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The owners and supporters of The Ranch Pet Resort & Spa in Livermore recently celebrated a victory after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to uphold approval of the facility’s conditional use permit.
What started as a standard mandatory review of The Ranch’s permit over a year ago escalated to a community debate after neighboring residents urged the county to revise or rescind the pet kennel’s permit due to excessive noise — particularly barking from dogs — at the facility located at 4964 Tesla Road.
Despite residents’ noise concerns, the East County Board of Zoning Adjustments approved the mandatory review of the existing conditional use permit in February of 2023 with some added conditions of approval, including adding landscaping consisting of drought tolerant trees with spreading habit.
The EBZA’s approval resulted in an appeal filed by residents Kimberly Larson and Katharine Erhardt. Larson said in the appeal letter that the EBZA’s conditions of approval did not address the daytime noise impacts experienced by neighbors of The Ranch, among other issues.
The Board of Supervisors initially heard the appeal in May of 2023 and continued the item for six months to provide staff and the involved parties additional time to develop measures that could be implemented to reduce the sound level from barking dogs, according to the county staff report. Originally continued to December 2023, the consideration of the appeal was continued again to Jan. 11 so that the sound consultants for the business and appellant could present a consensus proposal.
The supervisors’ decision to uphold The Ranch’s existing conditional use permit during the January hearing also denies the residents’ appeal. However, after reviewing staff recommendations and hearing extensive public comment from both sides, the supervisors added revised conditions of approval.
The conditions of approval include a requirement for The Ranch to build a 10-foot sound barrier to decrease noise within 60 days of the meeting to be tested and observed over a 30-day period in an effort to determine its effectiveness. The conditions also include a requirement that all dogs must be brought indoors by 8 p.m. and remain inside kennel buildings until 7 a.m.
Although The Ranch has been operating for more than seven decades at the Tesla Road property, it has grown and expanded over the years and is currently authorized to serve up to 144 dogs and 50 cats. New administrative and kennel buildings, and a new exercise yard for the animals have also been developed at the property in recent years.
The facility is owned by brothers Dan and Michael Gamache. Michael Gamache leads the day-to-day operations of The Ranch while Dan lives on the property and provides after-hours support, according to their website.
Ahead of the Jan. 11 meeting, the Gamaches sought the community’s support, asking friends and customers to submit letters and public comment on their behalf.
“The more support we gather to convince these elected officials that The Ranch Pet Resort and Spa presents a benefit to the community, the better our chances are of getting our permit renewed,” the owners wrote in an email to their subscribers at the time.
An organizing campaign called “Protect The Ranch” was launched via the platform VoterVoice. Following the Board of Supervisors’ decision, the campaign was made inactive.
After the meeting, the owners sent a message of gratitude to their customers and supporters.
“Thank you so much for your efforts to protect The Ranch Pet Resort and Spa. The hearing last Thursday went well. We made some progress with our neighbors and believe we found a win–win outcome,” the email read.
The message continued, “We want to make sure we give a huge Thank You to Supervisors David Haubert, Nate Miley and Elisa Marquez. David Haubert especially played a vital role at the hearing. He took the time to meet with us multiple times over the last 12 months. It sure feels good to know we have him representing our county. Thank you, Supervisor Haubert, and to all of you for your endless correspondence to get us an outcome that will move The Ranch in a forward and positive direction.”
The Gamache family’s email names only the supervisors who were present during the hearing. Supervisors Lena Tam and Keith Carson were absent.
