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29 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,June 13,2019 insidehalton.com Oakville Place Mall will soon be home to a pet daycare but not a pet hotel. The town's planning and de- velopment council voted, during its May 13 meeting, to permit pet- supply retail giant PetSmart's zoning amendment application to move forward after it amend- ed it to remove an overnight boarding component. "The revised application pro- poses to permit pet training and temporary care (daytime) of pets in conjunction with a retail pet supply store on the second floor of the former Sears unit at Oak- ville Place," said town planner Kate Cockburn in a report to council. PetSmart's initial proposal called for zoning changes to per- mit a 3,073-square-foot facility featuring 73 dog rooms and eightfeaturing 73 dog rooms and eightf "kitty cottages." These plans also included pet-grooming facilities and two large playrooms - one capable of holding 34 pets, and the other ca- pable of holding 24 pets. During the April 15 meeting of the town's planning and devel- opment council, town staff raised concerns about Pet- Smart's proposal for the space to serve as a pet hotel where over- night boarding services would be offered. Cockburn pointed out that a licensing bylaw is in place re- quiring businesses that board pets overnight to provide an out- door area where dogs can be tak- en. The bylaw also lists intervals for when dogs at these overnightfor when dogs at these overnightf facilities must be taken outside.facilities must be taken outside.f Because the PetSmart pro- posal had no outdoor amenity space planned, this represented a significant problem; however, with PetSmart now scrapping the overnight boarding compo- nent, town staff saw no need to hold back the proposal. During the May 13 meeting, council recommended the plan's approval to the planning and de- velopment council. Cockburn noted in her report that the plan, as revised, is con- sistent with the Livable Oakville Plan, the provincial govern- ment's growth plan and the re- gional official plan. "It aids in the achievement of complete communities by pro- viding a use compatible with the surrounding commercial and residential area that makes effi- cient use of existing municipal infrastructure and serves the broader regional community," said Cockburn in her report. PetSmart officials have said previously that pets will not en- ter the Oakville Place PetSmart through the mall because the store will have its own exterior entrance. They also said the ventilation for the facility would be com-for the facility would be com-f pletely separate from the mall, and as such, Oakville Place cus- tomers would not be able to smell the dogs and cats. Noise mitigation measures are also being planned to keep the sounds of dogs and cats con- tained to the pet daycare. The Oakville Place PetSmart location is expected to open in the fall of 2019. OAKVILLE PLACE MALL WILL SOON BE HOME TO A PET DAYCARE BUT NOT A PET HOTEL DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS PETSMART SCRAPS PROPOSAL FOR OVERNIGHT BOARDING AT MALL Images from a PetSmart pet hotel promotional video played for Oakville's Planning and Development Council on April 15. PetSmart photos