Hoover zoning board postpones vote on PetSuites Resort for 2nd time

The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission tonight for the second month in a row held off on voting on a plan to put a 14,240-square-foot pet grooming, nutrition and boarding facility on 2 acres along John Hawkins Parkway.

NVA Pet Resorts wants to put its first Alabama PetSuites Resort on property between the CVS near Shades Crest Road and the office building holding a UAB medical clinic. But residents along nearby Pine Rock Lane are concerned about noise from barking dogs, the appearance of the facility and odors from pet waste.

After hearing a presentation from the property developer and questions from residents, Planning Commission Chairman Mike Wood suggested the developer might want to seek a second continuance. That will allow city officials time to review a noise study submitted today by the developer, and give the developer more time to try to address concerns expressed by residents and planning commissioners.

The developer agreed to seek another continuance, so the case will be heard again on Sept. 10.

Wood said he thinks a PetSuites Resort is a great idea for Hoover, but he doesn’t want to approve something that might cause problems for nearby residents.

“The noise is a huge deal,” Wood said.

Mack Johnson, director of development for NVA Pet Resorts, said the PetSuites Resort his company wants to build would have 140 pet suites and could hold up to 182 dogs when dogs from the same family share a suite.

Each suite would have a TV and raised beds with cushions for the dogs, with solid walls between the suites so dogs that are not from the same family would not see each other, said Charlie Beavers, an attorney representing NVA Pet Resorts and the developer.

“It’s quite a remarkable facility, and it’s targeted for people who want their pets to be treated extremely well,” Beavers said.

A noise study conducted by Spectrum Environmental Services indicates that the pet resort will not be a noise problem for neighbors, Beavers said. The study examined a similar PetSuites Resort facility in Roswell, Georgia, and found the level of noise from the dogs is equivalent to the ambient noise in the area, he said.

Neighbors will be able to hear some barking when dogs come out to play in the daytime, but the noise should not be greater than other surrounding noises, such as traffic on John Hawkins Parkway, he said.

Plans show the outdoor play area positioned on the side of the building that faces John Hawkins Parkway, away from the residents, and a smaller area on another side where Johnson said 16 to 17 dogs will be allowed to go outside in partitioned areas for “potty breaks.”

The developer plans to plant a mixture of evergreen and pine trees to help strengthen the buffer between the pet resort and neighbors, said John Rasmussen, an engineer with Gonzalez, Strength & Associates. That should serve as both a visual and sound buffer, Beavers said.

Noise should not be a problem at night because dogs will be kept inside between about 8:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., Johnson said. Employees also leave at night, Beavers said.

“This is basically going to be shut down in the evenings before everybody goes to bed,” Beavers said.

Mike Shaw, a Hoover councilman who sits on the Planning and Zoning Commission, said he continues to have concerns with the developer’s request to use metal siding on most of the exterior of the building.

Mike Leonard, the chief operating officer for Hogan Real Estate, which is developing the site, explained the materials being used and said they should give the building a modern look.

Shaw said he appreciates that the material being used may be an upscale version of metal siding, “but most of what the public is going to see is a big metal building,” he said. “It starts to take on the character of a big warehouse. I don’t see how we get around that.”

Leonard said the trees that will be planted around the building will block most of the view, and there also is a 6-foot vinyl fence on the side of the building facing John Hawkins Parkway.

One resident who said he moved to Pine Rock Lane about five weeks ago said he has always been impressed with the design standards in Hoover and finds it staggering that city officials would even consider letting something of this scale go next to homes. He doesn’t think they would want it next to their homes, he said.

Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice, who also sits on the zoning board, said he thinks there will be strong demand for a business like PetSuites Resort in Hoover, but he will have a hard time approving it at this location with the current design submitted.

In other business tonight, the Planning and Zoning Commission:

• Approved preliminary plans for 54 residential lots in the fourth phase of the Blackridge subdivision being built by Signature Homes at the end of Stadium Trace Parkway.
• Approved final plans for 51 residential lots and two commercial lots being built by Signature Homes in the third phase of the Lake Wilborn section of Trace Crossings.
• Approved plans for a clubhouse, garden shed, pavilion, parking area, lawn and sidewalks to be built by Signature Homes in the Abingdon section of Trace Crossings.
• Agreed to recommend the City Council rezone 7 acres owned by Brook Highland Community Church, now known as St. John’s Community Church, at 7160 Cahaba Valley Road, from a Shelby County agricultural zone to a Hoover C-2 community business district. The property was recently annexed by Hoover.
• Approved a new standard for fire hydrants in Hoover to make fire hose connections easier and safer.
• Continued a request to allow for expansion of a parking lot on 1.2 acres at Chase Corporate Center at 1834 Montgomery Highway to service a building now occupied by a St. Vincent’s health clinic, Winonah School of Cosmetology and Pure Barre fitness center. The request now will be heard on Sept. 10.