Guides and Questionnaires on planning and building your kennel
You love dogs, and you know there is a need in your community for dog boarding, but you don’t know where to start. In this blog, I will go over both design principles and the authorities/permits needed to get started. Starting any project can be overwhelming if you need assistance or still have questions. VELD architect’s Project scouting process is designed to give you the confidence to move forward.
Let's start with the authorities. There are three major authorities that you will need to comply with.
1. Township Zoning by-law
2. Kennel by-law (if your local township has one)
3. Ontario Building Code
4. Conservation Authority (if applicable)
The first is the local zoning by-law. The zoning by-law determines what types of uses you can do on your property. It would be very helpful if a kennel were allowed on your property. It will also describe where on the property it can go, how many dogs there are, and how to comply. If the zoning does not automatically permit a kennel, you will need to apply for a zone change or a variance. This is a public process, and it can be difficult to convince neighbours or the township that a kennel won’t negatively affect the neighbouring properties.
The zoning is often paired with a separate kennel by-law in your township that will provide further details about restrictions, licensing requirements, and rules around operating a kennel. For most municipalities, you will need to obtain a kennel license that requires a vet inspection of the facility each year.
Depending on your location and property, the conservation authority may have a say on whether a kennel is permitted on your property. Check with your township mapping to see if there are any regulations.
Lastly, you need to comply with the Ontario Building Code in order to obtain a building permit to build a kennel on your property. As the growth and interest in kennels have grown, some variances have emerged in how a kennel should be built and what parts of the building code apply. Some of the major items we see discrepancies on are:
- heating systems and energy efficiency. Some building departments ask for more elaborate heating systems such as furnaces, whereas some building departments and kennels prefer a more basic design, more like a barn or agriculture building.
- Energy efficiency also affects the amount of insulation and the construction of floors, walls, and roofs, which are more like a house or commercial building than a shed or agricultural building. There can also be restrictions on window and wall openings.
- Area limits. There is a threshold of 600m2 (6000ft2) in the building code. Below, which fall into small commercial buildings, and above, large commercial buildings, which are also much more restrictive and have more requirements related to building fire safety, can add significant costs to your building and site project. Indoor playyards often push us over this limit and pertain to kennels in the 40-60 range.
- Septic and waste management are the last major issues we have encountered. Kennels are not clearly defined in the building code for septic design, so different municipalities are not entirely clear on what capacity is needed. We work with a few septic designers who are experienced with kennel septic design and maintenance, so they have a few tricks to make your system reasonably sized and function well.
- Another code consideration that might surprise you is that your facility will need to have many barrier-free features, including washrooms, hallway widths, and doors. Although you may not think you will hire someone in a wheelchair, you cannot control the public who have access to your building. Barrier-free doesn’t mean just a wheelchair; it means many types of disabilities and challenges that must be accommodated by building codes.
At VELD Architect, we typically meet with the building department early in the design process to understand their position on the major issues. We have some creative solutions to convince building departments to understand the space needs and find the best code solutions for your project.
Now, to the good stuff, here are some design principles!
Placement on the site is one of the biggest decisions, So here are some considerations:
Noise
— this is really important to maintaining neighbourly relations, and likely your personal sanity. Depending on how many dogs you have there is a complex exponential mathematical equation to determine how far away you should be from the property lines and neighbour's buildings. If the municipality doesn’t provide basic setback guidelines it is helpful to hire a noise consultant to do this and proof for neighbours. Especially if you are anticipating challenges.
Access
— You need a number of types of access to your kennel. The public needs easy access for drop-offs and pick-ups, staff access, and parking. You need convenient access to operate the kennel, both for walking and vehicles. Zoning will have things to say about parking requirements, and you will need to determine where on the site it works without disrupting other functions on your property.
Privacy
— While allowing access, you will also want to maintain your personal privacy and separation if you live on-site or if someone does. There will be noise to separate you from. You will want a bit of work/life separation, keeping staff and the public away from easy access when you are “off duty.”
Solar
— At VELD, we always like to apply passive strategies to building siting. The south sun will keep a play yard warm or shine into the building and provide free heat. North play yards will be cooler.
Natural Ventilation
— This can be very helpful to consider if you want to avoid AC costs and use cross ventilation to cool spaces during the summer. Consider your prevailing wind direction and make sure you can capture it and provide openings and paths in the building to move air through.
Kennel questionnaire:
- How many dogs do you want to start boarding?
- Do you want to expand in the future, and to how many?
- What type of kennel offerings do you want?
- Basic, medium, luxury (input a number)
- What size kennels do you want to have? (open text)
- Do you want to board cats or other pets?
- What other services do you want to offer? Grooming (internal), grooming (rented space for the external provider), vet, puppy training, public playtime/splash area/off-leash area, retail sales, rescue/foster space, dog agility training, other
- Cover other indoor spaces needed
- Do you want an indoor play yard? What size? How many? Heated, or just covered with walls?
- Do you want outdoor play yards? How many? What size? Covered or open?
- What surface do you want on the outdoor surfaces? (pea gravel, grass, artificial turf ($$$$$), multi, rubber mulch, crushed limestone, other) include pictures, we can discuss further in the design process
- Kitchen?
- Storage? Size or describe requirements?
- Offices? How many?
- Separate staff entry with clothing storage,
- After-hours pickup room?
- Separate entry and exit in the reception area?
- How many staff will you have at any given time? (we will need to provide washrooms for staff or guests)
- Staff room? With a separate kitchenette?
- Laundry room?
- Public front reception?
- Food room?
- Doggie personnel affects storage rooms separate from kennel space or above kennels.
- What other features do you want to incorporate?
Operations:
- How will you wash kennel areas?
- How will you wash downplay yards?
- Do you want Air Conditioning? If yes, to which areas? Offices, kennel areas, indoor playyards?
Finishes:
- Floor Options: concrete with epoxy, rubber, sheet vinyl, tile, faux
- Wall Options for dog areas: GWB/paint, wood, FRP (plastic coated plywood), Plastic siding, steel, vinyl wall covering, tile, other, plastic pig panelling, other)
- Ceiling options