Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved some design changes to the Pleasant Paws Pet Center construction project at 94 South Main Street (Route 25), thus allowing work to resume at the 2.06-acre property.

Following an April 18 public hearing, P&Z members unanimously approved the design changes to the planned two-story veterinary complex that would enclose roughly 17,000 square feet of floor space. The P&Z granted applicant Prithvi Real Estate Management LLC a modified special zoning permit. Dr Rakesh Vali, the owner/veterinarian at Mt Pleasant Hospital For Animals in Hawleyville, is a principal in Prithvi Real Estate.

Voting in favor of the special zoning permit were P&Z Chairman Don Mitchell, Jim Swift, Barbara Manville, Roy Meadows, and David Rosen.

Due to a significant number of design changes that had been made to the architectural plans, the P&Z required the applicant to obtain a modified special zoning permit for construction. The project had gained P&Z approval in June 2018, but the plans that were recently submitted for construction contained sufficient modifications to warrant additional P&Z review.

At the April 18 hearing, engineer Kevin Solli of Solli Engineering, representing the applicant, told P&Z members that the revised plans were reviewed by the town’s Design Advisory Board (DAB) on April 16. The DAB reviews certain commercial development projects and makes aesthetic recommendations to the P&Z on architecture and landscaping.

Architect Warren Freedenfeld of Rauhaus Freedenfeld & Associates, representing the applicant, told P&Z members that both the planned overall square footage and height of the building are lower than what the P&Z approved in June 2018.

Mr Freedenfeld projected some slides of the planned building, displaying the structure in multiple possible color schemes. The revised plans for the pet center amount to a physical “reconfiguration” of the building’s interior, while maintaining the underlying concept for the facility, he said. The redesigned space seeks to simplify the planned building’s interior layout, he added.

“We wanted it to be a very warm and welcoming building,” Mr Freedenfeld commented.

Mr Swift asked why a large mature tree has been removed from the site near a planned entry-only rear driveway connecting to Greenbriar Lane. When project was approved in June 2018, the P&Z was told that the tree would not be removed, Mr Swift said. Mr Solli responded that an “overzealous contractor” cut down the tree without asking the engineers whether it should be removed.

“It was unfortunate,” Mr Freedenfeld said.

In approving the project’s design revisions, the P&Z required that the area where the tree was removed have a tree planted to replace it. The site’s primary entry/exit driveway will connect to South Main Street.

Mr Freedenfeld told P&Z members that the DAB’s suggestions on the pet center have resulted in an improved project.

In endorsing the modified special zoning permit for the pet center, the P&Z required that the applicant return to the DAB for architectural advice on the project. At that session, the DAB would review architectural drawings which represent the applicant’s interpretation of the DAB’s April 16 design suggestions.

Complex Project

In June 2018, after lengthy review, the P&Z approved construction of the veterinary complex, which would include a veterinary clinic, animal boarding facilities, an animal rehabilitation unit, and a pet-related store.

The project required many town land use approvals. In June 2018, the P&Z granted the project a change of zone from R-1 (Residential) to South Main Village Design District/Special Design District-5 (SMVDD/SDD-5) and also issued the project a special zoning permit for a site development plan. In February 2018, the P&Z had approved a set of unique zoning regulations, known as Special Design District-5, which are rules that apply specifically to the development of a veterinary complex at 94 South Main Street.

In May 2018, the project received a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) in connection with the presence of a pond at the site.

In November 2017, P&Z members approved subdividing a 3.13-acre site at 94 South Main Street into two lots — a 2.06-acre lot with frontage on South Main Street and a 1.07-acre lot lying to the west with frontage on Greenbriar Lane. The site where the pet center would be built formerly held a plant nursery.

Among the design changes approved by the P&Z on April 18, a retaining wall would be added on the site at a parking lot alongside South Main Street in order to provide motorists exiting the property with sufficient sight lines along South Main Street, as required by the state Department of Transportation (DOT). Also, some guardrailing on South Main Street to the south of the site will be replaced.

The revised plans call for installing concrete pads near the planned building where condenser units for an air conditioning system and an electrical generator will be positioned.

Landscaping for the parking lot has been altered in view of certain septic system design changes required by the town Health Department. Also, three parking spaces are being removed from that planned parking lot.

The landscaping that was planned for the building’s facade will be altered to accommodate different locations for doors on the building and for the placement of outdoor mechanical equipment. The main driveway that connects the property to South Main Street would be modified to accommodate truck-turning movements for long trucks.

Under the revised plans, one of the two previously-planned outdoor exercise yards for animals has been eliminated, and the other exercise yard will be reduced in size.

The geometry of the building’s roofline has been simplified. The planned building’s height has been reduced from 40 feet to 38 feet.

The Pleasant Paws Pet Center project employed the South Main Village Design District (SMVDD) zoning process as a regulatory mechanism to gain approval. That process allows applicants to propose customized zoning regulations that are tailored to an individual property’s development or redevelopment. If the P&Z approves such a set of unique zoning rules, those rules then replace the underlying zoning regulations.

The P&Z created the SMVDD zoning regulations in 2007 to foster economic development that is in harmony with New England architecture along the four-mile-long South Main Corridor. Pleasant Paws is one of six projects that has that has gained SMVDD zoning approval.