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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes – Wednesday, November 03, 2010 Page 2 Staff recommended approval of the proposed INTERIM USE for a dog daycare 48 and boarding use at 1430 County Road C, as an INTERIM USE, pursuant to City 49 Code, Section 1013.09 (Interim Uses); based on the comments and findings of 50 Sections 4-6, and the conditions of Section 7 of the staff report dated November 51 3, 2010. Staff noted that one of those conditions (Condition J) was for a five (5)- 52 year Interim Use, at which time the applicants were open to applying for a new or 53 renewed approval. 54 Discussion among Commissioners and staff included the subjective nature in the 55 Design Review Committee’s (DRC’s) review of the barking component and their 56 consensus that it can be mitigated; odor neutralizing bags for disposal of solid 57 dog waste stored inside until trash pick up day; the sense of order observed by 58 staff in their tour of similar facilities; location of suites for dogs in solitary for a day 59 or for long-term boarding with dry wall separations, and location of that portion of 60 the business in the building. 61 Mr. Lloyd noted that staff s only concern for potential noise was if it was found 62 that the wooden ceiling needed more insulation; which led to adding the condition 63 for approval that the applicant would provide for additional soundproofing 64 between the wood ceiling and the rubber and pea gravel outer roofing if noise 65 issues become apparent during day-to-day operations. 66 Staff duly noted Chair Doherty’s comment for the need to revise language of 67 Condition G in Section 7 of the report to: “The outdoor activity area shall not be 68 used for recreational purposes after [between] 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.” 69 Further discussion included pending information from the City of St. Paul staff for 70 their licensing and experience with similar facilities, with staff noting that they will 71 continue their due diligence between this meeting and City Council consideration; 72 confirmation that overnight boarding of dogs will be inside only; clarification of the 73 condition requiring that water runoff from yard cleanings be required to drain into 74 a rain garden for treatment, rather than directly into the sanitary sewer system, 75 with staff advising that there was no support from Planning staff or the DRC for 76 direct flushing into the storm sewer system as referenced in a previous e-mail 77 from a concerned resident. 78 Additional discussion included any future expansion of the business in the facility, 79 with staff advising that, other than for the noise issues and other internal items 80 permitted, future expansion indoors was not applicable to land use consideration 81 or approval, as the application pertained to daycare use or overnight boarding, 82 and if the property owner was interested in allowing the tenant to expand, the 83 only concern would be the outdoor area, currently confined to that area 84 presented for approval. 85 Applicants, Angie Decker and Kristen Cici, Proprietors of The Woof Room 86 The applicants responded to various questions of the Commission, including 87 encouraging their dogs to use indoor litter boxes lined with wood chips to absorb 88 urine, and thereby limiting outdoor urination; mitigation for urine and subsequent 89 clean-up outside during winter months when the ground is frozen; any solid 90 waste immediately bagged; with outdoor areas cleaned with environmentally-safe 91 cleanser whenever possible, with snow scooped up during winter months and 92 bagged for trash; with normal cleansing operations followed anytime the weather 93 is above freezing and allowable. 94 Further discussion among the applicants and Commissioners included overnight 95 stays for dogs, with a night time routine for hotel suites through use of monitoring 96 cameras and an alarm system, with no staff on site after 10:00 p.m. except in 97 cases of inclement weather that may upset the dogs; and the evaluation period 98 when owners leave their dogs for two (2) hours in the new environment used for 99 new clients to determine the dogs’ temperaments and whether they experience 100