Alicia,
 
I guess you didn't have a chance to read my older posts about our fight
with our town over my rescue.
 
We DID check out the ordinances concerning pets (ferrets) and rescues We
went to talk to the Zoning Officer with our LAWYER before we even put
money down on our house.  The lawyer asked if there were any ordinances
pertaining to ferrets & ferret rescues, we were told NO and he didn't see
a problem with us having the ferret rescue in the residential are that we
were looking to buy a house in.  The only animals that are regulated in
my town are dogs & cats, nothing about ferrets, guinea pigs, birds,
reptiles, etc.
 
We gave the Zoning officer a copy of our NJ Fish & Wildlife
Permit/License and a copy of the inspection report from NJWFW which
stated that our rescue was one of the top ferret rescues that they have
seen.  The Zoning Officer gave us an application for a Home Based
Business Permit and told us to return it to him with the $25 application
fee (He said it would protect us against any complaints.) AFTER we
signed the papers for the house
 
This we did do, the day after the papers for the house were signed which
was on May 14th 2003.  About a month later we recieved a notice form the
Zoning Office stating that our application was denied.  Here are the 2
reasons, there was a complaint about an odor from our ferrets (we own
dogs & cats too) and that the house was not in our name (The title had
not been transferred into my name yet as Trenton is very slow.).  After
we recieved this, we received the notice from the Health Department about
he odor coming through the FIRE WALL.  We called the ACO the same day and
she spent "2" HOURS in our home and in the ferret rooms.  She said she
could not find any basis for the odor complaint.  She said the only thing
she smelled was a slight odor from the Wood Stove Pellets and that was
all.
 
The Zoning Officer had even LIED to try and get into our house by telling
us that someone else had made a complaint.  Our lawyer as well as us had
contacted the Health Department about this and they said they had no
record of a second complaint ever being made against us being filed.
 
There is a 9 tier criteria that we had to fit to be considered a Home
Based Operation with Conditional Use (Which during the Zoning Board
hearing on December 11th 2003 we proved that we fit.).  NOW they are
saying in order to be this, we need to be making a PROFIT.  They stated
that they feel that a ferret rescue would not be beneficial as they have
never seen a ferret in our town.  For Pete's Sake, We have 2 pet shops
in my town that sell ferrets!
 
In January of 2005 we hired an Animal Rights Lawyer who has been handling
our case ever since.  The Zoning Board is playing games stating that they
have not received any letters from my lawyer, he sent them certified and
they WERE signed for!  They are constantly dragging their feet about
getting back to my lawyer on this matter.
 
So here is the breakdown:
 
Are we a legal rescue in NJ?  YES We have our Permit/License from the
state.
 
Did we check the ordinances before we bought our house?  YES, there were
NO ordinances or laws pertaining to ferrets or ferret rescues.
 
Do we have a lawyer?  YES
 
The problem is is that we were HONEST with the town in respect to our
ferrets & ferret rescue.  We have 2 dog rescues in my town that the town
leaves alone, BECAUSE the town doesn't know about them.  Sometimes being
honest doesn't pay.
 
Debi
[Posted in FML issue 5342]