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#1001372 - 03/30/09 12:47 PM
Stupid Fayette officials
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Jelloshot
Silver Member
Registered: 11/22/02
Posts: 10356
Loc: Not here
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WHAT IN THE HELL is the matter with the moronic leaders in Fayette?? Good lord, I thougth my town was dysfunctional!
Seneca Co. SPCA at risk due to local zoning laws
Press Release
3/30/09
Since 2003, the Seneca County SPCA has rescued and sheltered hundreds of dogs, providing them safe homes, and even assisting county officials and local law enforcement investigating animal cruelty cases.
Now, however, the organization’s mission-and the dogs it shelters-may be at risk from town and county zoning officials.
SPCA President Jenny McWhorter has been operating a non-profit dog rescue organization on property she shares with her partner Stephen Webb for nearly six years. Until recently, local zoning officials told her the operation was in compliance with local zoning laws.
But on March 12, they were served with a violation notice by the Seneca County Building Department. That notice alleged that the SPCA was in violation of the Town of Fayette Zoning Code. The building department claims that the not-for-profit shelter is a “commercial kennel” under the new zoning code.
That zoning code was passed last fall. Because McWhorter had operated the shelter for years before that, she believes that the SPCA is grandfathered in (and, therefore, legal) under New York State law.
And, until recently, she thought that local officials agreed.
But in November, 2008, the Chair of the Fayette Planning Board, Ros Parks, told McWhorter that the shelter was in violation of both the new and old zoning law. He also told her that his board would most likely deny the SPCA a permit or variance if they requested one.
That surprised McWhorter. Parks had told her in 2003 that she didn’t need any town permits for the shelter.
“Ros stated to me that we did not need a kennel permit. All that was available was a purebred kennel permit and we both agreed we did not fit those criteria as many of our rescue dogs were mixed breeds,” McWhorter said. “Ros told me that as long as there were no complaints we were fine doing what we were doing here.”
In 2005, the group was told that the town wanted dogs kept at the shelter for more than thirty days to be licensed. McWhorter said she complied.
Other than that request, she heard nothing from the planning board until 2008, shortly after the group was formally designated by New York State as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals (SPCA) for Seneca County.
“We have not had any complaints from our neighbors or incidents with our dogs since 2003 to the present time,” McWhorter said. “We take extreme measures to assure we do not bother anyone and keep the dogs waste picked up and disposed of properly daily, every day.”
McWhorter said that the SPCA has contacted former Seneca County Attorney Steven Getman, who has agreed to assist the shelter on a pro bono basis. Getman hopes to show local officials that the SPCA is operating legally.
If zoning officials force the SPCA to move, McWhorter said they will do what they can to comply with the law. However, relocating so would mean a big financial hit for the shelter and compromise its mission.
“It will be costly for us to try at this time to open a separate shelter for the animals off of our property,” McWhorter said. “We operate the non-profit corporation solely on donations and receive no public money.”
“By operating here we can keep our overhead low and continue to provide animal protective services until we become more established and self-supporting.”
“Making the shelter move now could endanger both the SPCA’s goals and the animals it serves.”
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#1001378 - 03/30/09 12:59 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: Jelloshot]
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flbuldog
Senior Member
Registered: 01/28/05
Posts: 2167
Loc: MacDougall, NY
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Its been very interesting and educational, all this nonsense.
Its also been very stressful and I will be happy when its over.
I hope the town can move on sometime soon and do something about the trailer eyesores on East Lake Road by the railroad bridge...and other worthy candidates for their attention that need some code enforcement.
Edited by flbuldog (03/30/09 01:23 PM)
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#1001379 - 03/30/09 01:00 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: Jelloshot]
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Big Twin
Member
Registered: 06/23/05
Posts: 494
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Would you expect anything less from our dysfunctional towns and county government? What a cultural backwash.
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#1001384 - 03/30/09 01:15 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: Big Twin]
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flbuldog
Senior Member
Registered: 01/28/05
Posts: 2167
Loc: MacDougall, NY
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I "used to" expect and think better of all the county/town bureaucracy until I started really getting involved.
What a letdown to see it in action.
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#1001421 - 03/30/09 02:31 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: Jelloshot]
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iriss
Member
Registered: 07/16/08
Posts: 34
Loc: myplace
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Stupid is right! For the first time ever,Seneca County has an SPCA, moving into the modern world. I am very proud of that fact. The fact that there is no county funding supporting it is a travesty.
They should be grandfathered in as others have been. Fayette
should be very ashamed of themselves!
The SPCA is doing a wonderful job with what little they have. Working for animals is a consuming and mostly thankless job. I, for 1, thank you for being there SPCA.
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#1001482 - 03/30/09 06:21 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: Grey Rider]
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angelaboveme
Senior Member
Registered: 03/24/03
Posts: 1020
Loc: NY
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Very disappointing behavior indeed on behalf of Fayette. A big thank you to Steve Getman for his expertise, us common folk can't quite fathom how these town and county officials work  . Especially when things seem to be arbitrarily enforced. It's very disappointing to have the officials of the town and county say one thing to your face, and then a whole different thing in their meetings, especially when their meetings are taped.
The SPCA is located on MacDougall Rd, Beverly's is on River road, the two are separate entities.
As for a variance, my understanding is since there was no old code, and the SPCA is not a commercial kennel, a variance is not needed. They should be grandfathered in, especially since the track record of neighbor complaints has been nil.
Maybe some other nice town will step up and offer the SPCA some support.
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#1001495 - 03/30/09 07:17 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: angelaboveme]
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Gold Member
Registered: 01/09/06
Posts: 17154
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I know that part of the village of Waterloo is in the Town of Fayette. Is Beverly Shelter in Waterloo or Fayette?
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#1001497 - 03/30/09 07:35 PM
Re: Stupid Fayette officials
[Re: ]
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flbuldog
Senior Member
Registered: 01/28/05
Posts: 2167
Loc: MacDougall, NY
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They are in both towns Festus, is my understanding.
I'm guessing that BAS has enough land, 25 plus acres, so are not in jeopardy from Fayette's new land use ordinances that determine how many animals you can have on one property.
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