The Newberry City Commission inched closer to approving a multifaceted revamp of its code regulating animal kennel facilities during a regular meeting on Monday but still needs to parse out the nitty gritty for small rural kennels.
The city has debated the topic since February when it came before the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission.
E T Mutt Hutt owners Tiffany and Eddie McLendon attempted to secure a business license for their breeding-turned-boarding facility that features six boarding rooms that can hold as many as 12 dogs. But they said they weren’t able to move forward because the current code, triggering the discussion.
While it does regulate commercial kennels, staff said code fails to define parameters for commercial or rural facilities, which is part of what City Manager Jordan Marlowe said needed clarification.
Marlowe said if small kennels are services the commission saw as needed in the community, it should determine the guidelines for regulating them. He said the city’s code errors shouldn’t deter businesses from opening.
“It sets a bad precedent when a business comes in and tries to do the right thing and we say no,” Marlowe said.
Previous feedback given to staff by the commission for kennels included changing the minimum acreage to 10-acres for commercial, implementing a 300-foot buffer between the facility and residential properties, and defining non-commercial as 10 or fewer animals.
Existing and proposed regulations don’t apply to private kennels where all animals are housed for breeding or recreational purposes and are owned by the property owner, according to meeting documents.
Marlowe said there could be many families who board dogs as a side hustle, and they could be impacted depending on what the new codes contain. But he said the commission needs to determine if this type of activity should be regulated and what those regulations should be.
Commercial facilities also include a regulation that they have to be on arterial highways like SR 26 and 27. If commercial isn’t distinguished from non-commercial, Marlowe said no kennels would be allowed off those two roads.
How to arrive at a compromise for both the kennel owners and neighbors divided the commission. Numerous public commentors and clients of E T Mutt Hutt spoke in support of the kennel, while its neighbors spoke against it because of noise from the barking dogs.
Commissioner Monty Farnsworth said he was ambivalent about whether to regulate or not.
Commissioners Rick Coleman and Mark Clark felt that regulating small rural facilities would be too much government. They said new laws shouldn’t be created when no official code complaints had been filed with the city in the 3.5 years of E T Mutt Hutt’s business, saying that Newberry code amendments are primarily complaint driven.
Coleman said the dispute should be worked out between the neighbors and not in front of the dais.
“We’re putting so much government into a bunch of dadgum dogs,” he said. “I hate adding more government.”
Commissioners Donald Long and Tony Mazon each garnered applause from the packed audience—Long for not wanting to punish the McLendons for coming to the city for compliance and Mazon for saying the city should’ve halted the business until staff worked through the code.
“It’s inconvenient; I get that,” Mazon said. “But my job up here is not to just look at what’s convenient and what’s not convenient. It’s what’s best for the city of Newberry.”
Staff is moving forward with small scrivener’s error for the code but will wait on drafting a new ordinance that regulates small rural kennels until more commission input at the next regular meeting.
Champions Park upgrades
Newberry’s Assistant Director of Capital Projects and Facilities Ryan Young presented department updates to the City Commission on Monday, including upgrades to Champions Park.
Last fall, the city took over control of Champions Park from RADDSports and allocated $2 million for renovations.
Young said since then, dugouts in 12 of the park’s 16 fields had been renovated with fans and ventilation.
Two outfields have been redone while all fences and netting in 12 fields were replaced. The grounds feature more than 50 new shade sails, batting cages, fresh paint, and renovated restrooms and concessions.
Young said Champions Park is slated to host 32 events in the 2026 calendar year and has hosted over 1,700 games with more than 200,000 visitors since January.
“It’s been a labor of love for everybody,” Young said. “It’s truly amazing to watch the changes and watch the kids and the parents and the coaches show the excitement of the changes.”
“The question about whether the city could do this and do this well has been answered,” Marlowe said.
Fire assessment
Ahead of the 2026-27 fiscal year commencing on October 1, the City Commission had a 4-1 approval of a $419 fire assessment maximum cap per residential unit.
The cap is according to last year’s fire assessment study and includes $0.47 per square foot for commercial properties, $0.13 for industrial warehouses and $0.42 for institutional maximums.
The final fire assessment will be set at the August 24 regular meeting.