Simultaneously be an employee and a volunteer an employee is someone who is paid to work that is right out of Webster's dictionary a Volunteer is a person who undertakes tasks or services of his own free will without consideration in the form of any monetary compensation The appellants have described in their report and and confirms that they did they describe the people coming and going as volunteers And yet they want to present it that we that that's interchangeable Well, they're a volunteer, but they're an employee. They are not an employee. They do not get any compensation for what they do I Feel like I got a bit off-tracked from your question. So can you remind me what that was? Do you have people show up on your property to view the odds or finalize the adoption papers and stuff after 4 p.m. No, and in fact Submitted again as a piece of evidence are three months of volunteer logs that show dates times names so that volunteers can be contacted when they arrived when they signed out what they did while they were there This has been so scaled back So so I want again. I want to focus on your question, which is do people come after 4 o'clock? People come to my house after 4 o'clock For it for the adoption purposes. No visit the dogs do no absolutely not so everything for dog related activities 345 so we say three to four as that afternoon window 345 if you look at the logs and sometimes it's earlier than that And I want to explain why that is previously Transports came to the house dogs Stayed at the house and were adopted out over a period of weeks when we Changed everything back in November and that was done partly to address The complaints of the neighborhood, which I knew nothing about until October I think I went through and looked at all of the complaints and said okay. I get it traffic people How do we address this? We moved all of the transports off-site to the Masonic Hall in Williston our Transports and and I'm hearing what was what was said in testimony before We do not take transports of dogs To my property and we have not since November of last year But again if they see a rental van. Oh my god. It must be a dog delivery We don't deliver dogs in rental vans. We might move I don't know what would we move? One of my volunteers that is here helps with setup at the Masonic Hall, so we rent The U-Haul truck the night before we have to put it somewhere sometimes. It's at my house usually it's left at We do the setup and it's at the Masonic Hall for the entire weekend But he may drive back and forth to drop something off to pick up bedding to pick up Towels to pick up food to pick up something that we need over at the hall But it is not a constant back and forth. It is not dogs being Delivered and dropped off the dogs that are at the house now are dogs that are all undergoing medical treatment and and this is something that That Matt and I talked about when I submitted the permit I have a dog I have two dogs for instance that are undergoing heartworm treatment. That's something that takes months it's a month of Antibiotic and then it's shots and then a month later Again shots and a month later again shots Those are not dogs that I am going to adopt out until they've gone through all of their medical treatment So they are with me and I am fostering them and that is no different than Well, I was going to say my next door neighbor But that is no different than one of my volunteers for instance Taking home a dog that is legally owned by the rescue and fostering it through to adoption It's no different than folks for all breed rescue Fostering dogs or passion for paws fostering dogs. That's how we all do it We have fosters that take our dogs But if it's a medical dog and it needs a lot of supervision I typically will keep it so that I can be responsible for that When they talk about these dogs going in and out being dropped off adopted constantly traffic Again, there is no way for someone who isn't directly involved to discern who is a visitor Who is a volunteer who is there was a day when Matt stopped by to put up a sign for the hearing I'm sure that there are pictures of his car in the driveway And I'm sure that somebody thought it was a volunteer Because that's the kind of scrutiny that I am under all the time and that's and that's just simply Not fair. That is not fair scrutiny I want to go back to one of the points that was kind of Beaten into the ground about whether I should have been allowed to Submit a second permit And again in the documents that I submitted I submitted it with supporting legal documentation Cases in Vermont that support what I'm saying, which is a Second or successive application may be entertained provided there is a substantial change of conditions or Other considerations materially affecting the merits of the request It is not necessary for an applicant to change or remedy every condition Or every objection existing in the first application for a second application to be considered One change in conditions is all that is required to be sufficient to allow the Consideration of a second application. It's right in Vermont law. I didn't have to change Six things, which is what I did. I Only had to change one and so when Attorney Hall says this isn't a substantial change This is a monumental change no transports to the house Limiting our chore time There are no peak trips because if we end at 345 they are on the road and gone by the four o'clock peak hour We don't house Transport loads of dogs. We don't use the outdoor enclosures to hold dogs. In fact part of the revised Permit application was that I would remove some of the outdoor enclosures because frankly I don't need them, but they're frozen in the ground And so in the spring and Matt and his approval gave a six month window To meet the conditions that he put on the second permit that the enclosures will be removed There are no dogs that are Housed in those outdoor enclosures at all ever there are not we are simply not Using them and I don't know who has a dog that when it's running loose in the backyard is barking But mine don't because they're actually pretty happy running around Chasing toys having a