Pet crematory proposed near Colburn
SANDPOINT — The operators of an unregulated pet crematorium are seeking permit approval from Bonner County to open a new facility near Colburn.
David and Kathleen Caldwell have applied for a conditional land-use permit for the Center Valley Veterinary Hospital, which would be located on 8 acres off U.S. Highway 95 at Hidden Meadow Lane.
The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission is conducting a public hearing on Tuesday, June 2, to consider the permit request.
The hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building, formerly known as the Federal Building.
The veterinary clinic proposed by the Caldwell’s would have limited pet boarding and a crematorium.
The couple’s existing operation, known as TLC Pet Services, has drawn strenuous objections from neighbors in the Rapid Lightning drainage and a zoning violation from Bonner County. The Bonner County Planning Department contends the crematory service is operating without a conditional use permit.
The Caldwell’s Coeur d’Alene attorney argues his clients are exempt from the permit requirement. Arthur Macomber insists the crematorium at the end of Strawberry Creek Road is a permitted use in an agricultural zones, according to Planning Department records.
The status of the TLC crematorium, which is reportedly fashioned from cargo shipping containers, is unclear.
“We don’t know if the crematory is still operating while the CUP is pending,” Planning Director Clare Marley said.
Macomber did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
The Center Valley crematory would be located in a rural zone and the proposal will be judged under the county’s new land-use code. Macomber, in a March 18 letter to the planning department, still maintains the crematory is exempt and the permit process is only being triggered by the vet clinic component of the proposal.
The permit application states that the Center Valley crematorium would be an indoor, controlled-air incinerator capable of meeting the most stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission standards.
The new operation would stand in stark contrast to the existing operation, according to neighbors.
TLC critics claim they have discovered dead animals on a snowmobile trail the Caldwells allegedly use to haul carcasses into their property for cremation. They further allege that used medical supplies and other waste are being handled improperly.
Macomber emphatically refutes the critics’ allegations in letters to the planning department. The letters accuse the neighbors of slander and the county of being an unwitting pawn in an easement dispute that has been the subject of lengthy and ongoing civil proceedings in 1st District Court.