Supervisors’ public hearing on Old Souls is Monday

The Yuma County Board of Supervisors is holding a special session 6 p.m. Monday for a public hearing deciding the fate of an animal rescue focused on senior and sick dogs that is at the center of a fierce neighborhood fight.

The meeting will be held at Yuma City Hall, 1 City Plaza, in anticipation of a large number of attendees, both in support and opposition.

Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home, 11262 S. Holland Ave., has operated for two-and-a-half years in a home within the Buntin Estates subdivision just west of Yuma. Its struggle for survival has gathered considerable support from the Yuma community, as well as other states and even internationally through an online petition.

Owners Paula and Isaac Rivadeneiras were notified by the county earlier this year they were in violation of their residential zoning and would need to obtain a special use permit, after a complaint was filed by a relative of a next-door neighbor, Alejandro Soto.

At the Sept. 25 meeting of the county Planning and Zoning Commission, 200 or more people watched in the Aldrich Auditorium or an overflow room at the Department of Development Services.

Supporters praised Old Souls for providing a clean, comfortable home for the dogs as they awaited foster or adoptive homes, or lived out the rest of their days at “Old Souls Hacienda.” They said the rescue was not having any adverse effect on the surrounding neighborhood.

But most Buntin Estates households had signed a petition or sent letters opposing the permit, contending Old Souls was spreading foul odors from manure and attracting insects, as well as traffic from clients and volunteers, including veterans’ groups and special education classes.

At the time of the commission hearing the county had received 89 comments in support of and 84 against the permit. Only two of those in support were from residents of Buntin Estates, but another 63 came from Yuma County residents, businesses, schools and nonprofits.

Opposition came from 30 neighborhood addresses, including six within 300 feet of the site, triggering a requirement that at least four of the five supervisors vote in favor of the permit for approval. Another 57 came from people who didn’t disclose their place of residence; the majority of these provided a phone number with a 928 area code.

Paula Rivadeneira and the Soto family each say they have received threats from the other, with the Sotos also citing numerous Facebook comments made by Old Souls supporters.

The proposed special use permit would allow the kennel operation to have up to 18 dogs and five cats. Under the neighborhood’s rural residential zoning, the Rivadeneiras have the right to keep their two horses, up to two other large animals such as horses or pigs (including potbellied), and numerous goats, chickens and other small livestock.

The planning commission voted 5-2 in favor of a one-year permit, instead of the usual five, to allow for a quicker review of the case, and some encouraged Rivadeneira to find another location, especially if she could not placate the neighbors.

Because the session is being held in City Hall, it will be broadcast on the city of Yuma’s cable channel 73.

The board will also hold its regular meeting 9 a.m. Monday, in the Board of Supervisors Auditorium at 198 S. Main St. Agenda items include: • Discussion and a possible vote on whether to join the Border Trade Alliance and/or the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

• Discussion of a possible text amendment to the county zoning ordinance regarding maximum lot coverage.

• Approval of the public works department lease/ purchasing two new Caterpillar motor graders from Empire Southwest of Yuma for $432,652.