volunteer play with them So this assertion that we still have dogs barking I went so far as to do a noise study because I thought okay I'm going to really look at this and it's in my paperwork. I Did measurements using the town map from my property to each of the appellant properties in the neighborhood And if you look at it, you can see it. It's very specific It talks about the sound at the time it leaves my property specifically a dog bark at its loudest and Where that dog bark is when it lands at? whoever pick any one of the 16 and and to say that the sound reading when it lands at any of these properties within a certain amount of time is I would say almost laughable. I Have dogs across the street from me to black labs that don't even go out in public because they're so vicious When those two dogs are in their yard, it sounds like someone is being murdered and I'm not exaggerating Mr. And mrs. Kanfer live 50 feet from this house. Do they complain about those dogs? Who who scare me so much that I go out of my house to make sure someone isn't being killed no no complaints there But my yard where there are no dogs What I will point out is that in 12 years There has never been a noise complaint Against the rescue never there is no police record of any kind of complaint about the rescue if we were doing things so badly and So intrusive and so offensive Where are the police reports? Where are the health Donna? Do you feel like it's reasonable of your neighbors to perceive? the activities that have supported this rescue over the years as a nuisance Do it. Can you say it again? Do I do you feel like it's reasonable? That your neighbors perceive the activities supporting your rescue as a nuisance Well, are you talking about over the years? Are you talking about since we I'm talking about over the years? And then after we can get into what so I would say no because five of the appellants have adopted dogs from us So how do you come into my yard and adopt a dog for me and tell me thank you for what you do? It's amazing and walk by my house with those dogs every day and then tell me it's a nuisance Okay, if you want to talk about double dipping, I mean that's what it what's been the growth from the beginning till now So I have your what were your counts when you started so I actually looked at the numbers because I have to for my taxes So when we started first started out, we were doing somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred dogs a year Last year, which is the year that the appellant said was our worst year We we had just grown exponentially the numbers were 260 which was a hundred dogs less than the year before So it it varies the goal is not a number-chasing thing the goal is to save dogs and And so so no I do not feel that it That it is fair what I feel would be fair and what I would do As a neighbor although boy, I use that term loosely now. I Would call someone up on the phone If I was walking by the house with the dog that I adopted from them Two three times a week and they were bringing the dog over and I was holding it and loving on it talking about how great it was I would say hey Can I talk to you about some issues? I have with you of that there's some stuff bothering me Did you walk us through now with the masonic center where you do your transports which from your testimony last time You told us there's between 20 and 30 dogs sometimes on a transport. What happens When the truck gets there with the dogs, what happens from that point on our our 20 adopters meeting you at the masonic center and driving away with the dogs so He said I'm kind of incredulous when you said that so the weeks between Transportes typically one transport a month the weeks between transports people are Excuse me people are filling out applications and I'm screening them and I'm and I'm matching or pre-matching is best I can a family with a dog So what does pre-matching mean with I think Albreed rescue it was what I'm concerned with is at the masonic center when the Transport arrives logistically. What is happening from that point on not before not leading up to it? What is happening at that one just trying to tell you how people get there? We'd like to hear just the answers to the question so the truck The I'm not sure I understand the truck like to know the truck arrived 20 to 30 dogs on it And then what happens at that point the night before? Volunteers have set up the hall with Enclosures that the dogs go into so the dogs come off the transport and not 30 15 to 20 Go into the masonic hall they go in they they get walked they get watered they get fed They go into their enclosures and they wait for people to come for their pre-assigned Appointments there they're one hour appointments set up throughout the day typically starting between 10 and 3 And that and that can vary some so that all happens in one day The dogs never spend the night there correct. Oh, no, okay No, the dogs the dogs go to their adoptive homes and that day and part of the adoption fees that you charge cover Deworming injections microchipping. Well, how is that being done if the the animals are being picked up? Right after they're off of the transport We don't bring any dogs into the state that are not fully medically updated So in I pull almost exclusively out of San Antonio, Texas So they are spade neutered fully vaccinated not just Arabies, which is what a lot of rescues do They're fully vaccinated as I would vaccinate my own personal dog. They're microchipped if they had had any medical condition Whatever they're treated in Texas and they stay there until they're cleared by our vets and given an interstate health certificate every dog has to go through an exam prior to transport that clears them for transport and that means clears them of infectious contagious and Communicable diseases that reviews their vet record that Turns them away if they have so much as a sniffle great So it's getting back to Nate's question. They go that day. So getting back to Nate's question At you have appointments between 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock for people to come and to meet their dog that you've pre-matched