The Humane Society of Alger County, the non-profit entity that does business as Alger County Animal Shelter, was denied a conditional use permit to erect a new building and kennel in Munising Township on Tuesday, June 27. According to the Munising Township Planning Commission, the municipal board that grants conditional uses and variances, the application lacked relevant information that was necessary for approval.
“According to our conditions for approval, this is not a complete application,” said Munising Township Planning Commission Chair Robynne Woodaz. “This is missing a lot of information.”
The planning commission questioned a number of issues with the permit, ranging from questions about the type of building being constructed, outdoor use of the property, questions about the parcel itself from the original landowners donating the property and how the non-profit would address issues of noise and smell to neighboring properties.
“Basically, we want a business plan,” Woodaz said. “There’s a lot that they have to get taken care of.”
According to the permit application, which is public record, the site plan submitted to the township had a number of errors and omissions. The site map only included the proposed building area, but did not include fenced off areas for outdoor kennels or dog runs. Answers in the application addresses snow plowing, garbage removal and parking but those are not on the site map either. The combined size of the building and described setbacks does not equal the parcel dimensions.
The permit application also describes the building itself as a post-frame building. That is inconsistent with what the Humane Society said in its eviction hearing on June 21 about the building being pre-fabricated and shipping parts up to the building site. Planning commission members questioned the foundation of the building, with Humane Society of Alger County President Greg Beatty saying there would be a foundation, but did not elaborate on details.
According to the motion that denied the permit, the planning commission said that they would waive any refiling fees if the Humane Society submitted an updated proposal within 30 days. The decision was unanimous 3-0 with one abstention from Eric Artress, who was hired by the county to handle animal control issues after the eviction lawsuit started.
Beatty asked a few questions to the zoning administrator about getting necessary information requirements, but left before the official vote denying the permit. As of deadline, the non-profit has not made a public statement regarding the denial.
The property of the proposed new shelter location is currently owned by North Central LLC according to the property description in the GIS system, which was printed off and included in the application. However, the Rondi Olson Trust is listed as the owner by the Humane Society on the first page of the application. The proposed kennel would be near the Wetmore Post Office on the access trail that leads to the Munising Baptist soccer field. It is zoned commercial, meaning that a kennel could be installed with a conditional use permit.
The next hearing regarding the eviction is Monday, July 17 in 93rd District Court. Given public posting and notice policies by Munising Township, it is unlikely that the planning commission would be able to legally reconvene before the hearing.
