PetSuites Resort Denied License By Hoover Council

HOOVER, AL - Although the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission finally - after two delays - gave the go-ahead for a new pet grooming, boarding and training facility to open in Hoover, the Hoover City Council this week denied PetSuites a business license.

The PetSuites Resort would have 140 pet suites and could hold up to 182 dogs when dogs from the same family share a suite. Each suite would have a TV and raised beds with cushions for the dogs, with solid walls between the suites so dogs that are not from the same family would not see each other, according to the developer.

The council voted unanimously to deny the request by PetSuites, according to a report by the Hoover Sun. Residents on Pine Rock Lane, which is next to the vacant property where the pet facility was proposed, said they were concerned about noise from barking dogs, the smell of pet waste and the potential for their property values to decline due to being next to a dog boarding facility.

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The outdoor play area would have been situated on the side of the building closer to John Hawkins Parkway, allowing the building to serve as a sound barrier, and PetSuites Resort had proposed extensive tree plantings to add to the buffer. Also, no animals would have been allowed outside after sunset or before sunrise, and the facility was to have an odor control and sanitation program and a system that kept animal waste from draining into the storm water sewer system or leaching into the soil and groundwater, according to the report.

However, despite the council saying they appreciated the measures taken by the business owners, Councilman Mike Shaw said he called 12 businesses near other PetSuites Resorts around the country and asked the people there if they heard dogs barking. Nine said yes, and seven said it was enough to bother them and that they would not want to live next to such a facility, according to Shaw.

Councilman Curt Posey said if PetSuites had proposed this development on a different piece of property, there might have been a different result.

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