them with and to Decide that they're going to take the dog or not and then they leave with the dog correct and are Do you have appointments for every dog that's there? We have appointments for every dog that's there. We sometimes have backup Okay, we might have let's say an appointment at 10 o'clock in the morning But there are two or three other people that want that dog and I will tell them I have someone meeting that dog at 10 o'clock Feel free to check back with me at noon if they don't take the dog We can see you in the afternoon. So at the end of the day How many dogs are left? Sometimes none sometimes how many dogs are left what maybe one or two and who picks those dogs up? I'm not sure who takes those dogs from that site and where do they take them? So for instance, we had one that went to a foster last week We had one that required some medical treatment up here and she's with me. So they are delivered to your house Well, they go in my truck and I bring them back to the house Your truck always your truck Well, not necessarily. We have a van as well the rescue owns a van Okay, so it might be a volunteer either commercial vehicle or your private vehicle. It's just a dodge-care van. It's is it yours Do you own it or does the business? No, I just said the rescue owns it. Okay? So it's a business so that business trip so at three o'clock so you have an appointment at three What time do you decide that somebody's not going to show up and that their dog's going to have to go somewhere else that evening? Typically, we're closing down at the Masonic Hall by four by four o'clock. Excuse me. Thank you But if our last appointment is three, which is our cutoff Right at three we know no one else is coming and then that dog goes back to the house Nate did you anything else about the day the transport days? Not specifically about the day. I do have I've got a number of questions. Okay my other question for you Donna at the moment. It's just um Has the number of dogs that you have on average at your house? Could you tell me what that number was before you made these changes and what it is now? Upwards of 20 prior on a regular basis Right now I have four Thank you, and and I just want to say and Matt and I had talked about this before if For instance, we have an adopter coming from Canada and we get a storm and they call me and say I can't get there this afternoon. Can I come get this dog in the morning? They come and get the dog in the morning And where do they come to get that dog? They would come to my house. Okay, and if they got there at 352 what would happen would you turn them away or would you have go through with the adoption? Well, they wouldn't because they would recording stopped Recording in progress They would come in a they would come at a time that was within that The but there's a snowstorm They're delayed or they they're they they're car breaks down and well I think we could look at a million hypotheticals is someone I'm asking whether you would at that point say no I'm not supposed to be having people here after four o'clock Yes, you'll have to come back the next day or do you have them adopt the dog? No, I absolutely would absolutely would not okay. Thank you There was a discussion earlier about a litter of puppies. Is that true? I have no idea what that was okay. Thank you. Have we had puppies so you you don't have litters of puppies at your business We have had litters of puppies in past years. Okay, but we haven't had litters of puppies lately Okay. Thank you This is this is concerning in that we are having under house Contradictory testimony So what is do you have more than one volunteer on site at a time ever? We have one volunteer that comes at each of those Choir times do they overlap Seven to eight in the morning and three to four in the afternoon. No So you have one in the morning and one in the afternoon. That's right. Okay. Thank you Again, that's contradictory testimony from earlier. Can I also tell you why no, thank you I've got a series of questions. You I don't need you answering questions. I haven't asked You had a chance to make a presentation earlier and we let you have your say so I'd like to ask my questions You did when did you let me have my say that I miss something You spoke for quite quite a length of time so How late do your head Do the do the volunteers leave prior to four o'clock? Yes every time. Yes Have you Submitted a detailed plan showing how much of your property and your house is used Staff I have not seen that in any of my packets The floor plan of her house that shows what percentage of her house is used for the business It's in the application that she submitted It's it's at the back of this memory, which one is it? It wasn't in the original There's a packet that went out today I think Bolinda's pointing to the appellants memorandum, which has a copy of the completed Well, I have not seen that and I apologize if I should have read that during my review ahead of time What is your house that you claim on your taxes? I see I see a plan of a garage here, but it's not the scale Yeah, and I do not see a plan of your house. It shows how much your house is used Or shows me the entire size of your house because without that I cannot know whether you're exceeding the 25% Oh, that's unfortunate that you've never seen that. Yes I actually did submit that with the first Permit and we went over I went over that with Matt and Emily I've not seen a detailed to scale drawing because without it being to scale It's impossible to know what percentage of your house is being used If you know the measurement of the the garage Which is all that's used Isn't so the answer is I can't tell if the answer is yes or no What is it? Yes? No question Again, this is all in the first application. It's I want to say it's I'd like to see that money But I didn't know I was gonna have to bring the first application You never gave there was no there were no scale drawing. You had you had you had a hand drawing That said this is the garage with no north south no measurements No proper measurements, and then there was nothing that related to the house There was no way to relate