It took only a few days for someone to file an appeal in a controversial decision by the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission that allowed a Silver Creek man to house 18 dogs at his home on Linger Lane.
In December, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the conditional use permit. The owner of the dogs, businessman Neal Bowlen, uses the Alaskan malamutes for dog-sledding tours on the West Side of Summit County. Bowlen lives on about 14 acres in Silver Creek, a community situated near the Interstate 80/U.S. 40 junction.
Critics claim the dogs could be dangerous if they are allowed to run loose in the neighborhood. There have also been complaints about the dogs barking.
“They obviously did not want the dog kennel in the vicinity of their neighborhood for various reasons,” Community Development Director Don Sargent said about those opposed to the permit. “They also wanted to have an opportunity to review the file to make sure everything was done according to the development code and that the findings were fairly considered before an action was taken by the Planning Commission.”
Bowlen has claimed that he does not operate the business at his house. His company provides rides on dog sleds in other locations throughout the Snyderville Basin.
Bowlen declined to comment when reached by The Park Record on Monday.
Some of those who are against the conditional use permit said Bowlen is operating a home-based business without a license. Seeking to have the planning decision overturned, Silver Creek resident David Jones filed an appeal with the Summit County Community Development Department.
“Anyone can appeal an action of the Planning Commission on a conditional use,” Sargent explained in a telephone interview.
Members of the Summit County Council typically decide such appeals, he added.
“However, in this case the [Summit County Attorney’s Office] has determined the County Council would not be the appellate body based on the communication that they have had with the appellants and others concerning this application,” Sargent said.
County officials have notified Jones that his appeal would need to be filed in 3rd District Court.
“I think [Jones] could appreciate that it would be difficult for the County Council to hear [the appeal] fairly given their involvement in the process and some of the comments that even some of the County Council members have made during the process of the application,” Sargent said. “It was a circumstance where the best appellate body was one that had not heard any of the issues on either side.”
The fees Jones paid to file his appeal will likely be refunded by Summit County.
“The county’s objective, mine as well as the Attorney’s Office, is to make sure it’s a fair proceeding for everyone involved,” Sargent said. “It’s really unique given the circumstances of the case.”
Jones said he hasn’t decided whether to pursue the appeal in 3rd District Court.
“It might be expensive,” Jones said. “It’s very disappointing to me because instead of spending a few hundred dollars and pleading your case in front of some elected officials, we’ve already been in touch with an attorney.”
Jones said he filed the appeal with the county after receiving a “cease and desist” letter from Bowlen’s attorney on Dec. 20.
“It was threatening to sue me saying I have been torturously interfering with the business I’ve said nothing negative about [Bowlen] except that I didn’t want a dog kennel in my backyard,” Jones said in a telephone interview Monday. “If [Bowlen] wants to have an attorney sue me for participating in a public process, now that becomes a harassment lawsuit I’m not looking for a fight. We just thought we would let it lie, just live with it. Well then I get this letter from the attorney that says we are going to sue you for this and that. I thought, OK sucker, game on.”
Jones said Bowlen has only lived in the neighborhood for a few months.
“I’ve lived here 20 years,”
he said. “[Bowlen] had been in the neighborhood for two weeks and he was having his attorney threaten people who have been there for 20, 30 years.”
Neighborhoods in Silver Creek have rules that prohibit people who live there from housing animals for commercial purposes, Jones stressed.
“We’re not talking about somebody’s personality, character or honesty. That’s not the issue here,” Jones said.