Church Hill Road—

Borough Zoners Approve Veterinary Hospital

By Andrew Gorosko

The Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) has approved a proposal to convert former Taunton Press office space at 52 Church Hill Road into a multispecialty veterinary hospital.

BZC members unanimously approved a special permit for the project following an August 16 public hearing.

Philip Clark, president of Claris Construction, Inc, presented plans to the BZC. Claris would design and also build the project.

Mr Clark said that approximately 12,000 square feet of the 15,000 square feet of enclosed space on the 11.4-acre site would be renovated. That 12,000 square feet of space consists of an addition to a 19th Century house on the property. The site is on the south side of Church Hill Road, immediately west of the Housatonic Railroad overpass.

A dog-walking area would be built on the site near the railroad’s tracks to allow dogs to exercise following surgery. A vestibule would be added to the building and a parking space for a handicapped van would be delineated. The site currently holds 77 parking spaces.

Mr Clark said that the hospital would employ about 24 staff members and would hold facilities for the presence of 15 clients at a given time.

A retaining wall at the driveway entrance to the property would be rebuilt, Mr Clark said.

During the public comment section of the hearing, Joy Brewster, the owner of Cassio Kennels at 173 Mt Pleasant Road, supported the application. Such a facility is needed in the area for emergency pet care, she said. Other such facilities are distant, she noted.

The veterinary hospital be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It would provide emergency care, surgery, internal medicine, and cancer treatment, plus laboratory services.

Pam Arsenault, representing St Rose of Lima Church, which is adjacent to the hospital site, asked whether the facility would generate noise.

The animals being treated there would be kept indoors, Mr Clark explained.

Scott Schifilliti, who would oversee business at the hospital, said the medical equipment used at the facility would be kept indoors.

No animal boarding would be allowed at the hospital, he added.

The hospital would be a specialty veterinary practice designed for serious medical cases, he said. Mr Schifilliti said that his wife, Dr Debra Weisman, is a veterinary surgeon who would work at the hospital.

In reviewing the specifics of the application, BZC members found, in part, that the veterinary hospital  would be in harmony with the general character of the neighborhood; would not pose traffic hazards, and would not pose health hazards.

As a condition of the approval, the BZC is requiring that physical changes to the site, including the repair/reconstruction of a deteriorated retraining wall near Church Hill Road, be subject to appropriate land use review.

Road signs would be posted alerting motorists traveling on Church Hill Road of the presence of the driveway leading to the hospital.

Also, any advertising signage for the hospital would be subject to BZC approval.

Newtown Veterinary Specialists would rent the property from RC Equity, LLC, which owns the site.

Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on August 4 endorsed the veterinary hospital project.

The Church Hill Road project marks the applicants’ fourth proposal for a veterinary hospital in Newtown since 2007.

In February 2010, the P&Z approved the construction of a new 16,500-square-foot building known as Newtown Veterinary Hospital at a 3.2-acre site at 164 Mt Pleasant Road. That project, however, never materialized.

Also, two previous attempts to create such a facility in Sandy Hook Center and inside Woodbury Hall at Fairfield Hills also failed to materialize.

In October 2008, the P&Z revised its zoning regulations to allow a multispecialty veterinary hospital as a permitted land use at Fairfield Hills. But in November 2009, the Glen Mountain Holding Company, LLC, announced that it had failed to achieve financing for that project and had dropped plans for it.

In June 2007, the P&Z approved some zoning rule changes that would have allowed a veterinary hospital as a permitted land use in the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) in Sandy Hook Center. But plans for that facility also fell through.