what we were seeing in the garage for the total amount of the house again is there a potential for a transport to arrive and you end up with 12 dogs that you have to bring home because nobody showed up. No Never never I Feel like my answers are being second-guest here. I don't I don't understand I'm trying to answer as honestly as I can and I feel like there's never is a very Questioning and you're asking me a yes or no, and I'm saying no there is never and I said, thank you We're trying to understand the modified business plan and what I was getting at is what what redundancies do you have built in? What if there's a snowstorm? What if people don't show up if there's 20 dogs coming? Where are they going to go? So actually this last transport there was a snowstorm it was scheduled for Saturday We were watching the weather as the transporters do coming up because they need to be Make sure that their drivers are safe and the dogs are safe so we were scheduled for Saturday and on Friday afternoon we bumped the transport to Sunday. I Called John at them son of calls and is it available on Sunday? And he said absolutely use it if it had not been available. We would have canceled transport It's an inconvenience, but it's not impossible to do and we've done it before Okay, I'm I'm concerned that there's a lot of unenforceable conditions on this permit How do we make sure that workers are gone by four o'clock? How do we make sure that dogs aren't delivered after 4 p.m? How do we make sure that there are no adopters coming to the business that create additional? Trips to and from or that require additional parking spaces above and beyond what are allowed by the permit Those those are the reasons. I'm asking these questions. I and I still don't Have what I feel are good answers to those questions I just you know something comes up That's going to happen at some point your business outgrows your home And you can run it as an office to your business But at some point the activities of it have to move somewhere else. I don't know where those limits are I'm not Somebody that's trained to make those kinds of determinations But that's what we as this volunteer board have been asked to do and that's what we're trying to do And we need that information from you and we need to ask you some difficult questions I understand and that's and that's why I'm trying to answer them And that's why this was so scaled back to address those issues I'm concerned that the doctors come to your house at all because that's like a customer coming to a store to buy something You have you have very little control over when they actually show up or how many of them show up at a time Or that maybe two of them come at once no or that they come in two cars You just you have very little control over that so I'm trying to figure out how we could even condition this Such that we ensure compliance with the home business rules So that it's a very complex issue here. I I I differ with you when you say that I have no Control over it. I I get that you know, it's an it's an everything is imperfect. Nothing is in a box but there are never There are never two adopters that have shown up at the same time There are never there's never an adopt a two adopters. I appreciate you saying that But that's and you hear my definition. You were here and you heard absolutely contradictory testimony to Several of your statements here tonight. I don't understand how you could not have to Showing up at the same time with deliveries of 20 dogs in a day But but he's asking two adopters at my house, which has been in the past But you're saying and I and I think that's the problem is that I feel like we're skewing the past and now the Transports don't come to the house anymore. The adoptions aren't scheduled at the house If someone doesn't make adoption day and they're going to pick up the next morning That's when there would be an adopter at the house, but there would never be two of them in the same day There's another which we have a doctor and a Adoptee so now you have two different groups of people at your house at the same time I don't I don't understand your question The person who's adopting the dog is there at the house and they've got the doctor at the house Supposedly doing their thing too, right doctor No doctors that's on did I miss something? No, no, you're good. He just misinterpreted Oh As in a vet. Yeah. Yeah. No, the vets are all in Texas We have a vet tax at our vet office that foster dogs for us So they might come and pick up a dog and take it to their home What I do is foster dogs for the rescue and there is nothing There is nothing anywhere in Vermont law that governs the fostering of dogs There just isn't and it's in my paperwork. I Don't just I don't disagree with that one bit and there are other things here. I do agree with you But have you moved your residential trash container? Yep, that you said you were going to do for the application So I was given six months to create a parking space and to move the trash container Which is frozen to the ground and it is my intent to move it as soon as weather Permits and you and you carry liability insurance in case the dogs that you are your volunteers are walking Injured anyone in the neighborhood, right? Absolutely, okay, and you're our volunteers covered in case they're injured They are covered under our liability policy and our director and Officer policy Okay, other questions. Are you satisfied John? I know you're not satisfied do you have any other questions? I don't I think we're good. Can I can I say just do I can I say something before I Mean, I would I would hope that The board would look at all of what I submitted because unlike the appellants Who have counsel representing them because they can afford it? I do not so I didn't come with a Polished statement that I could read to you, but I did present it and And I think it's solid and I think it answers a lot of questions And I feel like if a decision is made before that paperwork, which is based on law is looked at That it's not it's not a fair decision and I think either way this goes It's going to get appealed to the environmental court