AGENDA MEMO
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: May 3, 2010
Issue
Statement
PZC
2010-03: PetSmart, Darien Towne
Centre, 2153 75th Street: Petitioner seeks approval of a Major
Amendment to the Darien Towne Centre Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow an
additional use within the PUD, a kennel (pet hotel), within the PetSmart store.
Discussion/Overview
At their respective
meetings, both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Municipal Services
Committee recommend approval of the petition as presented. The required public hearing was held on April
7, 2010, by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
A
draft ordinance is attached.
The
full staff agenda memo follows as “Additional Information.”
Decision Mode
The Planning/Zoning Commission considered
this item at its meeting on April 7, 2010.
The Municipal Services Committee
considered this item at its meeting on April 26, 2010.
The City Council will consider this item
at its meeting on May 3, 2010.
Additional Information
Issue
Statement
PZC
2010-03: PetSmart,
Darien Towne Centre, 2153 75th Street:
Petitioner seeks approval of a Major Amendment to the Darien Towne Centre
Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow an additional use within the PUD, a kennel
(pet hotel), within the PetSmart store.
Applicable
Regulations: Ordinance
O-18-93: Ordinance zoning certain
property and approving the PUD.
Zoning
Ordinance, Section 5A-3-2-5: Planned
Unit Development Regulations, Changes in the Development
General
Information
Petitioner: PetSmart, Inc.
c/o John Philipchuck,
Esq.
Property
Owner: Inland
Property
Location:
PIN: 09-29-400-019
Existing Zoning: B-3 General Business District/PUD
Existing Land Use: Shopping center
Surrounding Zoning and Land Use
(surrounding the Darien Towne Centre shopping center):
North: B3 General Services and Highway Business,
R5 Two Family Residence and R6 Multiple Family Residence (all within the
South: R4 Single-Family Residence (
East: B-2 Community Shopping Center Business
and R-2 Single-Family Residence – Steak ‘n Shake and single-family detached homes.
West: B-2 Community Shopping Center Business
and R-2 Single-Family Residence – Marketplace at
Comprehensive
Plan Update: Commercial
Size of Property: 50 +/- acres (shopping center), 0.58 acres
for store
Floodplain: West end of the shopping center,
adjacent to
Natural Features: Wetland areas on the west and south sides of the
shopping center.
Transportation: Property has frontage and access onto
Documents
Submitted
This report is based on the following
information submitted to the Community Development Department by the
petitioner:
1. ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey, 1 sheet,
prepared by The Balsamo/Olson Engineering Company, dated September 14, 2000.
2. Store
floor plan (existing), 1 sheet, prepared by PetSmart.
3. Store
floor plan (proposed), 1 sheet, prepared by PetSmart.
4. Information
bulletin, 6 sheets, prepared by PetSmart.
Planning
Overview/ Discussion
The
PetSmart proposes to alter their store to
provide a pet hotel within their store.
The proposed use falls under the definition of a “Kennel” under the
Darien Zoning Ordinance. A kennel is not
a permitted use within the B-1, B-2 or B-3 zoning districts.
Per the Darien Zoning Ordinance, a change
in the permitted uses within a PUD is considered a major change to the approved
PUD. A public hearing is required, and
approval by the City Council is required, for approval of a major change to a
PUD.
The information provided by the
petitioner indicates that the alterations will be interior only.
The information provided by the
petitioner concerning the operation of the pet hotel includes the following
points:
1. Pet care specialists to be on site
24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. Veterinarian on-call at all times.
3. Facility is air conditioned, with
separated dog and cat ventilation systems.
4. Playtime and exercise provided.
5. Facility is designed to mitigate
sounds, odors and waste.
The petitioner should elaborate on the specifics
of how the pet hotel will operate, confirming outdoor activities, if any.
The following PetSmart stores currently
have pet hotels, the Commission members are encouraged to check out these
locations:
2. 976 N. Route
59,
4.
The PetSmart store in
Staff Findings/Recommendations
Staff
does not object to this petition based on the information presented. The information provided by the petitioner
indicates all activities will occur within the store and efforts will be made
to minimize any impacts. Currently,
animals come and go with their owners for care, training and shopping.
Staff
recommends the Planning and Zoning Commission make the following motion
recommending approval of the petition:
Based
upon the submitted petition and the information presented, the request associated
with PZC 2010-03 is in conformance with the standards of the Darien City Code
and, therefore, I move the Planning and Zoning Commission approve the petition as
presented.
Planning and Zoning
Commission Review – April 7, 2010
The Planning and Zoning Commission considered this
matter at its meeting on April 7, 2010.
The following members were present:
Beverly Meyer – Chairperson, Robert Erickson, Donald Hickok, Gloria
Jiskra, John Lind, Raymond Mielkus, Kenneth Ritzert, Michael
Griffith – Senior Planner and
Members absent:
Ronald Kiefer and Susan Vonder Heide.
Michael
Griffith, Senior Planner, reviewed the staff agenda
memo. He stated this petition is a major
amendment to the PUD, since it involves changing the permitted uses within the
PUD.
He
stated the petitioner proposes to establish a pet hotel within the store. He stated the information indicates all
activities will take place within the store with measures taken to minimize any
nuisances.
