HOPE — A Hope couple seeking to raise and sell dogs on acreage near Hope has filed a conditional use request for a permit to operate a home-based business involving dog breeding.
On Jan. 11, a conditional use request was filed with the Bartholomew County Planning Department by Aaron and Lena Oberholtzer of 9173 E. County Road 950N, Hope.
The couple is seeking a permit to operate a home-based business involving dog breeding that does not meet one or more provisions of the county zoning ordinance, city/county planner Jeff Bergman said.
But since the planning staff hasn’t completed their review process of the application, Bergman said it is premature to reveal those provisions until a summary with comments is completed.
That summary will be made available for public inspection prior to the Oberholtzer’s appearance before the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Feb. 22.
Aaron Oberholtzer said the first exemption he’s seeking would allow his home-based business to not be adjacent to his house. Instead, Oberholtzer says he has placed a trailer on that property and constructed an insulated building inside the trailer, so it would have heat and air conditioning. He also says the puppies are let out frequently to play and exercise.
The second exemption Oberholtzer is seeking is to allow customers to come inside the family’s private home to conduct business.
“If I moved any of my dogs into my house, I would have to meet potential buyers someplace else,” Oberholtzer said in regard to current restrictions.
Local residents who have objected to the plans are preparing for a third fight against couple’s request.
On Jan. 22, 2018, the first effort ended with a 4-1 ruling against the Oberholtzers by the BZA. At that time, the couple were requesting an exemption that would allow them to breed up to 100 dogs on 55 acres near county roads 950N and 500E in Flatrock Township. While the couple owns that farmland, their home is located on a smaller and separate plat of land.
More than 300 people, most in opposition, turned out for that BZA meeting in the basement of the Columbus Municipal Airport terminal building that took place three years ago this month.
A majority of board members said they voted no because they felt a large canine breeding operation would “not be consistent with the character of the zoning district in which it is located.”
Nearly three years later, Aaron Oberholtzer filed for a different type of conditional use application last September. This time, they sought permission to raise dogs as a home-based business on the property where his family resides at 9173 E. County Road 950N, Hope.
“With a home-based business, there are a set of requirements that establish a threshold,” assistant city/county planner Melissa Begley said last fall. “For this particular business, the threshold permits 250 square feet (for the kennels). If you fall below that threshold, it’s a permitted use and there is no requirement to have a public meeting.”
Although space is regulated, there is nothing in the home-based business zoning ordinance regarding the number of dogs in a home-based business, Bergman said. There are also no provisions regarding animal care, he said.
But the BZA never had the chance to consider the second application before it was withdrawn from consideration in October.
In regard to the third application filed this month, Oberholtzer said he is willing to show his operation to opponents, but so far, nobody has approached him on the subject, he said.
“As far as the regulations that the USDA and the state have for kennels, we are above what they require as far as I know,” Oberholtzer said.
Since 2017, opponents have consistently described large canine breeding operations as puppy mills. That is a term that many people on both sides of the issue, including retired Bartholomew County Humane Society shelter director Jane Irwin, prefer to avoid when referring to all dog-breeding operations.
One reason is that there is no generally accepted definition for a puppy mill.
In addition, the term often conjures up a negative image that leaves no room for gray areas, Irwin said. Many animal rights activists consider all puppy mills as inhumane, small, dirty and confined areas with disease and bacteria that house sick and malnourished dogs.
Nothing like that was found when Bartholomew County Animal Control Officer Mark Case and Zoning Enforcement Officer Bill Klakamp inspected the Oberholtzer farm last fall.
During their visits, which included a surprise inspection, both men said the kennels and animals appeared to be in good shape. The only suggested improvement was to make the carpet in each cage slightly larger, Case said.
After meeting the Oberholtzers, Irwin said they impressed her as good people, emphasizing she is not personally aware of any wrongdoing on their part.
But the retired Humane Society director does see one potential red flag. Irwin is aware the Oberholtzers’ faith is Mennonite, a conservative Christian branch similar to the Amish that traditionally consider dogs as livestock – and dog breeding as a profitable side line for farmers.
“Cultural differences needed to be respected,” Irwin said. “But unfortunately, from what I read on the (Humane Society of the United States’) website, a lot of the worst puppy mills in the country are operated by the Mennonites or Amish,” Irwin said.
Today, responsible dog breeders should have purebred animals undergo physical evaluations from a young age, such as hearing tests for dachshund puppies and eye and hip examinations for English Springer Spaniels, in order to minimize the risk of hereditary congenital health problems in future generations, Irwin said.
“In every purebred animal, there are some things that you give up – especially when there isn’t that large of a gene pool,” Irwin said. “Just because a dog may be purebred doesn’t mean it should be used in a breeding program.”
The criteria for the Board of Zoning Appeals that will be used include determining if the request will not cause harm, will meet development standards, will not injure other property uses in the nearby vicinity and will not change the general character of the area.
Another big change from early 2018 is that the public will not be allowed to attend the hearing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in all county government meetings is limited to Zoom video conferencing.