anyway, and and why do we have to do that again? Donna I got a question for you. So the document that you That you submitted today and staff Distributed to the DRB Is it your testimony that you produced that document solely? I? produced that document with Some supervision from my law professors, but I produced that document Okay, thank you, and and I'm still not clear on which document that to which she refers That was that was a document that was a document that Emily emailed to us today That before I got here tonight. It was the email. I work all day. I have a busy job I looked at this over the weekend. I think submitting this the day of the hearing is Almost unconscionable and not helpful I I agree. I also did not Read it other than scan it and it was pretty clear that an attorney was involved in the crafting of that document I'm a retired paralegal and and Legal assistant, so I am not an attorney as mr. Hall is but I have some legal training And I certainly have written hundreds of memorandums, and I have attorneys that I confer with I don't know why that would be an issue if it's solid and it's based on law Would it matter if my dog wrote it? I mean It doesn't only that you you did claim a moment ago that you couldn't compete with the attorneys and the legal Preparation that was given by the app Helens and yet. I don't have an attorney Representing me is what I meant right but we don't have an attorney Representing us. I did the absolute best that I could understood and I think that the I think the staff here actually did a very nice job of Framing the three or four key issues that are at play here. I think there have been one or two that have come up During the testimony tonight, and I and again I keep going back to this as I've heard differing views on the exact same subject and differing testimony So whether there's never more than one volunteer on site at a time or whether there's Two or three twice a day. I really don't know how To take that so there are two and how should we decide? Who's there's telling the truth here here that not answer questions. So I guess we're just going to have to go on and Try to make the best decision we can just gonna Yep, we That's a good segue. So at this point I'd like to offer an opportunity to the appellants for any closing remarks and And I am going to ask for public input before We close so if you are Are in the audience or participating by zoom and you've got something to say don't worry you will have your opportunity I don't want to spend a lot of time. I just I have a series of pictures here I don't know how many copies I have observations Adopters coming to the site within the last couple of weeks You have to go through it and look at the captions and the date and the timing of it you can see the activities This is by no means everything that we've seen is just what happened to catch on film If we want to talk about puppies whoever's got a computer it wants to go on the website and look at the The website for the rescue you can see the puppies there. You can see the people coming to the site That's also dated So in terms of the act, you know the accuracy of what we're saying is we're Testifying as to what we've seen. I'm also looking at a Recent observation of cars of the dog rescue a dog related business This is just offhand kept by the neighbors and accumulated. I see one two three four five six seven eight nine instances between January 23rd and March 12th of workers or cars or people at the rescue during the peak hour One of the questions that came up was You know, she said we couldn't know what's going on Well, every one of you lives in the neighborhood every one of you sit somewhere You know what your neighbors are guard? You know that cars are free for the neighborhood Well, she's at a key spot in the neighborhood where you go in and out every day We know regular cars that come there for the workers and those that don't we have a pretty good handle on the difference You'll also notice that one of those pictures is actually one of the neighbors driveway with an adopter showing up with a leash in their hand to And then went immediately from that house after it set off the camera Went over to her to get a dog. So and it is after peak time So, you know, you all know what's right in your neighborhood What's not what it looks like what it doesn't look like we see it every day So we know who's coming we know that between that seven and eight and three and four Ish sometimes later, we know whose cars are what we know whose workers It's clear what the other people are doing there. I mean, she's at a key spot in the neighborhood We all drive in and out. I drive out every morning to take my daughter to work at that time when they start and come back My daughter has to be to work at seven. I am in and out of there right at that time every day So I see exactly what goes on And it's not hard to tell it's the same Handful of cars every day seven days a week and I'm in and out a lot. I'm retired. So I'm around all the time so Now again, we're looking at the magnitude of the impact on the Activities external to the dwelling is having the impact on us and not being put allowed under the ordinance These are not minimal things. These are significant things that happen on a frequent basis whether it be like John said People coming like customers to the property That's not internal to the dwelling people coming and walking around the neighborhood with dogs sometimes up a four or five or six dogs Walking through the neighborhood dogs that are new to Vermont that came from somewhere else It isn't your neighbor's dog. You've been seeing forever. It's a dog that's rescued. It's been coming from another space She don't know its history that you can ensure it But that's not gonna help somebody if it turns around a nip somebody I mean these are activities. You can't know that for any dog You can't know that for any dog But it's someone else can get a new dog any day and it's the exact same situation So I'm afraid that doesn't hold much water. Well, I'm gonna stick with it if you mind That's fine With the notion of the people are bringing in new dogs week