By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
The Halfway Home Pet Rescue in Caribou has become a household name when it comes to providing care for stray cats, but the shelter’s continuing existence in a zoned residential-one location (at 11 pioneer Avenue) is a violation of the city’s current zoning law.
Halfway Home Pet Rescue volunteers have been fundraising for a new building well before they were notified of the violation in a letter from the city dated July 20, as their 11 Pioneer Avenue has been a temporary location since the shelter first came to Caribou.
That first letter also asked HHPR President Norma Milton to cease operating the shelter from her home, though a date to cease operations by was not included.
While the situation between the city and the shelter has advanced, the underlying issue remains that the shelter’s location, though temporary, is in the wrong zone. The city ordinance identifies HHPR as a kennel — the only applicable definition in the city’s current zoning definitions. A kennel is defined as any place, building, tract of land, abode, enclosure or vehicle where three or more pets owned singly or jointly are kept for any purpose.
The state defines a kennel as “five or more dogs kept in a single location under one ownership for breeding, hunting, show, training, field trials and exhibition purposes.”
The Caribou City Planning board has a workshop scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 20 at 5:30, during which they’re slated to discuss industrial zoning, animal shelter/kennel zoning, communications towers and home-business multi-zoning. The public is welcome to attend the workshop. (While workshops tend to be less formal than meetings, public input during the session is granted at the discretion of the Chair).
