Plan Commission backs recommendation for 24-hour emergency animal hospital at Drexel Town Square

The Oak Creek Plan Commission voted to recommend that the Common Council approve a conditional use permit for Veterinarian Emergency Group to operate a 24-hour emergency-only animal hospital at 7935 South Main Street, Suite 200, in Drexel Town Square.

Todd, a city planner, told commissioners the proposed facility would be emergency-only (not routine care), operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and occupy the middle suite of the building. He said the site plan shows 141 shared parking spaces serving the development, exceeding the 116 spaces required by code, that the facility expects peak activity generally between 6 and 10 p.m., and that operations would typically have two doctors on duty with eight to 10 employees per shift.

The commission’s recommended approval includes conditions and restrictions to mitigate potential neighborhood impacts. Staff said required conditions would include soundbat insulation in demising walls to reduce noise for adjacent tenants (which could be restaurants), a requirement that the entire site be kept free of animal waste, a designated pet-relief area in the southeast corner of the site with waste stations, a maximum of 15 animals on site at any one time, and a prohibition on outdoor dog-run or daycare services.

Applicant Josh Shel described the facility as an "open concept" hospital where owners may stay with their pets. "We usually see between two to three patients an hour," he said, and added that most patients remain one to a few hours; "the max that they'll have there at once will be 15," he said.

Several commissioners questioned neighborhood impacts. Commissioner Greg said he believed the hospital is "needed in Oak Creek and a valuable asset to the city" but cautioned that a 24-hour animal hospital "on the corner of our Main Street may have an effect on the normal and orderly development of the surrounding area," noting nearby vacant restaurant spaces and the city’s interest in attracting street-front uses that draw pedestrians.

Todd and the applicant said operations would be more controlled than typical retail pet-relief areas: animals would be double-leashed when escorted to the relief area, waste would be picked up immediately, and the facility would provide cleanup stations. The applicant noted similar locations adjacent to high-traffic retail and restaurants in other markets and reported no noise or odor complaints there.

Developer Sean Failen said Drexel Town Square is a mixed-use neighborhood and that the proposed use fits the area’s intent to have varied, sustainable tenants.

A motion that the Plan Commission recommend the Common Council approve the conditional use permit for Veterinarian Emergency Group at 7935 South Main Street, Suite 200, subject to the stated conditions and restrictions, was made and seconded; after a roll call the motion carried and the recommendation will move to the Common Council for final action.

The Plan Commission record notes the recommendation is conditional; the Common Council will consider the permit and may adopt, modify, or add conditions when it takes up the item.