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Council approves transfer of outdoor dog-exercise special use permit at 510 Bradford Street without two-year sunset
Summary
The Seward City Council approved the transfer of a special use permit allowing an outdoor dog exercise area at 510 Bradford Street and declined to impose a two-year automatic review the planning commission had recommended.
The Seward City Council voted to approve transfer of a special use permit allowing an outdoor dog exercise area at 510 Bradford Street to a new owner and removed a two-year automatic review the planning commission had recommended.
The council acted after a public hearing on the application from Andy Wiltz, who was not present. Nick Baer, director of development for Whoops Pet Resort, read a letter from Wiltz to the council describing Wiltz's industry experience and saying the company hoped to keep existing staff and work with neighbors to mitigate concerns. Baer read, “Dear council, I apologize for not being able to be with you in person this week. I was able to be in attendance for the planning commission meeting on March 10… I have been in the dog daycare industry for over 10 years now,” and described the applicant’s plans to keep staff and address neighbor concerns.
Planning staff told the council the planning commission recommended adding a two-year time limit to the conditional use permit to give the new owner time to demonstrate noise-mitigation steps and to prompt a council review if neighbor complaints continued. The commission’s recommendation was formally a two-year period after approval, after which the owner would need to reapply for continuation.
Council discussion focused on whether the two-year requirement was necessary given existing enforcement mechanisms. Council members noted the city can revoke special use permits if complaints arise and observed that the council and administration already have processes to respond to problems. One council member described the two-year sunset as “arbitrary” and moved to approve the transfer without the timeline; another council member seconded that motion. The motion carried.
The motion to approve the permit transfer passed on the council floor; the roll call voting in favor was recorded as Francis Gatto, Taylor, Tanias, Colchiman, Miller, Singleton and Straczynski. The planning commission recommendation and its two-year suggestion were discussed at length but were not included in the council’s final action.
The council and staff noted the absence of a specific municipal noise ordinance for general complaints (the city currently has a sound ordinance that applies to industrial and manufacturing uses and relies on disturbing-the-peace rules for other nuisances). Council members and staff discussed that a future citywide noise standard could provide more objective guidance for disputes but no directive to prepare such an ordinance was recorded as part of this action.
Action taken: transfer of the special use permit for the outdoor dog exercise area at 510 Bradford Street approved; the council removed the planning commission’s recommended two-year automatic review.
Votes and procedure: the item was heard as a public hearing; the council accepted the planning commission’s record of the planning process and then voted on the transfer without the two-year term.
