Commission recommends special-exception review, 600-sq.-ft. limit for home-occupation kennels

Planning staff presented TA 26-28 to clarify home-occupation rules and address complaints about home-operated kennels. Will Hager said the amendment "explicitly exempts in home daycares and home commercial kennels from the condition that the occupation must be conducted entirely within the dwelling or an enclosed accessory structure," and that the change would add "a requirement that home occupation kennels obtain special exception approval from the board of appeals." The motion to close the record and recommend adoption was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Commissioners asked how the 600-square-foot limit would apply and how outdoor runs and noise would be addressed. A staff member clarified that the 600 square feet applies to indoor kennel area in a home, outdoor run area could be the fenced yard, and that "the zoning ordinance does not govern noise" — noise complaints would be handled by the Calvert County Police Department under the county noise ordinance (or by animal control where appropriate). No public testimony was recorded.