Board approves sidewalk variance for Town & Country Veterinary Clinic, citing tree, sign and cost

The Monroe County Board of Zoning Appeals granted a sidewalk variance (VAR‑25‑43F) for Town & Country Veterinary Clinic at 3140 North Smith Pike, allowing the clinic’s proposed expansion to proceed without installing the roughly 160‑foot sidewalk otherwise required under Chapter 8.18. Planning staff and the county highway engineer had urged installation, and the site otherwise met the ordinance’s triggers for sidewalks. Petitioner Casey Shaake said the sidewalk would bisect his site, conflict with an established business sign and lighting, require removal of a mature, estimated 120‑year‑old maple tree, and add roughly $15,000–$20,000 in associated costs beyond the roughly $6,500 estimated for the concrete path.

Staff noted the site was within the urban boundary and on a corridor designated for future improvements. The highway engineer’s memo expressed a policy preference for sidewalks on Smith Pike, which the petitioner rebutted with observations about where pedestrians actually walk and the lack of continuous right‑of‑way on the corridor. Petition documents included a tree expert’s statement that the proposed alignment would kill the maple by cutting roots in the critical root zone.

Board members acknowledged support for sidewalks in principle but found petitioner had shown practical difficulties, particularly the cost and the expected loss of a mature tree and loss of a long‑standing sign location. The motion to approve the variance passed 5–0. Approval allows the clinic expansion to proceed without the new sidewalk; staff advised that other previously approved variances and conditional uses for the site remain as recorded.