BY JESSICA STEELEY
Clarkston News Staff Writer

Independence Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny a special land use request for a dog kennel operation.
Millstones Golden LLC, 7660 Pine Knob Road, requested special land use permit for its golden retriever breeding business on its property, which is zoned rural residential.
“She doesn’t have enough acreage for what she wants to do,” said Ron Ritchie, Independence Township Board trustee and representative on the Planning Commission. “Acreage is probably the biggest thing. There’s vacant land around her, if she could purchase the land around her and have enough acreage and a few other requirements.”
Township zoning requires 10 acres for the business.
The issue was postponed from December, and tabled again on April 13 after a site plan and other information related to operations of the facility, how it was managed, barking and cleaning issues, setbacks, and number of visitors was not provided by the applicant.
Dawn Wung, owner of Millstones Golden, apologized for the lack of information.
The applicant can reapply for special land use, but until then continued operations would be illegal, Ritchie said. Enforcement would be by Oakland County Sheriff’s Office or animal control, he said.
“In essence she shouldn’t be operating because she doesn’t meet the criteria,” Ritchie said. “Animal control, they would control that – animal control would have to license them and everything to do that, so we’re just one step of the process.”
The township can issue citations, which it did previously leading to the special land use request, he said.
“She got cited as not operating properly, so she came to the board and applied to try and make everything correct. It got denied because she doesn’t meet the criteria,” Ritchie said.  “They can appeal it if they want, but basically we just denied her because she didn’t meet the requirements.”