HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Hanover Humane Society is raising concerns about the impacts a proposed warehouse development could have on the animals in its care. The shelter says an access road for two proposed industrial warehouses is located near the facility's dog walking trail. Staff worr ies additional heavy truck traffic near the facility's property line could further affect dogs already dealing with noise from a data center under construction next door. Andrew Paine, director of operations for the Hanover Humane Society, said the shelter’s dog walking trail was designed to give dogs a chance to get out of their kennels and decompress. However, he says the trail hasn’t been peaceful for months because of ongoing construction activity. “We do have some of the dogs that won’t come on the walking trails here like they used to, just because of the commotion ... the bulldozers and the trucks and everything next door,” Paine said. Paine said he has already seen behavioral changes in some dogs because of the construction. Now, the shelter’s concerns are growing. Oppidan Inc., the developer of the data center, has also proposed building two industrial warehouses behind the property. The proposed development would use an access road that's adjacent to the Humane Society’s property line and dog walking trail. “We figured [the noise] was temporary with the construction next door of the data center, and once that was over, it would hopefully be fairly quiet," Paine said. "But, you know, we found out otherwise now." Paine worries about what additional truck noise and traffic could mean for the animals. “Mainly we’d like to see some type of sound and visual barrier, some type of mitigation of that coming through here, so we can have some privacy," Paine said. "If there’s a way to reroute the road, that would be ideal." 8News took the shelter’s concerns to Oppidan. Woodie Williams, Oppidan's vice president of development - southeast, said the company is offering to build a fence along the property line between the site and the shelter to help mitigate noise. Williams shared the following statement with 8News: "We understand the importance of the animals’ well-being and plan to work with Hanover Humane Society to understand its concerns and explore ways to mitigate potential impacts." The Hanover Humane Society also said a representative for Oppidan reached out to the shelter after 8News contacted the developer. Paine said the two sides are now working to set up a meeting ahead of Thursday's public hearing on the proposal. “We feel like they’re trying, but we’re going to fight it as hard as we can, and then hopefully there’ll be a little compassion on the developer’s part,” Paine said. Oppidan is holding a community meeting to share information about the proposal and hear from neighbors. It is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Ashland Christian Center. ...read more read less