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Approved 6/13/2011 OC Board of Adjustment – 3/14/11 Page 11 of 59 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Noral Stewart: To examine the site plans and building plans and evaluate whether it would be in compliance with the local ordinance requirements and evaluate the noise implications for the site. Nick Herman: Have you also, in that connection, analyzed the actual plans for the construction of the facility? Noral Stewart: Yes. A part of what we had to do was to look at the construction plans for the building with regard to the fact that the dogs would be indoors much of the time, closed up at night, they would be out in the runs to the side during the day time. Nick Herman: Those were plans submitted to you by Mr. Abbott’s firm? Noral Stewart: I originally got them from Mr. West. Nick Herman: You have met with Mr. Abbott about this? Noral Stewart: Yes. Nick Herman: Is it fair to say that you have analyzed this project from an acoustical standpoint? Noral Stewart: Yes. Nick Herman: What conclusions have you reached? Noral Stewart: I have concluded that the building is well designed considering the site and the location and distances from the boundary. Concrete masonry walls with no windows. The kennel area has small doors that are well designed to allow the dogs in and out. The ceiling and metal roof were fibrous material with thermal insulation between the ceiling and the roof. A sealed air conditioning system that does not have major dents in the wall or air where sound could come out and so forth. The outdoor runs on each side for each one of the kennel positions inside, there is a similar outside area. Those outside areas are not a big long area on the side of the building but individual areas for each dog with concrete block between each one and a roof over them and the opening doors to the outside where you can get into that area from the outside of the chain link fence with the slats in it so the dogs when they are outside see very little which is one of the things that cause a dog to bark when they see things. The outside area, while it is outside, it is somewhat enclosed, it is not fully opened. I analyzed the situation with regard to both the time when the dogs were indoors with the guillotine doors to the outside closed and the outside condition when they are outside and we contacted the manufacture of those doors to make sure we understood them and they should work very well. The Orange County Ordinance limits at the property line are 60 db in the daytime and 50 db at night. With the dogs inside and closed up at night, the level at the boundary would be less than 40 db which is a 10 db margin over the ordinance requirement…a very strong margin. People typically consider a difference of six to ten db half as loud so it is no more than half as loud as what the ordinance requires in terms of perception. That is assuming that the dogs are actively barking. Most of the time they will not be barking and it won’t get to that level. That is a very quiet level. First of all that is at the boundary, the nearest houses are more like 400 or 600 feet away and the boundary is more like 200 feet so at those houses, we are talking another six to ten db lower than what it is at the boundary so you are getting to around 30 when the dogs are inside. The outside condition during the day, the dogs will be outside, as we discussed, the facility is designed to minimize what they see. They are set up so half the dogs are on one side and half on the other so that the building blocks the sound in one direction. The way the facility is designed tends to steer the sound in certain directions more than other. The sound, even with the dogs outside during the day should comply with the 60 db limit at the boundary and considering the distance of the houses, they will be close to 50 db. If you have several dogs barking, one dog would be another four or five db below that and that is if you have several dogs at once but very rarely bark in complete unison. There may be one bark at a time. You have to be in complete unison, so I am comfortable they would be in compliance with the ordinance limits in the daytime. We do recognize you will hear dogs barking.