Written by the reviewer from the ASR + docket; [verbatim-ASR] = quoted machine transcript; [paraphrase] = reviewer's wording, not a quote.
0:00 All right, so I'll call the March 2nd, 2026 meeting
0:05 of the Housing Planning and Development Committee to order.
0:08 We have three items on the agenda today.
0:11 The first is the approval of the minutes
0:13 from the February 17th, 2026
0:15 Housing Planning and Development Committee.
0:20 So moved for approval.
0:29 The next two items are related.
0:32 The first is communication from Assistant Director Boss
0:35 regarding proposed code amendment
0:37 regards to pet grooming services.
0:39 So first I will make a motion to receive
0:41 and file the communication.
0:49 The second item is ordinance 39-2025
0:52 and I will turn it over to Assistant Director Boss
0:55 and the Planning Department to walk us through.
0:58 Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of council.
1:01 As I run through this proposed code amendment,
1:04 here hopefully it won't take too long.
1:06 I believe it's pretty straightforward.
1:09 This is one of, we've had a handful
1:12 over the last couple of years
1:14 of just small conditional use recommended code changes.
1:19 Understanding that we have a larger code refresh
1:23 that's underway, shooting to wrap that up
1:26 by the end of the year.
1:28 This is just, it's a good example
1:30 of kind of a small item that will be get requests
1:33 that have come up a couple of times
1:35 that we've had to work through.
1:38 Basic, trying to help business stay in Lakewood.
1:42 And I think the pet grooming has come up
1:44 two or three times in the last two years.
1:46 Recognize the differences that I'll walk you through
1:50 in terms of what we're asking to amend.
1:53 So this was sent up to council in November,
1:58 referred to the Planning Commission.
2:00 We reviewed it with Planning Commission
2:01 back in, or last month in February.
2:05 I put the kind of the draft minutes from the February
2:08 since we haven't approved those yet at the March meeting.
2:11 But there's basically those three areas
2:14 that we're asking to change
2:16 in terms of the code relating to pet grooming.
2:19 Schedule 112902, which is the broader permitted uses
2:23 in commercial districts.
2:25 That's where you see the P for permitted,
2:28 the C for conditional, or blank for not permitted at all.
2:33 Across all uses in the commercial districts,
2:36 1129.18 would be a new section for,
2:41 there are a couple of other preceding sections
2:44 of supplemental regulations.
2:45 This would be a new section
2:48 to add supplemental regulations
2:50 specific to pet grooming itself.
2:52 And then section 116103,
2:56 these are the supplemental regulations
2:59 for all conditional uses.
3:00 I think there's like,
3:01 there's almost 30 different individual kind of uses
3:04 that have additional regulations that go with them
3:08 when they are being considered for a conditional use.
3:12 And animal clinics, pet grooming,
3:17 kind of carry the same supplemental regulations
3:19 that were reviewed here.
3:22 But what, just to highlight there in red,
3:25 what came out of the Planning Commission review of this
3:28 was that they wanted to make sure
3:29 that we either defined and or covered the difference
3:32 between pet grooming and pet daycare services.
3:36 And so I will talk through that a little bit.
3:40 I feel like we had that discussion.
3:42 I wasn't necessarily prepared to answer that question
3:44 at Planning Commission, but I've thought through it
3:46 since then, gone back to the Ohio revised code.
3:49 And I feel like the amendment covers it,
3:51 and so I will try to explain that as best I can.
3:55 This is how those kind of individual sections
3:58 that I outlined exist today.
4:01 And so schedule 112902 there at the top.
4:05 This is just a portion, obviously,
4:06 of that whole table that goes through
4:09 all of the different uses.
4:11 And so under the header of other retail services,
4:15 you've got three kind of pet-related items.
4:18 There's animal clinics and hospitals,
4:21 veterinarian offices, and then grooming services.
4:24 They're all treated the same right now,
4:26 so they're not allowed in C1.
4:28 In C2, they're all conditional,
4:30 and so they would have to go through
4:32 Planning Commission to seek approval
4:35 to have one of those in a C2-districted property.