after week after week after week into the neighborhood Just the mere possibilities London favor of the concerns and it is Different than anything else is going on in the neighborhood. And again, we get to this. I keep coming back the same thing It's outside activity that is curtailed by the ordinance and Are they're gonna create an exception for the circumstances To make the exception would be not allowing her to walk a dog in the neighborhood I can bring my dog over to your neighborhood and walk it And you can't I mean people come to my neighborhood people come to my neighborhood to trick or treat my god They come from miles and miles around We don't call it a nuisance and tell them they can't call We're looking at something's associated with an occupation within the residential neighborhood We're not talking about somebody walking the dog somewhere else if there was a condition is perfectly legitimate activity Regardless of who owns it and who's walking With regard to the condition you just mentioned if you put a condition on the permit This says they can't walk in the neighborhood or they can't have the dogs outside the home and that everything was happening Off-site on a remote site. We'd be having a different a conversation here And whatever we voted on at that point that would be overturned by state law What do you voted in which way? We're mandating something Let's not let's not let's not do a hypothetical a palm please. I mean it may be you know this We don't know where this is going to go. We're going to pursue it We're trying to do the best we can with regard to the evidence to make it accurate and on point I Will disagree from a legal standpoint That walking a dog in the neighborhood associated with this business is an entire different animal and rezoning Then some person walking their dog through the neighborhood who lives there or just happened to be visiting I We can agree to disagree on that, but Okay, anything else mark Okay, thank you okay members of the audience or Members participating by zoom any Anybody have any questions or comments? If so, please come to the front table Identify yourself your name and address Welcome Hi, my name is Chad Eccleston and I've volunteered with Vermont English Bulldog rescue The rental van I which I heard referred to before is being at Donets residence. I drive that U-Haul It never goes to her house since the time that I've been involved there which is Since November that is either picked up a U-Haul or it stays at the hall the Masonic Hall Or it goes to storage, which again is not done as residents. So I'm not sure where that accusation is coming from I have brought dogs. I walked a dog as allowed In the back and Donna's yard The only dog I ever hear barking is her neighbors to the right and I hear those dogs barking regularly And I'm always wondering why is it for the accusations are made against her and her residents when that is not in my experience at all Yes, yeah So you're saying that the all the cages and everything that you set up over the Masonic Hall are stored elsewhere They are stored in her storage That's what I'm saying. Yeah, it's not on the property. It's seven lender location. It is in the personal storage. Okay The mental storage site. I guess that's most of what I had to say here Okay, thank you. Thank you Anyone else? I have a question No, no, no address the board, please I'm going to step in for Pete for a second since he's not sitting right here, but you need to you need to address the board I don't remember the exact date. I didn't write it down. It was a nice day out. I Took my two dogs one of which was very familiar to with the volunteer and He came out in the middle of the street. Everybody's friendly. I mean, I don't have any problem talking to anybody But both dogs there. He was out there. It was after four and There was another person. I don't know if it was a volunteer or not Donna and we talked out in the street for 10 15 minutes, so that's just an instance just to say things are Things aren't clear cut. I guess is all I'm trying to say here things happen It's impossible to draw absolutes around what's going to happen. They're not given the high variability of The neighborhood events dogs people things are going to happen And that's all the point. It's not absolutely controlled At all and before you we need you to state your address We're zero three white bird claim And did you get his name? Michael Okay Thank you, sir. Any other members of the public who would like to address the board Can we have we have a request for a second of appearance Pete? It is it's allowed. We'd like to make sure everyone has a chance to speak before we have people do Double dips, but but it looks like that you go right ahead And I will Follow protocol here and address the board here in reference to the previous gentleman I was showing up when another volunteer had been leaving whether you want to call that you know, I pulled in and I saw his dog bandit who I love who I Remember that dog being adopted there from there before That was five minutes. Sure. I mean you want to cite me for saying hi to a dog that I really cared about It's a great dog And that was in terms of multiple volunteers being there. There's another volunteer was leaving at that time So do you want to nail that for a technicality? Now that is up to your discretion But I would say I would count that as a single one here there at the time as one was leaving and I was entering Okay, thank you Next public testimony Okay Hi, my name is Jessica Wood. I live at 189 West Street s extension. I am a volunteer with the rescue I kind of wanted to clarify With When but when people come to adopt after the adoption events The reason we know what time they're coming is we schedule people to specific times and we communicate with them throughout the day So if we know they're gonna be pushing close, that's when Donna would we schedule them? That's how we know what time they're showing up It's all based on adoption slots So that I just wanted to make sure that was clarified Okay, thank you. That's helpful Name and address for a record, please. Stephanie Bliss 285 Lamplight Lane I