09-28-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28, 2015 7:00 o'clock p.m. 9. ##15-3768 MICHAEL AND LISA LARSON, PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT RELATED TO DOG BOARDING AND GROOMING IN B-1 ZONING DISTRICT (continued) Printup asked what protections the neighbors would have if the dogs are outside barking. Printup stated he is less concerned about the barking on the inside of the building. Barnhart stated in this situation, with a conditional use permit and a license being required, the City has more protection. Barnhart stated the conditional use permit is based on standards, which is where the weakness is with the City's standards and is why Staff added the license requirement. Chapter 62 talks about ratios and a number of standards in terms of noise mitigation. Barnhart stated the City Council would review a conditional use permit based on meeting those standards and also require license. Those would be renewed annually. Barnhart stated if the applicants are not meeting those standards, it is easier to revoke a license than it is a conditional use permit. Walsh stated if someone is investing $1 million in a business, it is difficult not to renew the license. City Attorney Mattick noted once the conditional use permit is issued, it runs with the land. A license provides the flexibility to address the concerns and make them a condition of the license. Mattick stated at the last meeting there were concerns about how to address the concerns and that Staff has been trying to figure out ways to move the application along. McMillan stated the amount of investment puts the City in a tough position to say there are too many dogs or too much play time since it would impact the business's economic viability. McMillan stated dog noise is hard to control but a noise caused by a human being is easier to place tighter conditions on it. McMillan stated the issue she has is controlling the dogs is difficult other than reducing the number, which then becomes an economic issue. Lisa Larson stated that is very true and that they have to stick to a certain number to make the business viable. Larson stated they do not want 60 square feet per dog and that they are looking at 85 square feet per dog. Larson noted these are small dogs and not large dogs and that they are willing to perhaps limit the number of dogs for the first year or two to prove that it can be done. Mike Larson stated in year one of the business they do not expect 100 percent occupancy. By the end of year one, they anticipate 50 percent occupancy. Larson stated they are talking about 25 dogs the first year. Lisa Larson indicated they have worked with a consultant out of Madison, Wisconsin, who owns a facility there and they know where they need to be with the number of dogs. Larson stated they are willing to make that number less than what other facilities have. McMillan asked if they will be occupying the entire building. Mike Larson stated they will have 6,241 square feet out of the 7,200 square feet. Walsh stated it is his understanding the owner of the building will occupy a small bay. Page 14 of 27