The owners of what some believe to be an illegal kennel baffled East Earl Township officials at a zoning board hearing Dec. 21.

Reuben and Vera Martin, who until recently housed as many as 500 dogs per year at their 1.2-acre Meadow Lane Kennels, are seeking an exception to East Earl's kennel ordinance so that the 23-year-old kennel can remain in business.

The East Earl zoning board will decide Jan. 18 whether to grant the exception.

The Martins said Meadow Lane is no longer a wholesale business and that they intend to house 25 dogs or fewer at the 526 Quarry Road property. Reuben Martin said he has no intention of applying for a state kennel license, which is required by East Earl's kennel ordinance.

The state does not require a license for a retail business that has no more than 25 dogs — adults and puppies — on the premises in a 12-month period.

Complicating the issue is the Martins' admission that they currently have 17 adult male and female breeding dogs on the premises, two of which are pregnant.

"Am I missing something here?" asked Robert E. Sisco, township's solicitor, after asking the Martins if they needed help to go through the zoning requirements.

"How many puppies will they produce in a year?" Sisco asked.

"That's a good question," Reuben Martin responded.

State law also requires a license for any kennel that produces more than two litters per year, even if the business has 25 or fewer dogs.

Vera Martin said the business will "never have more than 25 dogs."

"That means that from now until next year at this time you will have only eight puppies?" asked Glen Martin, one of three township zoning board members.

Glen Martin later asked, "What if the two pregnant dogs have five puppies each?"

"Then we'll have to give some away then," Reuben Martin said.

Groups opposed to puppy mills criticized the East Earl zoning board in March for allowing three large-scale breeding kennels to operate in the township — after the kennels had been operating illegally for years. The township was notified by the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement that the kennels were operating without municipal approval.

Several people at the Dec. 21 meeting, including members of United Against Puppy Mills in Lancaster, suggested that Meadow Lane is just one of many Lancaster County puppy mills trying to skirt new dog kennel laws.

The Martins filed for the exception one month after key provisions of a new state law that took effect on Oct. 9 — the first anniversary of when Gov. Ed Rendell signed tougher kennel legislation. New regulations this year include larger cage sizes, restrictions on cage stacking, access to outdoor exercise and regular veterinary exams for breeding dogs.

The Martins on Dec. 21 provided evidence that Meadow Lane is in compliance with those laws. Reuben Miller said the kennel is soundproofed and that he leased land from neighboring farmers Isaac Zimmerman and Wilmer Zimmerman to meet a requirement that a kennel structure must be 200 feet from the lot line.

But Tammy Holroyd of East Earl argued that Meadow Lane's size is still only about one-tenth of the minimum 10 acres required to operate a kennel, according to the township's kennel ordinance.

Helen L. Ebersole, of United Against Puppy Mills, said local officials have turned a blind eye to kennel-ordinance violations.

"What really is the issue here is the paid zoning official Shaun Seymour's responsibility to go and check on that kennel to see that it meets both state and local requirements," Ebersole said.

Seymour on Dec. 21 told the zoning board, "Township supervisors are not opposed to (the Martins') application."

East Earl supervisors Earl Kreider, Joe Shriver and Dave Zimmerman last week said it's unlikely that their board would challenge any decision made by the zoning board.

According to state Bureau of Dog Enforcement inspection records, Meadow Lane on April 23 had 157 dogs on the premises. It received a warning for having six undocumented dogs, 13 others that were improperly documented and 20 dogs that had expired rabies vaccinations.

The kennel passed two subsequent inspections by the bureau — one on June 10, when it had 143 dogs, and most recently in September, when 102 dogs were inspected.

At least one zoning board member hinted strongly that he would vote against the Martins' application.

William Fisher, zoning board chairman, said he had concerns with the Martins' application because "nothing is cut and dry."

He accused the Martins of "running a stud service" and said the hearing was really to a waste of time because the business refuses to get a state kennel license.

"If we're talking kennels, then you need a license," Fisher said.

"I don't know that you can call mine a kennel," Reuben Martin said.

"Well, at this point we have to call it something," Fisher said. "I can give you permission to operate a kennel, I cannot give you permission to operate anything else," Fisher said.