4:39 In C3, they're all permitted,
4:41 so you don't have to get any zoning approvals.
4:44 You can just have your pet grooming
4:46 or your animal clinic in a C3-district property.
4:51 And then there's conditional use for public school.
4:55 So when someone comes and applies
4:57 to have an animal clinic, a hospital,
4:59 or a grooming service in a C2-districted property,
5:05 they're supposed to meet these three regulations.
5:09 These are under 11-6103.
5:11 These are the supplemental regulations for those uses.
5:14 Not all conditional uses have supplemental regulations.
5:17 Some, they just go under 11-610, I think it's 02.
5:25 There are what's called the general conditions,
5:27 and those are just, they apply to all conditional uses
5:30 regardless of what they are.
5:31 It's not harmful to adjacent properties.
5:34 It's not gonna impede further development
5:35 according to the code.
5:37 They're general standards that everybody has to abide by,
5:40 and that in the absence of any other regulations,
5:43 what Planning Commission uses to guide their review.
5:46 Some uses like these have additional regulations
5:49 that are levied on them that they're supposed to meet.
5:53 So these were passed back in 1996,
5:56 so arguably they're a little dated.
5:59 We see that a lot, obviously with our codes,
6:00 while we're doing the refresh,
6:01 a lot of code is kind of from that timeframe.
6:05 But the two main things that we have
6:07 have had consistent issues with
6:09 is the requirement for four off-street parking spaces
6:13 for every veterinarian or groomer
6:15 practicing at that location.
6:17 That's pretty arduous for any business
6:21 to have four off-street spaces
6:24 for every point of sale or service within that building.
6:28 That's always an issue,
6:29 especially in our smaller,
6:31 groomers tend to be smaller businesses.
6:33 They fall into those,
6:34 like the 2,500-square-foot or smaller storefront spaces,
6:37 more retail-oriented,
6:39 and oftentimes they cannot provide off-street parking.
6:43 So it raises an issue.
6:46 Everyone typically understands
6:47 that no outside runs, stalls, or cages
6:49 shall be permitted, especially for groomers.
6:52 That's not necessarily a requirement of their business.
6:54 We'll talk about boarding in a little bit,
6:56 because then that typically comes in for boarding.
7:00 And then the last one is very difficult,
7:01 is that the proposed use shall not be located
7:04 in any structure housing or residential use.
7:06 And so anywhere on Detroit and Madison,
7:08 in most mixed-use retail buildings,
7:11 you will find smaller retail storefronts
7:15 that groomers tend to wanna fit into,
7:18 and then a residential use above them.
7:20 And so most grooming businesses
7:22 have two strikes against them
7:24 when they're trying to come in
7:25 and trying to find somewhere
7:27 on Detroit or Madison to locate.
7:29 It's very difficult.
7:31 And so I kinda talk through them,
7:32 but the three key issues that we've had,
7:34 specific to grooming services,
7:37 because people in Lakewood like their dogs.
7:39 They like them groomed.
7:41 And it has been something that's been popular.
7:45 we've seen a lot of these, I will say.
7:49 As someone, a layperson or a groomer
7:51 is looking for a business location,
7:53 there is really no discernible difference
7:55 between C2 and C3 retail storefronts,
7:58 rather than trying to show them a map
8:01 and showing the interspersed kind of nature
8:04 of C2 and C3 in our zoning map.
8:08 Sometimes you would expect how we have C1
8:11 kind of in the heart of the city.
8:13 You would then maybe expect C2 to be next,
8:15 and then C3 to be on the outside of the city
8:17 and in a typical kind of zoning intensity.
8:20 We have interspersed groups of C2 and C3 locations,
8:26 so it can be frustrating for someone
8:28 trying to find that C2 parcel or a C3 parcel in there.
8:34 The prohibition on residential retail
8:36 kind of goes counter to our community vision
8:38 in that trying to enhance and promote mixed use.
8:43 And then that parking requirement,
8:45 just generally in terms of applying our parking code,
8:47 it appears fairly arbitrary.
8:49 It vastly exceeds any other retail use
8:51 or similar business model that's out there.
