Neighbors who objected to the plan for an animal sanctuary near Hartly got some of what they asked for from the Kent County Regional Planning Commission on Thursday, but not everything.

The property, about 11.5 acres at 3048 Hartly Road, has been donated to First State Animal Center and SPCA, which proposes a sanctuary and rehabilitation center for older, abused or neglected farm animals and dogs. The zoned agricultural residential property has a house, barn and pasture.

After a public hearing March 6 with people testifying for and against the proposal, the Planning Commission held a business meeting March 13 to vote on a recommendation.

The commission approved the animal sanctuary plan 7-0 with restrictions including a maximum of 20 animals and a 4-foot-high split-rail vinyl fence along Hartly Road instead of the proposed 6-foot-high privacy fence.

The next step for the proposal is the Kent County Levy Court public hearing Tuesday, March 25. No agenda for that meeting has been posted as of March 14.

After the Planning Commission’s decision, First State’s executive director John Parana said, “We’re very grateful for the board to go that extra step and to look at what we’re actually doing at the property. … We’re doing a good deed. Let’s get some animals out there and save their lives.”

But the commission didn’t specify anything about dogs, just the total number of animals, so in theory there could be up to 20 dogs at the property if no other animals were housed there.

Planning Commissioner Denise Kaercher said, “The motion talked about kennels but it has been described very accurately as a sanctuary.”

Parana said the facility would primarily be for farm animals like horses.

A few older dogs could be housed there, such as a dog with diabetes whose owner can’t afford insulin and isn’t available to give the dog shots at the required times.

“These are animals that need help,” Parana said at the March 6 public hearing. “This is not to have barking animals. This is not to have violent horses. It’s to have a limited number of animals that we can give proper care to and they can live their life out.”

Animals that have been nursed back to good health and are eligible for adoption would go back to the First State Animal Center in Camden for adoption.

The sanctuary would not be open to the public.

First State Animal Center has several stalls for larger animals like horses, but the center needs more space, Parana said.

“We are funded by the Department of Agriculture to house these animals up to the point they can be rehabilitated or not,” he said March 6. “If they can be rehabilitated, they would go to the sanctuary.”

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Other requirements for the animal sanctuary

In addition to the restrictions approved by the Planning Commission, the county Planning Department staff recommended these requirements:

• Kennels and runs located at least 100 feet from any adjoining property line and 300 feet from any dwelling not located on the subject parcel
• Exterior lighting focused away from all adjacent properties
• Noise-insulated buildings that meet the requirements of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act
• 24-hour security with a caretaker on duty at all times.

Parana said the caretaker would be a veterinary technician who would live at the house on the property.

First State Animal Center requested a waiver from the county code requiring sidewalks along Hartly Road.

The Planning Department staff recommended approval of the waiver for several reasons including that the facility wouldn’t be open to the public and there are no existing sidewalks to connect with.

Neighbors concerned about ‘commercial kennel’ designation

First State Animal Center applied for a conditional use for a “commercial kennel” on the property because that’s the closest use in the county code for what the animal center plans to do.

Neighbors at the March 6 public hearing said they understand the animal center’s plans, but wondered what could happen if the county approves the commercial kennel use, particularly the number of dogs that could be housed at the site.

More from March 6 public hearing: How many animals and what kind? Why neighbors oppose Delaware animal sanctuary plan

Neighbor Quentin Smart said his main concerns are the number of animals, the possibility of dogs and the noise of barking dogs.

Other neighbors voiced similar concerns at the hearing, stating they didn’t mind farm animals like horses, but they didn’t want the sanctuary to turn into a place to house a lot of dogs.

Another sticking point: The original proposal for a 6-foot privacy fence and trees surrounding the property.

“We’re going to be met with this big 6-foot wall with giant trees growing in front of it that kind of looks like a government installation,” Sharon Geiger said at the March 6 hearing. “We would like to have it remain a farm and look like a farm.”

The fencing already in place “should be sufficient,” Geiger said. “It has been for many, many years.”

Commission Chair William Jester said he visited the property and favors a fence and landscaping along Hartly Road that’s similar to the existing farm pasture.

The Planning Commission agreed to most of those changes, requiring a 4-foot, split-rail vinyl fence similar in style to the existing fence along Hartly Road, with a 6-foot privacy fence along the property’s eastern border.

However, the Commission didn’t put a specific restriction on the number of dogs, just the limit of 20 animals at the sanctuary.

Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.