Kuna Planning and Zoning Commission votes to revoke permit for Ray's Dog House

Kuna Planning and Zoning Commission members voted Wednesday night to revoke the special use permit for Ray’s Dog House.
Dog House owner Ray Carrel made an impassioned though disjointed argument in an attempt “to defend myself and my business and my family.”
Carrel argued that he has been unfairly targeted over the past two years since opening his hot dog stand at 397 W. Main St., next to the 4-E’s Bar. He argued that he has been made to chase down a litany of one code violation after another for the sole purpose of attempting to shut down his business.
Carrel said he has been kept jumping from one complaint to the next, from fencing and stairs to a commercial kitchen ventilation system to metal studs in the walls to issues with his sewer hookup.
“If you could just give us a list of everything that needs to be done,” said Mary Carrel, Ray Carrel’s wife who also spoke before the commission. “Instead of having one thing come up, then another, then another.”
Both Carrels said that they would accomplish one task, at great expense, only to be told that they had another problem somewhere else.
But Kuna city building inspector Jerry Coulter told commission members that the problems started when Carrel attempted to expand his business just before Kuna Days in 2009 to include a seating area behind a fence behind the shed that served as his kitchen.
In inspecting that area, Coulter said, he noticed buckets of grease lying in the yard. He also noticed that Carrel was using a fryer for French fries and that the ventilation system was spewing grease onto the neighboring building. He required a special ventilation system, and had the support of Kuna Fire Chief Doug Rosin.
“At that point, we now have a public life safety issue,” Coulter told commission members, adding that the city “wouldn’t allow a McDonald’s to come into town” without the proper equipment.
“I’m sympathetic to Ray,” Coulter said. “I’m just not sure he fully understands everything that needs to be done.”