8:55 So what we did when we took a look at this,
8:59 there's kind of four main things
9:00 that I'll walk through here in terms of this amendment.
9:03 So we looked at permitting pet grooming itself.
9:07 We viewed, in terms of those existing uses,
9:10 animal clinics, hospitals, veterinarian offices,
9:12 they carry specific requirements and intensities,
9:16 don't necessarily disagree
9:17 with the way that they're laid out now.
9:20 But grooming, we kind of came to understand
9:23 and recognize that as a less intense,
9:25 it's more of a retail use in terms of its turnover,
9:30 the customer base, the time that an animal spends
9:34 in that area and the size of the retail spaces
9:38 and the intensity of the use is more akin
9:41 to another similar retail size business.
9:47 So we're trying to address that kind of inconsistency
9:50 of when you look at,
9:51 like the example here is Bonnevue in the upper right.
9:55 It's C3 on the right, C2 on the left.
10:00 Try to explain to a dog groomer
10:01 who's trying to find a storefront,
10:03 like, what's the difference?
10:04 And like, so I get that point.
10:08 So we're trying to make it easier
10:09 for pet groomers to find a location in Lakewood.
10:13 The second thing is our current code
10:14 does not delineate pet boarding.
10:17 And so we have pet boarding businesses that are there.
10:22 And I felt like this was an important thing
10:23 to kind of build in because pet boarding
10:26 is one of the few pet businesses
10:28 that is regulated by Ohio state code under ORC 956.
10:33 It actually, it talks about the regulation
10:35 and licensing of dog kennels.
10:37 In our research, we recognize that pet boarding
10:40 is a more intense use than grooming.
10:43 And so we wanted to kind of delineate,
10:45 differentiate between those two.
10:48 The duration that an animal spends in a building,
10:50 duration typically, you can draw that kind of correlation
10:54 to noise, odors, the requirement for pet exercise,
10:59 and all the other things that come
11:01 when the longer an animal spends in a space
11:04 that's not their home.
11:06 So it is a more intensive use.
11:09 We would recommend that pet boarding be kind of
11:12 set aside as a separate use.
11:14 It's not in the use table right now.
11:16 It's not in the schedule.
11:18 And that it would remain conditional in C2,
11:23 We have pet boarding in C3 right now,
11:25 on what, like the, I think it's the dog inn
11:29 or whatever on West 117th, so businesses in that,
11:32 the higher, more intense C3 district
11:36 is probably appropriate.
11:37 To go back to the planning commission discussion,
11:39 what about a daycare, a doggy daycare
11:42 or a pet daycare that doesn't have an overnight use?
11:45 So the Ohio Revised Code does not define
11:50 or delineate a kennel or a boarding business
11:56 So it is based on the use itself,
11:59 no matter if the animal's there for a couple hours
12:01 or it's there overnight.
12:03 I didn't know that when we had the discussion
12:04 with planning commission.
12:08 So I'm comfortable recommending that we leave
12:11 the amendment as it is and we treat any boarding,
12:15 if it's doggy daycare for a couple hours
12:17 during the day or overnight.
12:20 The intensity, I believe, is still consistent there.
12:22 The dog, if it's dogs there for eight hours
12:25 during a day, it's still gonna need to exercise.
12:27 There's probably still that requirement
12:28 for maybe an outdoor run.
12:31 Those more intensive uses in terms of that
12:34 may correlate to more noise, those types of things,
12:37 than a groomer, the dog's only there
12:40 for maybe an hour or two before dropped off, picked up.
12:47 So based on the planning commission recommendation,
12:49 we would treat the doggy daycare the same
12:52 as any other boarding use.
12:53 That's what I'm recommending.
12:55 And so the general standards,
12:58 so if you had a boarding use that wanted to move
13:00 into a C2 district, we would still have that
13:03 as a conditional use.
13:05 Because of the inherent differences,
13:07 there may be outdoor runs,
13:08 there may be other things that go with that
13:09 for boarding use, and so we would still want that
13:11 to go through planning commission,
13:14 just like a clinic or a vet office
13:16 or something like that.
