BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – Clarifying language in the revised Town of Canton code law regarding kennels and animal shelter was the thrust of public comment at a public hearing on Wednesday night.

Debra Bridges, who owns the Maple Ridge Kennels with her husband Styles, called the revisions in the town code “extraordinary.”

“These requirements are vague, undefined and unenforceable. The wording puts us at risk,” stated Bridges.

Mr. Bridges told town board members the kennel had been in business for five decades at the same location with little or no problems.

“We are in the process of selling Maple Ridge. In this process, there have been no less than 30 complaints about noise from two or three people. We have been there for 50 years and because of a couple of people, they are trying to shut down a business,” he said.

The kennel/animal shelter is currently housed by No Dogs Left Behind; a facility that has stirred up concerns and complaints from nearby residents.

Two subsections in Section § 70-59 of the law, titled Kennels and Animal Shelters, deals with nuisance conditions and noise. 

One reads “The applicant shall demonstrate a working plan to prevent or alleviate significant noise impacts from animals boarded on the site. Noise generated shall not be excessive or persistently occurring or continue to such a degree or extent that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of the neighbors. 

The second reads “The owner/operator of the kennel or shelter shall be responsible for exercising suitable control over the animals and shall not allow a nuisance condition to be created in terms of excessive noise or odor.”

Both Margaret Mauch, Janes Road, and Leslie Clark, Meade Road, told the board they had the opportunity to sit down with Deb and Styles to discuss the situation. 

“We all felt good about it,” said Mauch but concerns still linger.

“Other neighbors are not bothered by the barking or dogs and others are bothered,” said Clark. “The concern me and my family have is the noise.”

Similar concerns were expressed at an October public hearing on the proposed town code law.

Clark also alluded to a study conducted by St. Lawrence University Professor of Physics Brian Watson at both her property and her neighbor’s Ruta Ozols on July 27. 

His findings were presented in August to the Canton Town Planning Board.

“The problem was that the families of Leslie and Ruta are being very disturbed by the noise from the kennel while their neighbors further down Meade Road asserted that they could not hear the barking noise. These neighbors could not understand how Leslie and Ruta could possibly be annoyed by the barking noise. How could this be?”

“The Clark and Ozols homes sit atop a prominent hill. From their properties the kennel is easily visible.  It is in a direct line of sight.  While the outdoor portion of the kennel appears to be surrounded by a wooden fence of about 6 or 7 feet tall, the fence is not high enough to provide a sound barrier. The neighbors’ houses are not on the summit of the hill but are tucked close behind a curving ridge of land. These houses are not visible from the hilltop. And so, the discrepancy is easily explained. The neighbors’ houses are in a “sound shadow” from the barking noise, while Leslie and Ruta are in the direct path of the sound.”

“What could be done to reduce the noise level? A fence of but 6 or 7 feet is not high enough to shield sound waves, which simply diffract around the top edge. A much taller fence made of sound absorbing material, possibly angled inward at the top, would do much to solve the problem.” 

Mauch offered her views on the town code.
“There is presently no request to operate an animal shelter in the Town of Canton. With a shelter being a non-permitted land use in the current code, the next step would have been to request a land use variance. The previous applications have been withdrawn and replaced with the “grandfathered” land use of a kennel at the proposed location. This apparently satisfied all parties involved,” she said.

“Since being an “animal shelter” is no longer an issue, it should be withdrawn from the Code. On December 15, 2025, the new NYS Shelter Law Chapter 683 governing and defining shelters will be in effect and may supersede some of the proposed animal shelter conditions. The work has already been done. The Town of Canton does not need to include in the code a land use that is no longer requested or even pertinent at this time.”

“Should the Town Board decide to leave animal shelter definitions and conditions in the new Town Zoning Code, it is important that an animal shelter require a Special Use permit and review,” Mauch concluded.

Another resident to speak was Joel Howie, owner of Canton Apples, Rt. 310, who pointed to conflicting zoning regulations for cideries. He said a chart of permitted uses in R/A zones for cideries is not allowed but further down in the local does allow cideries with stipulations.

Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley said comments voiced will be brought back to committee for review with no action taken Wednesday night.

This proposed local zoning law, once adopted, will repeal and replace the existing Zoning Law and Zoning Map of Chapter 70 of the Town of Canton code. 

The town board has determined that this local law would have no significant environmental impacts pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The objectives of this Zoning Law, according to the 164-page document, are to support the goals and objectives of the Town Comprehensive Plan and other adopted planning and community development initiatives, protect the open and natural character of the land, provide for planned growth of agricultural, residential, community services, commercial and industrial use of the land consistent with the economic and social needs of the community and its development policies, preserve the Town's natural resources and habitats and encourage the use of renewable energy systems, and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the Town consistent with the objectives of New York State Town Law § 261 through 265 and Article 2, 10 of the General Municipal Rule Law.

A complete copy of the proposed local law is available for public inspection at the Town Clerk’s office on the town’s website.