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Originals
The Fredericksburg City Council will consolidate its conflicting rules on dog kennels to allow them within the city.
The newly revised ordinance will allow dog kennels to operate in Fredericksburg but will not be allowed to operate in residential zones or transitional or downtown commercial zoning districts. A particular use permit would be required for kennels that would seek to operate in commercial shopping districts.
The ordinance also requires kennel operators to insulate the kennel so no sound or odor could escape, and any open pens or runs would have to be at least 75 feet away from a property line. The kennels could also include retail and grooming services. Those services could only make up a quarter of the total gross floor area of the building from which the kennel operates.
Before the consolidation, the city's code had two differing ordinances regarding dog kennels. The more recent ordinance came about due to the Unified Development Ordinance. Adopted by Fredericksburg in December 2013, the UDO sought to create more transparent and more straightforward land-use regulations and review processes by merging the city's zoning and subdivision ordinances.
According to the UDO, the ordinance allows kennels to operate in several zoning districts, including industrial, commercial, and creative maker zones.
The city council adopted this particular ordinance in 1997. It had been periodically enforced by the Fredericksburg Police Department or by Animal Control when it was determined that a home had too many dogs and created noise, health, and sanitation issues in residential areas. However, the ordinance conflicted with an earlier ordinance prohibiting dog kennels from operating anywhere in the city.
According to information provided by the city, Fredericksburg could expect to see an increase in money generated due to the retention and expansion of pet care services in the city. The information references a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, which stated that such steps resulted in a 60% increase in pet care establishments between 2007 and 2017, which resulted in a doubling of revenue to $5.8 billion.
Stafford County is also looking into updating its comprehensive zoning ordinance. An amendment was made to the ordinance in 2019, allowing commercial kennels to operate in agricultural zoned districts.
The Fredericksburg City Council will have a final read of the revised ordinance at its next meeting on June 14.
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The city’s Equity and Inclusion Committee held a series of pop-up listening sessions, regular online video meetings, and discussions with area leaders. The most commonly used word in responses received from residents was “equality,” said commission Chairman George Odom.
During a speech to the city council, Odom reminded elected leaders equality and equity is not the same. “Equality treats everyone the same without deference to different races, sexes, or social classes,” said Odom. Meanwhile, “equity” deals in judging the fairness of an issue, Webster’s Dictionary defines.
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Superintendent Dr. Latanya McDade announced a new snow day policy, introducing a Code Orange classification to the color-coded system the division uses to indicate the severity of weather-related closures. When McDade issues a Code Orange alert, school buildings will be closed for the day due to hazardous outdoor conditions that would hamper children’s safe travel to and from school.
Instead of going to school, the division will require students to log on to a laptop from home to complete independent coursework, called asynchronous learning. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, all students attended classes online after Gov. Ralph Northam shuttered public school buildings.
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Again this year, the jolly old elf won’t return for what was an annual, sell-out event, “Santa Trains.” Last held in December 2019, and every year before, the event invited children and parents to ride the rails with Santa on the commuter railroad’s Fredericksburg and Manassas lines.
In years past, Santa Train riders would flood VRE’s website to snag free tickets for the trains. Riders routinely claimed all of the vouchers within minutes.
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