wanted to point out that there have been many occasions where Don has Exaggerated the truth and I can test that because what she says here is Not necessarily what's actually going on if you look at her Facebook page for the rescue She told you that she hasn't had puppies for a long time. She had puppies on December 29th on January 19th. She had a litter of puppies on February 5th she had litter German Shepherd puppies three months old These are all, you know, and she said she didn't have them. That's kind of par for the course. She has a thing about writing all this stuff down and writing people letters and Viol letters that get a little unhinged sometimes. She also said that they don't adopt after four o'clock But there's photos photographic evidence on her Facebook page of People in her home and it's dark outside and even in the darkest part of winter It doesn't get dark until after so I'd just like to point out that Often a lot of what it said needs to be taken with a little bit of a grain of salt Thank you any other members of the public who would like to address the board Don Don is requested to No one else is Okay Thank You John for your assistance. I don't have visibility into that. So so Come on up Donna. So I just wanted to address that Specifically sort of two pieces of it there have been I'm gonna say More than 50 a hundred incidences where in the past our volunteers have been walking dogs on the public through way and Mrs. Bliss has stopped her car jumped out run over to our dogs Hugging kissing sitting on the ground with them. I wish I could adopt them all. So there's this piece What I say on my Facebook page I wonder why they're stalking the Facebook page because if I didn't like someone or like what they did I would not be looking at their Facebook page Seeing what time of night it is and what room of your house a picture is taken in and how do you know who they are? I post hundreds of pictures on our Facebook page in my house in other people's houses and in the Garage at the Masonic Center. Do they know I I just wonder if anybody is seeing the scope of Like how blown out this has gotten one of the first questions was if to to bliss was If they corrected the parking would you be satisfied the overwhelming answer to that is no Because we would be right back here talking about something else. We're talking about what goes on in my living room I mean, seriously. Are you people hearing this? I have cameras on my house. They're talking about watching my Facebook page Who goes in and out checking license plate numbers taking pictures? This is not just about a dog rescue This is Donna. Donna. If I appreciate I really appreciate everything that you're saying but but what what we are charged with is Is this a compliant use with the regulations or not? I understand and did the zoning administrator issue a zoning permit appropriately and And and so the stuff about what people are doing and looking in your home and reading Facebook posts and etc is My my appetite for listening to that has vaporized Okay, but I but if you're going to listen to it from their side, I want to at least be able to counter it I don't like it either. It's social media Which means it's public public assuming you're assuming that what she's telling you is the truth, right? We're just we're just going we're going to take it all in and and look at what has been submitted for evidence and And draw some conclusions. Is there another the young woman you raised your hand? Do you have testimony, please? Hi, this is Cindy Cox from San Antonio my transport company delivers dogs to Williston for Donna about once a month I'd like to address the comment from the lady regarding puppies Because I understand both this side of the puppies being brought to Vermont and that every single one of them are adopted as soon as they arrive there So, I mean, I guess it the question would be do does she have litters of puppies? Are litters of puppies delivered to Williston to be adopted out through Vermont English Bulldog Rescue? Yes, are those puppies at our house? No, and that's a pretty important difference My drivers are very we are very conscientious I work with the fosters on this side as well as with Donna and her volunteer on those side to make sure that every Dog or puppy that is delivered is helping has every single bit of paperwork Vaccinations spade or neutered all those things that are required for a dog to be healthy per Vermont Requirements we are we are meticulous about this as our Donna and her staff and her volunteers We work up really really hard And we were glad to help Reduce the amount of stress in the neighborhood by changing when the venue was Changing we were glad to help with making that possible to hopefully take away some of that tension that was that Happened when our drivers would deliver those dogs I mean we try to do it as quickly and quietly as possible But it's pretty difficult with the number of people that are required to take care of those dogs So I can speak to the health of the dogs I can speak to the efficiency and efficacy of Donna and her volunteers Both when she was doing things at our house, but now especially that they're doing them at the Masonic Hall I can speak to the cleanliness and the health that the dogs are delivered in And I'd be happy to answer any other questions in those way But I just wanted to make sure that you had someone who had some real knowledge of both sides of the process Can you speak to where the puppies came from? I can't Well, there's a variety, you know, they're of course, I'm sorry Once again, please, that last one No, no, no, no, no, no. No, we do not support puppy mills You might be aware that in Texas and a lot of other places there is just an overabundance of dogs unfortunately dogs puppies These puppies come from a variety of situations For the most part here, there are unwanted puppies People who do not spay or neuter their animals. They end up with puppies and Donna works with these fosters because she has a she's a great rescue to work with and Works with them and the people who are fostering them here in Texas to get them spayed neutered all the applicable