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Board clears expansion at Town & Country Veterinary Clinic, defers sidewalk decision
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional-use permit and several variances to permit expansion of Town & Country Veterinary Clinic at 3140 N. Smith Pike, granted variances for landscaping and parking, and continued a required sidewalk variance to Nov. 5 for further engineering review.
Monroe County’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 5 voted to allow expansion of Town & Country Veterinary Clinic at 3140 North Smith Pike, approving the clinic’s conditional-use application for small-animal veterinary services and granting several variances for lot development while continuing a sidewalk requirement to the Nov. 5 meeting for further review.
Dr. Casey Shaikh, owner and veterinarian, told the board that demand for veterinary services in Monroe County has increased and that the expansion will add exam rooms and treatment space to reduce appointment backlogs and in-county referrals. Dr. Shaikh said the clinic has stopped boarding services and plans to eliminate outdoor kennels, keeping only a small fenced area for brief animal relief. Planning staff recommended approval of the conditional use but made mixed recommendations on six variances tied to lot layout, landscaping and sidewalks.
The variances considered were: maximum impervious surface cover (VAR-25-43a); interior parking-lot landscaping (b); buffer-yard landscaping (c); streetscape landscaping (d); parking-perimeter landscaping (e); and the sidewalk requirement (f). Planning staff recommended denying the maximum-impervious-cover variance and the sidewalk variance (f) but recommended approval of the interior parking-lot, streetscape and perimeter landscaping variances (b, d, e) because installing the required landscaped islands would either remove needed parking spaces or make other on-site elements nonconforming. Staff also recommended denying one of the buffer-yard requests (c) but noted lot-line shifts or lot combinations could address some shortfalls in space.
Dr. Shaikh testified that the site is about 0.81 acres and that current impervious cover measures roughly 50 percent; the proposed addition would push that to roughly 57 percent, a modest overage of under 10 percentage points. He opposed staff suggestions that he acquire adjacent acreage by lot-line shift or lot combination, saying that as the adjacent landowner he would not support increasing the clinic’s lot area at the expense of productive agricultural land. He told the board the grassy areas and open perimeter are necessary for clients to walk animals and for safe handling; he said excessive trees and landscape islands would hinder animal control and reduce space for dog relief.
After discussion, the board approved variances VAR-25-43a through VAR-25-43e (impervious cover, interior parking-lot landscaping, buffer-yard landscaping, streetscape landscaping and parking-perimeter landscaping) by a 4-0 vote. The board and staff discussed the sidewalk requirement separately; county highway staff had said Smith Pike is a high-priority pedestrian corridor and recommended sidewalks where possible. Because the sidewalk location involves right-of-way constraints, an existing buried pipeline and other utility conflicts, the board continued the sidewalk variance (VAR-25-43f) to the Nov. 5 BZA meeting to allow the petitioner and county engineers time to produce civil plans and clarify feasibility and costs. That continuance was approved 4-0.
Board members emphasized local need for veterinary services and balanced that need with standard landscaping and pedestrian policies. Staff will work with the petitioner on site-plan details, and the petitioner may return with engineered plans for the sidewalk variance at the November meeting.