13:17 But those supplemental regulations
13:19 that we would still recommend that you strike those.
13:22 You take away the parking requirement,
13:24 you take away the prohibition on residential mixed use,
13:28 but obviously the general standards
13:31 are still gonna apply, a review is still gonna happen
13:36 And so the general standards, I believe,
13:38 are adequate to cover the same things
13:42 that the supplemental regulations, I think,
13:43 are kind of targeting.
13:47 The third piece is that to keep grooming separate
13:50 from boarding and daycare,
13:53 we are proposing this a new section of 1129.18.
13:59 So in 1129, which is the commercial district chapter,
14:02 there are a couple of supplemental regulation paragraphs
14:05 kind of thrown at the end.
14:07 So what we did is I kind of took the acceptable portions
14:11 of the old 1161 supplemental regulations.
14:14 If you take away the residential prohibition,
14:16 the parking requirement, I kind of reworded those,
14:20 the main things that have come up consistently
14:22 in planning commission reviews,
14:24 and made those kind of, this is what delineates
14:27 pet grooming from boarding or daycare.
14:30 And that's that no overnight boarding
14:32 or outside animal run stalls or cages shall be permitted.
14:35 And then if it is adjacent to a residential use
14:39 that you provide for adequate ventilation,
14:41 odor control, and soundproofing measures.
14:44 Both of those things have been consistent conditions
14:46 that have come up the last two times
14:48 that groomers have come through planning commission
14:50 with this kind of very awkward conditional use review
14:54 pending a code amendment.
14:58 So, and then the last thing is that the parking
15:01 for all these pet uses, the groomers, the clinics,
15:04 we treat it like any other retail use.
15:06 That four spaces per vet or is just viewed as arduous,
15:12 we would make it, it's also very inconsistent
15:15 with the current parking code.
15:16 Like I said, a groomer moving into a 2,500 square foot
15:20 space would not be required to provide off-street parking
15:23 just like any other retail use.
15:25 Frankly, I don't believe they need it
15:26 with the drop-off pickup nature of their business.
15:30 It's like any other retail use.
15:32 And so we're just trying to make that consistent
15:34 and we would draw that out to a boarding business,
15:38 a vet business, anything.
15:40 You treat them like a vet or like a retail use.
15:42 And so if it's a big boarding business,
15:45 they would require off-street parking.
15:47 they would require off-street parking.
15:49 But if it's typically a boarding and a vet
15:51 is not gonna fit into a 2,500 square foot storefront,
15:55 And so inherently, vets, boarding places,
16:00 those things are gonna have parking requirements.
16:04 So that's how I've kind of delineated it.
16:07 Top-level summary of the language and the details
16:11 in the ordinance itself that go through
16:14 each of those sections.
16:15 The modified 1129.02 schedule
16:20 that then breaks out all those uses to include boarding.
16:26 supplemental regulations for groomers.
16:29 And then the striking of that paragraph from 1161.03,
16:34 basically doing away with those old regulations
16:38 for animal clinics, vet offices,
16:40 and grooming services under a conditional use.
16:44 So pending any discussion or questions,
16:46 hopefully this is referred back to full council
16:48 with a recommendation for approval.
16:51 Thank you, Mr. Boss.
16:52 I appreciate the time putting in this
16:53 just to kind of, this seems like a common sense
16:56 clean up of some of our kind of strange little quirks
16:59 of our zoning code that makes a lot of sense.
17:02 One question I had is not to the grooming part of it,
17:08 but so clinics and animal hospitals oftentimes
17:10 have overnight patients.
17:13 So is that taken into account here?
17:15 So they're treated like a boarding?
17:17 So under the new, the revised schedule of uses,
17:21 like animal clinics, hospital,
17:22 I think I consolidate them all down to one line.
17:25 An animal clinic and a hospital now
17:27 is kind of the same use.
17:29 So they would be conditional,
17:30 just like boarding would be conditional in C2,
17:35 So basically those requirements aren't changing.
