Dog school bombs with neighbors
A proposal to locate a school to train bomb-sniffing dogs on a farm off Herricks Lane in Jamesport was not popular with neighbors who showed at Town Hall Tuesday. During a public hearing, they cited concerns about noise from the dogs as well as the fact that 16 pounds of explosives would be kept on site.
Michael Stapleton Associates is seeking a special permit to convert a 1,152-square-foot horse stall on Aliperti Lane in Jamesport into a dog kennel operation where dogs would be trained to detect bombs for Homeland Security.
“Explosives in a residential area could cause a problem,” said Dominique Mendez of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition civic group.
“No one can control barking dogs,” said Herricks Lane resident Bob Napoli.
“My kids drive a golf cart by a fence where 16 pounds of explosives will be kept,” said Dan Zaweski, who owns an adjacent farm.
Residents also said they didn’t believe the proposed use fits the definition of a dog kennel, and is thus not permitted by the zoning.
John Harvey of Michael Stapleton Associations said the dogs are all lab retrievers and that there will always be someone on site if dogs start barking. He said there will be more than eight dogs or eight cars on the site at any one time.
The Town Board held the public hearing open for written comments until Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m.
This post was originally published Oct. 21, 2010
