Swanzey planning board sends dog daycare applicant back with site plan and schedules public hearing

Amanda Swanson told the Swanzey Planning Board on Feb. 12 that she plans to operate a small-scale dog boarding and daycare at 223 Monadnock Highway and estimated business hours of 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. She said the operation would have roughly five to eight customers per day, five parking spaces, one full-time and one part-time employee, and occasional overnight boarding but not long-term weekly stays.

Planning staff advised the board that the property’s prior use was a contracting and remodeling business and that the town ordinance lists kennels explicitly only in the rural/agricultural district. Staff recommended the applicant submit a new site plan specific to this use so the board can review parking, building layout, fencing, and potential noise impacts to nearby residents.

Board members asked operational questions about overnight supervision, fencing type and height, and noise mitigation. The applicant said she will use wire fencing approximately six feet tall and cameras for overnight monitoring; she estimated up to about 20 dogs during peak periods but said she expects typical occupancy to be much lower. The board noted a precedent where a dog-training business in the business zone had been treated as a service establishment and indicated the proposed use could similarly be classified, avoiding a variance if treated as a service establishment.

Rather than approve the new-tenant application on the spot, the board reached consensus that the applicant must return with a site plan (the board stated it need not be an engineered plan) showing interior layout, parking, and fencing details and that a public hearing will be scheduled to allow neighbors to comment. Staff agreed to help the applicant prepare the site-plan submission and indicated the matter will likely be delayed until the March 12 meeting to allow time for the applicant to provide the required materials.