Vaccinations any tests that might be required etc. So to make sure they're healthy before they go on transport But no, we do not work with puppy mills here Thank you. Thank you for joining. Could you state the name of your company again, please? Sure veterans pet rescue express Thank you Okay, thank you, Cindy Okay Yes at the at the table could you please state your name and your address please yes My name is Sunala bear itch and I live at 192 lamb fight lane, which is right next door to the property Great. What's your what's your commentary or comments? So I am the property owner of the property right next door and one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the Concerned that I have about my property value with a business such as a dog rescue being approved right next door as it pertains to the noise and traffic Parking I think that most of it has already been stated But when it comes to my home value I'm concerned that if all of these neighbors are concerned about a dog rescue in the neighborhood Potential buyers of my home if I was to sell it would be as well Okay, thank you for the record anything else when you bought your home You were not aware of this because there was no permit, correct When I bought my home was in 2015 and there was not as much activity going on as there is today As there is today or as there was or as there was before We had the last hearing So so I would just I I really appreciate what you're saying and and I'm not trying to Minimize it. It's real But the DRP is judging compliance of a home business and and it doesn't It doesn't extend into the topic that you're bringing forth Okay, thank you Okay, other members of the public who would like to address the board Is there anybody online? Repeat there's somebody online. Okay Christina, could you please state your name and address for the record, please? Christina, you're still muted. Emily. Do you have the I? I'm power to unmute but Christina. You're still on on mute on the bottom of your toolbar Click the microphone symbol with the red dash through it Okay, well Christina works on that. Are there any other members of the public that would like to address the board? No, raise hands in the room, Pete. Okay give Few more seconds to Christina Christina, you can also type in the chat. Oh, I think she's rejoining from the waiting room Hi, Christina. Can you hear us? I Can can you hear me now? Yeah, yep. Yes. Okay. Sorry about that a little phone issue My name is Christina Hamlin. I live at five Pinewood Drive in Essex, and I was one of Donna's volunteers I haven't done it in the last year or so just for personal reasons, but I Have been to her new location where she's receiving dogs and seeing the way she receives them in I have previous In previous time before she made the changes I had been a volunteer over on site and some of the things that have been said right along about noise and stuff are very wrong The dogs would only bark if somebody knocked on the door to the room that they were in or a very rare bark volunteers were told that they had strict Rules about what they were allowed to do when they were walking through a neighborhood Where the poop bags were to be put how to clean up after the dogs to let her know if they were sick like there Was very strict rules around everything and Donna's been making a lot of changes in order to make this all work out And she saved a lot of dogs And I just wanted I want to show the support for her because we are I also am one of the ones that Co-parent adopted one of the dogs from there and she makes sure the dogs are healthy when they come up And if anything comes up while they're here She immediately gets them to the vets and she works 24 7 on her own to make sure that dogs are cared for Regardless on if it's a business thing or just taking them over to make sure they're healthy Thank you. Thank you Christina. I appreciate it Okay, is there any other members of the public who would like to address the board now raised hands staff Okay, Donna, please Please make it quick Because I wanted the neighbors to know that I do hear their concerns I requested from three different real estate agents a Comp listing on the properties in our neighborhood because I wanted to know if that was a valid concern I know you're saying that it's a non issue but it's a personal issue to be and so included in my packet are cops from Three real estate agents. They were all done within the last six months And they show that not only have the properties not declined in value. They have almost doubled in value That's all okay. Thank you Okay I'm gonna close appeal 23-01 at 902 Thank you all for participating Okay, so the DRP is going to go into a deliberative session Members of the audience who are present in the room you if you would please vacate and anyone participating By zoom will be put into the waiting room and when we come out of deliberative session if you are still participating by zoom Emily will let you in from the waiting room and Those that are there in person are welcome to Wait out in the hallway and come back in when we're done deliberative session or you can call Planning and zoning in the morning for our decision. Are we are we live now? I'm Okay, okay Welcome to the town of Williston Development Review Board For Tuesday March 14th, 2023. We are out of deliberative session Is there a motion for appeal? 23-01 yes as authorized by WDB 5.4.6 I David Turner move the Williston Development Review Board having reviewed the appeal of the administrator's decision And all accompanying materials and having heard and duly considered the testimony presented on the public hearing of March 14th 2023 opposed new findings of facts and conclusions of law for AP 23-01 and appeal the notice of the zoning violation and overturned the decision of the administrator to issue AP 23-01 to one with new findings of facts and conclusions of law as written below The new finding of fact is the dog rescue home business uses the backyard to exercise the rescue dog This is deemed a material part of the home business as considered an outdoor workplace or workspace New conclusions of law per WDB Appendix G