Annexation threatens kennel’s future

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/02/2011 (5574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposed annexation of rural land into the city’s south east corner has left the future of Brandon’s Golden Acres Boarding Kennels up in the air.

The business, situated just past the intersection of First Street and Patricia Avenue, is technically located within the RM of Cornwallis and is one of five rural properties affected by an annexation request from a nearby landowner. The landowner in question would like approximately 60 acres he owns on the north side of the Eastern Access Route brought into the city to construct affordable housing in the area. However, to do so would drag along with it Golden Acres, a nearby electric repair company, a vacant residential lot, a Manitoba Hydro substation and a city-owned piece of land set aside for drainage.

The annexation request, being pursued by the city on the developer’s behalf, is currently being reviewed by the Brandon-Cornwallis negotiating committee, which will then forward a recommendation to the Manitoba Municipal Board for consideration.

Garth and Shelley Hoy purchased their boarding kennel — formerly known as the Cornwallis Boarding Kennel — five years ago as a pre-retirement investment, with the intention to upgrade it and then sell it when they were ready to retire.

However, Garth tells the Sun they simply don’t know if their business would survive an annexation.

"We sold our home, cashed in all our life savings and borrowed money to buy this," he said. "If I can’t (sell it), then my business is worthless."

The Hoys have been told by municipal officials that if Golden Acres was forced into Brandon as part of the proposed annexation, they would have to get a city business licence and adhere to stricter business regulations. They could also see their municipal taxes go up by as much as 265 per cent, to nearly $10,000 a year.

Even if the Hoys were able to have their business "grandfathered" as part of an annexation deal, strict rules would mean they could only sell it to somebody if no future expansion occurred.

"Whoever I sold it to couldn’t make it any larger … who’s going to buy my kennel if they can’t then sell it?" Hoy asked.

Plunking down residential units amid an established animal kennelling area is ill-suited, he added, noting there are many other, better-suited pieces of land the city could be focusing on for affordable housing.

"Why do they want this land, (which is) away from all the other developments?"

Relocating and rebuilding his home and business somewhere else outside city limits would be an extremely costly venture, bordering on $1 million, Garth said. That’s now left him and his wife to wonder if they can continue on with their current retirement plans.

And with such uncertainty surrounding the future of Golden Acres, its 2,500-plus customers and the nearly 3,000 cats and dogs they board could be left without a home away from home.

Janet Wood has been boarding her black Labrador Stacey at Golden Acres for years and says she’s extremely sympathetic to the Hoys’ situation. With very few options available in the Brandon area for pet owners who wish to board their pets, Wood doesn’t know where she would turn if Golden Acres was forced to close.

"Garth has done an incredible amount of work there and brought that place up to the highest standard so, for us, it would be a big loss, for sure," Wood said. "They are busy all the time and there are a lot of people that trust them completely with their animal members of their family. It would be a huge loss."

Though the annexation application continues to move forward in process, the newly elected council has the power to withdraw the request at any time.

However, Mayor Shari Decter Hirst says she’ll wait to see what the negotiating committee recommends before forming an opinion on the annexation.

"The city owns land already that we’re not developing or utilizing yet, so the rationale for why would we want to acquire more will come forward to council for debate and then we’ll make a decision on its merit," she said.

The Hoys have started circulating a petition in the hopes of raising public awareness of what annexation could do to their business. It can be viewed or signed at Golden Acres, the Brandon Humane Society and various veterinarian clinics around the city.

The issue of annexation has been a touchy one of late, as the Municipal Board recently approved the annexation of approximately 300 acres of land adjacent to the city’s southwestern corner despite the objections of a number of Cornwallis residents who did not want to become city residents.

That annexation will come into effect next year.