Officials in Summit County will hold a public hearing to discuss complaints about a Silver Creek man with 18 dogs. Members of the Summit County Council said they hope the talks will solve problems in the Snyderville Basin neighborhood.

The dogs are sometimes allowed to run loose, which is dangerous for children, Silver Creek resident J’Ann Mader said.

“I just hope we don’t get injured or some small child or animal doesn’t get killed,” Mader said. “We’re living with this day in and day out, 24 hours a day It’s frustrating to us.”

The dogs are Alaskan malamutes, which are a dangerous breed, Mader stressed.

The owner of the dogs, Silver Creek resident Neal Bowlen, said he uses the animals for sledding tours at Canyons. But some neighbors claim Bowlen is operating a home-based business without a license.

Bowlen said his company is based at the ski area. But county officials have required him to obtain a conditional use permit to keep the dogs at his home.

A public hearing to discuss the matter is scheduled before the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission Dec. 14. The meeting is scheduled at the Sheldon Richins Building at 7 p.m.

“We’ve tried to expedite it as fast as we can because we knew this was a volatile issue,” said Don Sargent, director of the Summit County Community Development Department.

According to Silver Creek resident Dave Jones, Bowlen’s dogs have “been witnessed running down the street,” in violation of Summit County’s leash law.

“Is this really what we want in our neighborhood?” Jones asked. “Nobody wants a kennel next to their house.”

Jones complained that planning officials in the County Courthouse have not responded to his complaints.

“[Bowlen] was told the dogs are in violation and they have to go,” Jones said.

But in November Bowlen was told the dogs could stay, he added.

“No explanation was given as to why the dogs were allowed to stay,” Jones said.

Summit County Manager Bob Jasper said deputies have patrolled the neighborhood along with code enforcement officers to see if Bowlen’s dogs create a nuisance.

“The undersheriff has sat out there listening for dogs,” Jasper said. “I hear that [they] have concerns and they may be valid. But it is a system of fairness and justice and there is going to be a hearing process.”

Bowlen said the Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control recently watched his home for nearly three weeks.

“They monitored my house with binoculars and decibel meters trying to find evidence of an audible or visual nuisance,” Bowlen said. “They found nothing There is no nuisance here.”

He claimed his dogs are not allowed to run at large in Silver Creek.

“They have never been off our property in the last four and a half weeks except when we’ve put them in our truck and taken them to other locations to do our rides,” Bowlen said.

He also said his dogs are not dangerous.

“[Mader] has made the claim that my dogs are wolf-like predators,” Bowlen said. “We have hosted over 400 children in the last two years and we have never had one incident.”

Bowlen invited people in the neighborhood to a series of open houses he is hosting this week in Silver Creek. The events are scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bowlen’s home, 9257 Linger Lane.

“We’ve had [several] people come up to previous open houses so far and they have walked away feeling better,” Bowlen said. “They all walk away saying they don’t really have a problem.”

According to Bowlen’s attorney, Karen O’Brien, “Ms. Mader’s allegations regarding the dogs are utterly baseless and demonstrably false.”

“[Mader] has chosen to effectively ignore her neighbors’, the Bowlens, repeated attempts to reach out to her to assuage her concerns. Rather, she has chosen to maintain a misinformed opinion that does not reflect the reality of the reports from Animal Control, the Sheriff’s Office and other county officials that I have had a chance to review and which are part of the public record.”

The Bowlens live on 14 acres with a sound-insulated barn in which the dogs are kept.

“The Bowlens are extremely responsible people and pet owners,” O’Brien said. “If they are not good candidates for a kennel then I would have no idea who would be.”