The Lynden Township Board reconvened Monday to make a decision in the case to consider revocation of the CUP (conditional use permit) of Tails of Gold Kennel operated by Valorie LaBeau.

 

Against the advice of her attorney, Michael Moline, LaBeau asked to make a statement before the board began deliberations.

 

She said there were specific issues that were wrong and needed to be corrected. First, most of the time she was well within the guidelines of number of dogs allowed per her CUP, however controlling the number of puppies is difficult, as it’s impossible to predict how many puppies will be born each time.

 

Second, LaBeau stated the kennel’s dog waste is picked up and disposed of every morning; the search warrant was conducted in the evening after a full day of the dogs being out.

 

She expressed confusion as to when an inspector had been refused access onto her property and stressed this was untrue, and while working with the State Board of Health to come into compliance with their new laws they only had two minor issues which have been corrected.

 

Lastly, LaBeau said she has never hidden the fact that she uses the mobile home for her dogs. It’s used because she feels it’s the best environment she can offer the puppies to be socialized and acclimated to a home atmosphere. 

 

Supervisor Dave Johnson asked why LaBeau felt the police search on Nov. 6 was unwarranted, to which she replied that an officer made false statements so he could obtain the search warrant.

 

This lead to a heated exchange between Johnson taking offense for on-going statements regarding the police officers, and Moline stating they weren’t judging the officer’s character, however, he was incorrect and the search was an overzealous use of state resources.

 

“We’ve been elected the responsibility to allow you to have dogs,” said Supervisor Jerry Finch. “We gave you 30 days to correct the violations and you did not. What really bothers me is that when we wrote the CUP we stated the mobile home could not be used and you agreed. You even continued using it after being notified of the violations. So why are you doing that?”

 

Moline replied they saw it as something that wouldn’t be pushed, and he had advised LaBeau to continue using the mobile home because they wanted to demonstrate to the board how and why it works.

 

“It’s our responsibility to see it was followed, “said Finch. “The board didn’t consider it to be a proper enclosure, and the reason we put it in there (the CUP) was it would never be able to be cleaned and sanitized. We are here to determine if this was legally followed or not.”

 

“We’ve had a public hearing and the planning commission voted three to one to recommend we revoke. They recognized their responsibility relative to the ordinance and fulfilled their duty. So here we sit, ready to make a recommendation after people we elected told us what we should do. I consider there is a violation that exists. You are still using the mobile home as an enclosure, and this is worthy of being considered without emotional inputs.”

 

Moline suggested the hearing be continued for another 30 days after which LaBeau would show compliance with the CUP. Finch replied they should have thought of that before it was violated it in the first place, and they had already had the opportunity to comply, but on the advice of council chose not to.

 

Asked if he had anything else to add, Moline stated an appeal is expensive and time consuming and could be better spent on other things. He suggested more options, and said, “The best thing to consider would be to work with us.”

 

Township attorney Michael Couri advised the board they should be covered for any legal expenses by their Minnesota Association of Townships insurance, so the financial aspect shouldn’t weigh on their decision.

 

“I have no confidence in a negotiated settlement,” said Finch. “For nine years the CUP has been admittedly violated.”

 

Finch moved to approve Resolution No. 2016-5 to revoke the conditional use permit of Valorie LaBeau to operate a commercial kennel issued on Sept. 12, 2007. The resolution also directs the town attorney and one town board member to work with LeBeau to develop and implement a plan that will allow the dogs on the premises to be properly placed in homes in an expeditious and orderly fashion. That plan shall be submitted to the town clerk within 30 days of the date of the resolution. 

 

The resolution passed with a two-to one-vote.