17:38 It's just grooming that's,
17:39 that we're becoming more flexible
17:42 doing away with some of those,
17:43 the arduous parking requirements and stuff for the uses.
17:48 Anybody on the committee with questions?
17:50 Councilperson Baker.
17:52 Thank you, Assistant Director Boss.
17:56 reminds me of my time on Planning Commission.
17:58 What I will ask is,
18:01 C1, walk me through that,
18:02 why it's still not permitted there.
18:08 I will say Councilman,
18:09 I think the, our understanding of the data,
18:11 like we're still trying to,
18:13 under the current code,
18:16 without getting too much into the refresh,
18:19 just trying to allow this in C2 as a,
18:23 that's our retail district.
18:27 we felt like probably too much of a stretch right now.
18:33 C1 is basically just the western edge of Madison, right?
18:36 It's downtown is the main,
18:40 that the heart of Lakewood it is.
18:41 I mean, C1 is defined as our office commercial use.
18:44 And so we didn't really want to cross that line
18:48 So why is the area of Madison also C1?
18:51 That is something that I am working to fix
18:52 under the code refresh.
18:56 I don't know who, someone thought that,
18:59 and those on Council have been longer,
19:02 with some history may know,
19:04 when they passed that last zoning map,
19:06 probably 15, 20 years ago,
19:07 they, someone envisioned some growth of office
19:10 on the west end of Madison.
19:12 For whatever reason, I don't know.
19:15 Yeah, I think it was a very aspirational,
19:20 But I think what we will be proposing
19:22 not to get ahead of the coding,
19:24 the code refreshes that,
19:26 that is likely more appropriate as a C2 or a C3 district,
19:29 just based on what's there
19:30 and what we would want to see there in the future.
19:33 Yeah, I ask, cause I know you know,
19:35 because there was a business owner
19:37 that wanted to go into that area.
19:41 And so I'm wondering if,
19:42 did you even consider making it conditional
19:46 you would even allow them to come to Planning Commission
19:49 and make a case for it,
19:51 as opposed to having it restricted and not allowed?
19:58 you could add a C to that district.
20:00 I felt like we're gonna,
20:01 we're gonna correct that,
20:02 I think with the zoning refresh.
20:04 And so I was just trying to keep this simple
20:08 not even like kind of delve into the C1.
20:13 I think there's plenty of C2 and C3 properties right now
20:17 we do have a plan to correct that,
20:19 I think in the next,
20:20 is that eight months,
20:21 six to eight months.
20:22 You wanna let the floodwater go over the top,
20:23 you don't wanna break down the,
20:25 Right now, I think if someone,
20:27 I think if someone wanted to,
20:31 I mean, we would just steer them to a C2, C3 right now
20:34 pending the refresh.
20:39 just trying to stay kind of within the bounds
20:41 of existing districts,
20:43 within, without changing the map,
20:45 which always seems like a huge issue to me,
20:48 is that when you open up the zoning map,
20:50 then there's always lots of other like,
20:52 well, what about this?
20:53 And what about this?
20:54 And what about this?
20:54 And so I'm just trying to keep this kind of laser
20:56 focused on grooming for right now.
20:57 Yeah, that's where a nice little C might help,
20:59 but that's as opposed to a dash.
21:05 not gonna die in the health, so,
21:09 Councilman Bullock.
21:12 That was my question.
21:14 I have it written down already before he said it.
21:17 That was my one shot at looking informed on planning.
21:23 first of all, Dave,
21:24 thank you very much for the thoughtful, detailed work.
21:26 I'd love to get a little bit of an example
21:28 of how this has come up in practice.
21:30 I think the planning department is more in the flow
21:33 than I certainly am of
21:35 store permit traffic.
21:38 It sounds like it's more future businesses
21:40 that wanna locate or looking for spots.
21:43 It was one in the last six months we had,
21:46 I had been working with that business owner
21:48 who was trying to relocate from,
21:50 trying to find something outside of the C1 district
21:53 on the west end of Madison,
21:54 and she was finally able to find a storefront
21:58 and it just so happened that it was
22:00 in the C2 side of Bonnevue
22:01 instead of the C3 side of Bonnevue,
22:05 we had to kind of work her through
22:08 the conditional use process,
22:11 which under the current regulations
22:12 with Planning Commission,
22:13 if you wanted to draw a hard line
22:15 on those supplemental regulations,
22:17 can you provide the parking?
