ITEM TITLE:
Public Hearing for Kennel License #19-02 Submitted by Leslie Gross for Shih-Tzu Knot Grooming Located at 3424 Eagle Avenue (Lot 18, Block 2, Robe River Subdivision)
SUBMITTED BY: Nicole LeRoy, Planning Technician
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Public hearing only.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
In April 2019, the Planning Department received a business registration application from Leslie Gross for her dog grooming business at 3424 Eagle Avenue (Lot 18, Block 2, Robe River Subdivision). Leslie applied to operate her business as a home occupation, which is a permitted accessory use in the residential mobile home district where her home is located. At the time, staff was unaware of any other license requirements and issued the business registration.
It was later understood that Valdez Municipal Code 6.12.040 (A) 1 requires that grooming facilities obtain a kennel license approved by the Animal Control Officer, Planning and Zoning Commission, and Chief of Police.
A permit of this type requires a public hearing during a scheduled Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, following a public notification and a notice letter mailed to property owners within three hundred feet (300’) of the property. The Policies & Procedures for the Planning & Zoning Commission state that “an issue discussed in a public hearing may not appear as an agenda item for decision at the same meeting except with consent by the majority of the Commission.”
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on October 9, 2019 to allow a the vote on a recommendation to approve a recommendation to the Chief of Police to authorize a kennel license for Shih-Tzu Knot Grooming at the same meeting as the public hearing. Typically the public hearing should be held at the prior meeting to a decision, however in this case, the applicant requested an earlier meeting date as she is prevented from operating her business without this license. It was staff’s error that this process was not required in April and we have done our best to accommodate the applicant within the confines of the code to ensure an efficient review process.
Please see the attached kennel application from Leslie Gross and the accompanying inspection report from the Animal Control Officer, Rich Long. In addition, see the attached public comment in favor of approval of the kennel license application.
A public notice regarding this proposed grooming business was published in the KVAK email newspaper on October 7th, 2019 and October 14th, 2019. Notification letters were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the site on the 9th of October, 2019.