A new pet training business will have to provide four off-street parking spaces for its customers as one condition for it to operate on Fairford Street West.
During its June 29 regular meeting, city council approved a discretionary use application from business owner Derek Snow to open No Dog Left Behind Training and Behaviour Consulting Limited at 3-710 Fairford Street West. The business will train dogs and be an animal daycare.
This property is zoned M2f2 — heavy industrial district (flood fringe overlay), which lists “pet training” as a discretionary use, according to a council report. City hall allows pet training in the C2 — high-density commercial district, which has limited space to accommodate the proposed business. Pet training is discretionary use in the C1, C3, M1 and M2 districts.
The zoning bylaw requires one parking space per 100 square metres of floor area for the pet training land use, which means four off-street parking spots would be required here, Jim Dixon, economic development manager, told council. Four parking spaces exist at the front of the property, but they are located within a municipal right-of-way and cannot be used to meet the off-street parking requirement.
However, he received an email from Snow before the council meeting, saying there are four parking stalls on the adjacent property of the person who owns the building. Therefore, city administration recommended that council approved this application.
The zoning bylaw lays out four criteria for the review of a discretionary use application, the report explained.
For example, the application must conform to the Official Community Plan (OCP), detailed land use, servicing, or renewal studies. The OCP’s future land use map designates this area as future light industrial.
“City policy recognizes that the central nature of this location will lead to a gradual transition away from heavy industrial to light industrial use,” the report continued.
Heavy industrial operations that produce nuisances would likely choose to locate away from populated areas and toward the fringes of the municipality. The creation of the Moose Jaw Agri-Food Industrial park could offer a better option for operations with larger land and servicing requirements.
The second criterion looks at the demand for the proposed use and supply of land currently available to accommodate. City administration noted this business would require larger space requirements than might be available in commercial zones. Pet boarding kennels already exist in this area.
The third criterion discusses the effect on existing community infrastructure, such as roadways, transit or servicing. City administration doesn’t believe the application would require extra infrastructure. However, as the area transitions to more commercial businesses, there could be an effect on municipal infrastructure.
Some businesses here have already asked city hall to install sidewalks in front of their properties to accommodate the public, the report said. If the area becomes more commercialized, it might become necessary to install pedestrian infrastructure for public safety, which city hall could do as a local improvement project.
The last criterion is the effect of the business on the adjacent land use and development. The report noted that a contractor’s office and heavy industrial operations occupy the adjacent areas, along with some commercial operations. City hall has received no complaints during the last few years about any nuisance or land-use conflicts in this area.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 13.