John
Philipchuck, attorney, representing PetSmart, and Andrew Whiteaker, PetSmart,
were present.
Mr.
Philipchuck described the proposed use.
He stated the petshotel will offer boarding for pet parents who need pet
care while on vacation, but will also provide day care for pets. He stated the petshotel will occupy 5,734 square
feet of the stores 25,468 square feet.
He stated there will be 24-7 staffing of the petshotel and all
activities take place inside.
Mr.
Philipchuck stated the dog waste is directed to the sanitary sewer, while the
cat waste is scooped into bags and placed in the dumpster like one would do at
home. He stated the area is designed to
minimize noise from the animals.
Chairperson
Meyer asked where pets are walked.
Mr.
Philipchuck stated the pets are kept inside, the
exercising is inside the petshotel.
Commissioner
Lind asked about the cat waste.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated the cat waste is scooped just like one would do at home,
placed into a bag and put into a dumpster.
Commissioner
Lind asked about the HVAC separation.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated the air circulation system is filtered and the air is
separated between the cat and dog area.
Commissioner
Erickson asked about the number of pets that would be accommodated.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated there will be 112 rooms.
He stated the holidays are a peak time, but typically the number is
about 80 rooms used. He stated that pets
can be placed in a single room, or a double room, to accommodate pets from the
same family.
Commissioner
Erickson asked if the vet at the store is employed by PetSmart and if the pet
care people will be employed by PetSmart.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated there are typically two people that stay over night to care
for the pets, the night shift. He stated
the vet at the store is not employed by PetSmart, but that the pet care
specialists will be trained PetSmart employees.
He stated there would be about 8 employees staffing the petshotel,
during normal operations. He stated they
make arrangements with local vets for emergency care.
Commissioner
Ritzert asked if there will be adequate sound insulation.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated the walls as constructed provide sound insulation, and the
petshotel is designed to minimize noise to adjacent businesses. He stated they have done sound studies are
other stores and have not found any problems with adjacent business tenants
experiencing noise issues.
Commissioner
Lind asked about a fire, how the pets are evacuated.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated they work with the local fire department evacuation
procedures. He stated, typically, the
fire department wants the animals kept in their cages when they arrive so the
fire department can take the animals out of the building. He stated the store has sprinklers and fire
rated construction materials.
Commissioner
Hickok asked about the sizes of the cages, and stacking of the cages. He questioned the area of the petshotel and
how the space could accommodate the number of rooms stated earlier, play rooms,
offices, etc. He asked if the cages have
a solid bottom.
Mr.
Whiteaker stated the cages vary in sizes with a solid bottom. He stated the cages are double stacked. He stated the follow the humane society
guidelines on cage sizes.
Mr.
Whiteaker confirmed that the petshotel will occupy over 5,000 square feet and
there is room to accommodate the stated rooms, play rooms, etc.
Commissioner
Lind stated that they have done this before and have worked out the operation
details. He stated they know what they
are doing.
Commissioner
Ritzert asked if the other businesses in the shopping center had been notified
of the petshotel and if they had signed off on the use. He stated that he questioned how he could
vote on the matter without approval from the other businesses.
Mr.
Philipchuck stated no, the adjacent businesses had not been contacted. He stated public hearing notices went out to
adjacent property owners, the property owner is listed on the petition and
there is a public hearing sign on the property that would likely be seen by the
managers of the businesses within the shopping center.
Mr.
Griffith stated that he did receive a phone call from a manager at Wal-Mart to
inquire about the public hearing. He
also stated that it is the property owner who has the vested interest in the
permitted uses on the property, not the businesses who lease space. He stated that he did not think the City
could require the petitioner to get approval from the other businesses within
the shopping center. He stated the
property owner is on the petition form.
There
was not anyone from the public to offer comments.
Without
further discussion, Commissioner Lind made the following motion, seconded by
Commissioner Hickok:
Based
upon the submitted petition and the information presented, the request associated
with PZC 2010-03 is in conformance with the standards of the Darien City Code
and, therefore, I move the Planning and Zoning Commission approve the petition
as presented.
Upon a roll call vote, THE MOTION CARRIED by a vote of
5-2:
Ayes: Meyer,
Hickok, Jiskra, Lind, Mielkus
Nays: Erickson,
Ritzert
Absent: Kiefer,
Vonder Heide
Municipal Services
Committee Review – April 26, 2010
The
Municipal Services Committee considered this matter at its meeting on April 26,
2010. The following members were
present: Alderman Joseph Marchese –
Chairman, Alderman
Michael
Griffith, Senior Planner, briefly reviewed the agenda memo, described the
petition and noted the public hearing and the Planning and Zoning Commission’s
recommendation. Mr. Griffith stated the
Committee had received the information provided by the petitioner concerning
the operation of the pet hotel, and that all activity will occur inside.
John
Philipchuck, attorney, representing PetSmart, the
petitioner, was present.
There
were not any questions from the Committee.
There
was not anyone from the public to offer comment.
Without
further discussion, Alderman Galan made a motion to recommend approval of the petition, seconded by
Alderman Schauer.
Upon a voice vote, THE MOTION CARRIED by a vote of 3-0.