Seal Beach planners on Wednesday, May 1, unanimously approved a permit to allow a veterinary hospital to operate inside the Seal Beach PetSmart store.
Hospital management has tentatively planned a grand opening on June 1, according to a staff report by Senior Planner Jerry Olivera and Community Development Director Jim Basham.
Commissioner Patty Campbell had the item removed from the consent calendar.
She said she was concerned about access to the hospital and the possibility that dog owners might not pick up their pets’ droppings.
The PetSmart store is located in the Shops at Rossmoor and is about 400 feet from the nearest residences.
The staff report said notices were sent to property owners and occupants within a 300-foot radius of the PetSmart store.
Planners approved what is called a minor use permit, which the staff report said could be issued in situations that are usually not controversial but still require special consideration.
Technically, there was no public hearing.
However, Planning Commission Chair Sandra Massa-Lavitt offered the public a chance to speak to the commission.
But there was only one person in the audience that night and that individual apparently did not wish to speak.
According to the staff report, the minor use permit won’t allow overnight boarding of pets.
The report said the veterinary company’s policy would be to refer pets that need surgery to other veterinary services.
The hospital would be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. The report said that Medical Management, Inc., doing business as Banfield Pet Hospital, applied for the permit on April 3.
As of April 25, staff had not received any messages from the public concerning the proposed animal hospital.
Banfield Pet Hospital has locations in other PetSmart stores.
The Seal Beach Banfield Pet Hospital would be in a 1,650 square foot area at the rear of the store, separated from the rest of the PetSmart shop.
The staff report said a Banfield Pet Hospital typically has eight to 10 employees, three of them part time employees.
According to the Olivera-Basham report, the main issues with pet hospitals or full service pet stores are noise, odors and incompatibility with the neighborhood.
“Staff has visited other nearby PetSmart locations in Signal Hill and Long Beach that provide a veterinary component and found that at both locations, the issue(s) of noise, odors, and incompatibility were non-existent,” the report said.
Commissioner Campbell said if there were access to the store in the back, people would walk their dogs. Campbell was concerned that people might not pick up after the dogs. Campbell said it was a public health issue.
In response to Commissioner Campbell’s concerns, Olivera said that access to the Banfield Pet Hospital would be inside the store.
Olivera also said that it was a violation of the Seal Beach Municipal Code to not pick up a dog’s waste and staff would be able to do something about it if that happened. Basham said city staff would have PetSmart post reminders to their customers about picking up after their pets.
By law, the public has 10 days, starting Thursday, May 2, to appeal the commission’s decision to approve the permit.
In other news, planners are expected to look at amendments to the city code concerning massage businesses on June 5.
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