NAUGATUCK — A 33-acre parcel on Old Highway Road will soon be the home of a canine training facility.
The Zoning Commission Aug. 21 unanimously approved a special permit for Black Rock Canines, LLC to build the facility on the residential lot at 100 Hunters Mountain Road. Although the address is listed on Hunters Mountain Road, the driveway to the property is on Old Highway Road, a small, rundown road that the borough has abandoned.
David Rivera, a K-9 police officer with the New Canaan Police Department, founded Black Rock Canines. The company trains and sells service dogs for law enforcement and military agencies. Rivera plans to train dogs at the facility in Naugatuck and eventually breed them there, too. Dogs that don’t have the qualities for a service dog will be put up for adoption, he said.
The site plan shows a roughly, 4,400-square-foot kennel will be built on the site along with two 22,500-square-foot training areas that will be surrounded by 6-foot-high fences. The site plan also shows outdoor kennels and an area to compost dog waste.
Rivera told the commission there will also be fencing around the property to ensure dogs don’t get loose.
“These aren’t wild animals,” he said. “They are extremely trained.”
The commission approved a special permit for Black Rock Canines to open a facility and kennel on Great Hill Road in the industrial park last December. The company’s plan fell through after the commission’s approval.
The latest permit application states the company is leasing the property on Old Highway Road with an option to buy it.
Attorney Kevin McSherry, who represented Black Rock Canines at the meeting, said Rivera already has about 20 of his own dogs on the site in temporary kennels and work is underway to make improvements to the parcel.
Noise and an increase in traffic were the biggest concerns raised by neighbors during a public hearing on the application.
Bill Ostrander and Chris Pepin, whose home addresses are listed on Hunters Mountain Road but have driveways on Old Highway Road, raised concerns about noise from the dogs, especially when the leaves fall from the trees and there are more dogs at the facility.
“I want this to work for him (Rivera), but I also need it to work for the neighborhood,” Pepin said.
The zoning regulations state a kennel has to be at least 150 feet from a house and on a minimum of 4 acres of land.
McSherry said the proposed kennel is 1,500 linear feet from Ostrander’s property, which is the closest home.
Neighbors also spoke of more vehicles driving through the area now.
Valerie Dunn, who lives on Hunters Mountain Road, said she’s had issues with construction vehicles parking on her property overnight and a cement truck took down wires from her home.
Dunn said noise is a factor, but the larger issue is putting a business in a residential zone. She said she understands the need for the borough to grow its business base, but allowing businesses in residential zones impacts peaceful neighborhoods.
Rivera said the kennel will be positioned so noise travels away from neighbors and into the Naugatuck State Forest, which abuts the property. He said he’ll also plant a vegetation buffer and work with neighbors to determine the best location for the buffer.
