HOPE — A Hope couple seeking to raise and sell dogs on acreage near Hope has been denied a conditional use request Monday night 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 sought 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.
Planning officials conceded during the meeting that the Oberholtzer operation was in current violation of zoning ordinances by operating a dog breeding business out of a semi-trailer parked behind their home.
The vote was 4-1 against the request, with board members who denied the request saying it did not meet county zoning requirements to operate the business out of their home and that it did not comply with shielding the business from adjacent property owners.
In a lengthy public testimony prior to the vote, several people voiced opposition to what they termed as a “puppy mill” and pointed out that they thought breeding dogs in a semi trailer was inhumane to the animals.
There were also environmental concerns brought up about disposal of animal waste and deceased dogs.
For more on this story, see an upcoming edition of The Republic.
