Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 23, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - CUTLINE #1 (list slug of photo): 2111dog6 City council gave a stamp of approval to a decade-long lease for the Yellowknife Dog Trotters Association last Tuesday evening, despite some residents' concerns about noise and environmental impacts of the Curry Drive kennel.

"It's nice to see a positive, unanimous decision from council supporting the Dog Trotters and keeping the Dog Trotters in the Kam Lake area," said Warren Palfrey, president of the dog mushing group.

The decision will go to second and third readings next Monday for final approval but no changes are expected.

Palfrey said the association is looking forward to working with the city to revamp bylaws to include international standards of animal care.

Palfrey also requested at the Nov. 13 council meeting that Curry Drive be re-named Dog Mushers' Lane to reflect the sport's contribution to Yellowknife's culture and heritage.

"It's a unique thing for Yellowknife and something we need to accentuate, not hide," said Palfrey.

Terms of the lease on the kennel, which houses roughly 125 dogs, will be worked out over the next few weeks, said Jeffrey Humble, director of planning and lands for the city.

"There were a number of concerns raised and we'll try and address them as best we can," said Humble.

Kam Lake business owner and resident Peter Curran made a presentation to both council and the municipal services committee - which makes recommendations to council - asking for a shorter lease and re-location plan for the kennel.

Among his concerns were noise and potential environmental impacts from dog waste.

Curran asked that should council pass the recommendation on the 10-year lease, it include measures for noise abatement, such as an insulated board fence and limits on feeding times.

Environmental engineer Diep Duong also spoke against the renewal of the Dog Trotters' lease.

"I believe there is potential for the Dog Trotters' lot to be contaminated," said Duong in her presentation.

"Furthermore, I believe that there is the potential for the contamination to migrate to adjacent commissioner's land and to Kam Lake through surface runoff and groundwater flow."

Following the Nov. 13 decision, Curran said he knew not all his requests would end up on a lease but he hoped they would be discussed.

"If everything that was mentioned was given serious consideration, I would certainly be satisfied with that," he said.

He also said he felt strongly that an environmental site assessment needed to be completed to determine what, if any, environmental impact the kennels have on the site and on nearby Kam Lake.

A previous one-time test detected various bacteria in the lake and recommended further testing to determine its significance.

Curran said he was pleased with the Dog Trotters offering to construct a fence to bring down noise and that a long-term lease meant the association would invest more in infrastructure at the facility.

He said, however, he was disappointed in "a prevailing sentiment among some councillors" that kennels in Kam Lake are developing as they should, pointing to a 2003 bylaw that aimed to limit kennel development in some areas of Kam Lake.

"It's a bit disappointing that with a shift in council, a complete shift in focus and sentiment can be the result."

The kennel at the corner of Kam Lake Road and Curry Drive has been at the location since 1983.