GAINESVILLE – Hall County canines will soon have a place where they can enjoy day-spa-like treatment while cavorting with like-minded tail-waggers.
The Hall County Commission Thursday evening approved a rezoning request affecting a 1.185-acre tract of land along Friendship Road near Swansey Road to allow for the construction of a 10,000-square foot, climate controlled dog daycare and grooming facility.
Speaking on behalf of the applicant for the rezoning, Senior Planner Chris McCrary of McFarland, Dyer and Associates told commissioners, “They are also going to have cameras where you can watch your dog through the internet any time that you want.”
McCrary said the center of the building will have large skylights, making the indoor exercise area seem more open and natural.
As to the generous size of the facility, McCrary explained, “We are moving what would typically be outside, inside…and that’s a big selling point for people who are going on vacation.”
But the project isn’t just kibbles and bits; the recent widening of Friendship Road has complicated applicant Dane Robertson’s effort to make his longtime vision a reality.
Commissioner Kathy Cooper said, “I drove out there today and I did see the need for what you have to do, and that was because when they did Friendship Road it changed the whole topography there, into a very steep incline. It’s going to be a challenge to do what you need to do.”
McCrary addressed a concern of the commission: would there be noise (barking, howling, etc.) at unpredictable times of the day?
“If there’s anybody that has concerns of noise it’s going to be the owners of the business that live next door,” McCrary said, and the facility will be acoustically constructed.
McCrary said part of the Robertson’s plan for opening the business was the ability to walk to work. “The whole appeal for purchasing this property was to have that ability to live and have their business next door.”
Without any expressions of opposition from the audience, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the rezoning.
“It sounds like a nice place,” Commissioner Billy Powell could be heard saying after the vote to Commissioner Cooper. Cooper joked back; “I might like to stay there!”
STOP SIGNS OKAYED FOR MARTIN ROAD
As part of the Consent Agenda commissioners authorized staff to erect signage for two intersections on Martin Road: a three-way stop at Martin Road and Quailwood Drive, and a four-way stop at Martin Road, Martin Trail and Martin's Crossing.
