SALISBURY, Md.- Wicomico County may look to put some distance between homeowners and kennel operations.
Right now, kennels can operate 200 feet from a residence. Council Vice President Jeff Merritt says at one point, this law may have worked in Wicomico County, but argues with increased development across the county, more distance between the two may improve quality of life.
“With the growth that we see in the area with the requirements now that one time worked perfectly fine. We see that they might not be working fine or getting ready to not work fine and we just kind of wanna get ahead of that,” said Merritt.
Merritt says 200 feet can be deceiving, and not enough distance between homes and kennels.
“The buffer zone, which is currently 200 feet in a 200 feet sounds like a long distance, but sound carries quite a bit, especially in the winter time when the leaves are not on the trees, you know commercial kennels have dogs barking sound carries. We don’t want that to become a quality of life issue for the residence of the county,” said Merritt.
“We’re trying to do the right thing. We want to be mindful of the kennel operations that are currently operating well within the law and the guidelines that are set forth, so we’re just trying to cover all the bases,” said Merritt.
Merritt says he hopes this bill, if it becomes law, can make a positive impact.
“This ensures the public that if they buy a home or move into an apartment that if a commercial kennel operation were to be put in near them, it would be sufficient distance, or any noise or odor issues would not affect them or their quality of life,” said Merritt.
The bill will be discussed during Thursday night's council meeting (01/09/2025).
