OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a special use permit request for a commercial canine breeding, training and boarding facility, K-9 Specialists at their meeting on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. The request will come before the Marion County Commission on March 17.

The applicants and owners are Libor and Rachel Zavalsky and the subject property, which is just under 20 acres, is located at 8201 SW 27th Ave., Ocala.

The subject property is zoned A-1, agriculture, in a rural area, as are all the properties surrounding the parcel. The applicant’s request is for a breeding kennel. There will be no more than 15 animals at any given time at the site. These are specialty animals, Belgian Tervurens and German shepherds; they’re personal animals that belong to Mr. and Mrs. Zavalsky. These are all imported dogs, all of European lineage, said Kenneth Odom, Marion County growth services senior planner. Staff indicated that there were 13 dogs on site currently at this time. The subject property is outside of the urban growth boundary. It’s south of Williams Road on 27th Ave. They have a barn on-site, they have a personal home, and they do live on the subject property.

Animal control reported there were no violations. Marion County Animal Services has been out to the subject property a number of times. over the course of the past 14 months, and based on their reports, there had been calls regarding cruelty to animals on a number of occasions, something animal services takes very seriously, and that’s what the majority of calls were for. However, the animals were in good health and there were no reasons for violations, said Odom. Any time that the growth services staff has been to the site, the animals have always been very alert. They get excited when they see people. But they’re all very healthy.

Permits and property 

This is proposed to be a commercial operation. It’s a private home at this particular point in time. It was a commercial operation that operated for a brief time before the special use permit was granted, when Mr. and Mrs. Zavalsky were notified that they could not operate the business in an A-1 zone. A previous special use application was approved in November 2022, but it was revoked due to noncompliance in February 2024. The Zavalskys have been operating a private home since then, and the animals on the subject property are their animals. Staff did not have proof that there was any commercial activity occurring at this location, said Odom. Staff has been given proof that the commercial elements of the operation had been moved to the Zavalskys’ facility in Georgia.

Staff made a modification to the special use permit based on the history of the property. The property will be subject to a six-month review, as is standard for this type of zoning alteration. Staff recommended there will be an additional one-year review by the growth services staff. Animal Services will be required to conduct two reviews. They will have four reviews in the first year if the SUP is granted, two by animal services and two by growth services. Any violations of the conditions that have been set forward will trigger a notice of violation or a revocation, dependent on severity, said Odom.

The SUP is written for one year, five years on the first sequence; at the end of the five years, it will have to go through review and the process again. Given the sensitivity of the case and the involvement of live animals, extending the permit out for another 15 years didn’t seem appropriate under the circumstances, said Odom.

Buffers and containers

One of the main things that’s different this time from the last time the applicant made a request for a special use permit, was that there were five Conex box containers that they had on site during their last application procedure which was initially approved. However, two of those boxes were directly facing the east to a neighbor. That was part of the problem during the last application. Those two boxes have since been removed.

The requirements for approval included six-foot fencing in certain locations. Mr. Zavalsky, between the time of the revocation and now, has put that fencing up in those particular locations. However, there’s some buffering on the potential east side of the property that was of particular concern to staff. There’s a horse paddock in this near proximity to one area of the subject property. The dogs are basically contained in the southeast corner of the property.

The applicants requested not to have to put an opaque fence at this particular location, and that was a particular concern to staff, because there are horses that are in paddocks, directly to the east of this location, or could be in the future. Having that opaque fence in place would help to some extent to make sure that horses aren’t getting frightened by seeing what they assume is a predator.

The applicant was fully against putting up an opaque fence of any type. Staff suggested two different types of hedges, ligustrum and viburnum, could be installed, because they could be purchased at a height of three feet and be within six feet more than likely within 18 months to two years. They’re easy to maintain, and they will completely block the line of sight from a training area in the kennels all the way into the paddocks that are directly to the east. That is one of the conditions for approving the SUP, said Odom.

There are Conex boxes that are currently being used for kennels. The building permit needs to be pulled within 60 days of the approval of this SUP for the permitting of the Conex boxes that are currently present. The kennels have water and power, so they have to be permitted. The other condition that has a time factor on it, is the buffer to the east–that needs to be fully installed within six months.

The containers have to be permitted because they’ve been modified, said Odom. All Conex boxes, no matter what they’re used for, have to be mounted to the ground and secured. It can either be on concrete or a concrete pier-type of arrangement, where anchors in the concrete affix the Conex box. They’re not allowed to be free-standing. They will be permitted or they will have to be removed.

Staff found request meets all three of the criteria that are necessary as far as their recommendation of the special use permit with conditions.

Objections and obligations

The previous revocation of the SUP was for the lack of the installation of the portion of six-foot fence, and there was supposed to be more of a buffer on the east side of the property, said Odom. The buffer was designed to make sure the line of sight was mitigated, and that didn’t happen. Those were the two primary factors for the revocation.

There was opposition from two members of the community, who said there were issues with noise from the barking dogs and that their livestock was being upset by the dogs and canine activity.