Dogs just might be man's best friend — except when they're barking.
At least that was the general sentiment from the Waukesha Plan Commission on June 22, when the panel unanimously voted to table discussion on a proposed doggy day care, in a commercial/industrial area off Sunset Drive, after several commissioners voiced concerns about how the steady din of barking dogs would affect a nearby residential neighborhood.
The vote means the business will be discussed again at an upcoming commission meeting. The next plan commission meeting is scheduled for July 13, but an agenda for that meeting has not been set as of Monday afternoon, June 27.
Pups in 'Paradise'
Owner Lindsey Chiaverotti proposed to house the business, dubbed Doggy Paradise, in the front end of an industrial building at 2510 W. Sunset Drive.
According to planning documents and City Planner Maria Pandazi, the day care would occupy 5,000 square feet of the building, operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and could accommodate up to 40 dogs.
The proposal detailed plans for two large play areas inside and an outdoor play area surrounded by a fence on the west side of the building.
Chiaverotti said dogs would be taken outside in groups of 10 to 15 at roughly 30- to 45-minute intervals.
Taking bite out of plan
However, without changes to the original proposal, the project likely will not receive the commission's approval.
Several commissioners — Aaron Hall, Peter Bartels and R.G. Keller — told Chiaverotti that they would not vote to approve a conditional-use permit for the day care if the plans for it don't change.
The panel's members were uncomfortable with several aspects of the proposal.
Keller said keeping that number of dogs outside at the same time would likely turn into a 'pack riot.'
Mayor Shawn Reilly, the commission's chairman, also had reservations about the project, given the residential subdivision located directly across Sunset Drive.
'I'm concerned about how close you are to the neighbors here,' Reilly said, referring to the roughly 200-foot space between the proposed day care and a residential neighborhood.
Pandazi suggested limiting the hours that dogs would be allowed outside, and Reilly said he would support that.
Chiaverotti told the commission the outdoor play area was not set in stone.
'The outdoor area was just a proposed area,' she said. 'Some doggy day cares don't even have an outdoor area, so we thought it was a good idea to amplify that for our program.'
But she added that she would at least like to be able to offer personalized dog walks to her customers.
'You hate to have (the dogs) cooped up all day, so we're trying to get them outside just a little bit,' she said.
Other suggested changes
Commissioners did offer Chiaverotti advice on how to proceed with her proposal in ways that could possibly secure a future approval.
'If there was another place you could go that wasn't so close to the neighbors, I'd be much more interested in that,' Reilly said.
'If you can look for places that are much deeper into an industrial park, it'll be much easier to say, 'Yeah, have the dogs outside, have boarding,'' Reilly later added.
'There's no question there's a need for the service,' he continued, 'I just want to put it in a place where it's not going to bother residents.'
Commissioner Joan Francoeur said, 'If you could explore some of the suggestions that were made and come back with a final approach, that might be more successful.'