22:19 Is there residential in the building?
22:21 The Planning Commission well within their purview
22:22 could have said no, sorry.
22:26 But they were willing based upon
22:30 kind of my justification
22:33 and having this code amendment drafted and submitted
22:36 that they kind of conditionally approved her
22:40 to move into that location of Bonnevue
22:42 given that this was submitted,
22:45 Super, yeah, that's thoughtful.
22:46 I mean, I certainly support where you're going with that.
22:48 I think you've done some thoughtful
22:49 definitional distinctions
22:51 that has never come up in my experience,
22:53 but I think it would be great
22:54 if more pet grooming services
22:57 might occupy the spaces currently held by vape stores,
23:03 you know, maybe with less bright signage.
23:07 So I'm happy to support it.
23:08 I personally do think that we could
23:10 include a conditional use in C1 now
23:12 and could always revisit it.
23:14 So again, I don't have to insist on it,
23:18 but to me, that section of Madison
23:21 is what I have in mind.
23:23 And even if it wasn't the downtown,
23:24 you know, downtown probably,
23:26 the market rates will correct,
23:28 or if somebody there can afford a premium rent,
23:33 then maybe you let them,
23:34 but that's all I got, thanks.
23:37 Oh, actually, I did wanna ask,
23:38 is there a County Board of Health role at all
23:40 in inspecting or permitting?
23:43 I don't know about the County Councilman.
23:45 I think a lot of this is state licensing.
23:48 Did they get their licenses yet from the state of Ohio?
23:50 I don't know, I don't know what the institution.
23:51 I'll be a little Googling myself, yeah.
23:53 All right, thank you, I appreciate it.
23:56 Any other council members?
24:00 Councilperson Capel.
24:02 Thanks, and thanks, Director Bosford.
24:04 Always a well-prepared presentation.
24:07 I just had a question.
24:08 Any of the ones that have gone in
24:10 where there's residential above,
24:12 because we do have them, right, that they've been,
24:14 have we had any trouble with residents?
24:19 I'm just thinking in terms of,
24:20 since they're most likely renters,
24:22 they're not gonna have control over
24:23 whether that business goes in below
24:25 and then they have allergies
24:27 or the noise or anything like that.
24:29 I know you said that they've had the soundproofing
24:33 Have we had any issues with that at all?
24:35 Not that I'm aware of, just,
24:37 we've worked, I think I've worked two of these
24:41 One of them was an expansion of an existing,
24:46 she got approval and then she didn't end up expanding,
24:48 but that was the, went on like Madison
24:51 and by West 117th or Madison, Elmwood,
24:54 that had been there under numerous names for 20, 25 years.
25:01 No, I couldn't find any.
25:03 I think, I mean most of these businesses
25:04 recognize kind of the location and where they're at
25:06 and the concerns that are there
25:08 and they try to mitigate them as much as possible
25:13 put those supplemental regulations in there
25:14 because it is, they have come up both times
25:17 from planning commission to say
25:18 that there are things you can do
25:20 when you renovate a space
25:21 and so we're asking you to do those things
25:23 to make sure that there aren't any problems.
25:27 Thanks, so just one last clarification
25:30 because I agree with the points
25:32 of my fellow council members about C1.
25:34 Is your expectation that the zoning code refresh
25:37 will address those concerns?
25:40 Yeah, that's the current direction I'm going
25:42 is to eliminate that section of C1
25:44 on the west end of Madison.
25:45 It only makes sense.
25:48 So this is more or less a short-term solution
25:49 to bridge the gap before we adopt it.
25:52 Okay, great, thank you.
25:54 Any other questions or comments from the committee?
25:57 If not, I'll make a motion
25:58 to favorably refer this back to full council.
26:05 There's no more business for this committee.
26:08 We'll start council in about five minutes, thanks.