Veterinary Hospital At Fairfield Hills Endorsed

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has revised its zoning regulations to allow a multispecialty veterinary hospital as permitted land use at the town-owned Fairfield Hills core campus.

P&Z members revised the zoning rules following an October 2 public hearing. There were no comments from the public. The new regulations take effect October 14.

The rule change was a self-application that the P&Z made to itself. Consequently, the person, persons, or firm which is interested in creating such a facility at Fairfield Hills, reportedly in Woodbury Hall, did not publicly disclose their identity.

Because the animal hospital would be created within an exiting structure, the eventual applicants for the project would not need to return to the P&Z for any future approvals.

Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s director of planning and community development, declined to disclose the entity interested in starting a veterinary hospital at Fairfield Hills.

Robert Geckle, the chairman of the Fairfield Hills Authority, did not comment on who wants to create such a facility at Fairfield Hills.

The Fairfield Hills core campus lies in the Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zone, which the P&Z has created for redevelopment projects at the former state psychiatric hospital.

In its approval, the P&Z agreed to add as a permitted use to the FHAR zone rules: a multispecialty veterinary hospital that would provide surgery, emergency, medical, and oncology treatments for animals referred to it by other veterinarians.

The Fairfield Hills facility would not provide routine or general veterinary services, such as vaccinations, boarding, and grooming.

No outdoor animal runs would be allowed at such a facility. The veterinary hospital must be connected to sanitary sewers.

P&Z members found that a veterinary hospital located in the FHAR zone is consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

P&Z members unanimously endorsed the rule change.