P&Z Vote Postponed On Proposed Fairfield Dog Hotel & Hospital

FAIRFIELD, CT — An expected vote on the proposed Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel in Fairfield was delayed at the 11th hour Tuesday night after two members of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission were unable to attend the hearing.

Commissioners Daniel Ford and Steven Levy were absent and requested the postponement, citing a desire for more time to go over the voluminous amount of materials and correspondence related to the proposal. The commission unanimously approved the delay during Tuesday's hearing.

The next Plan and Zoning Commission meeting is scheduled for April 25.

About two-dozen residents who oppose the veterinary proposal were in attendance Tuesday night, and they left the hearing upset at the delay. The commission has held six public hearings on the proposal.

"We are extremely disappointed by tonight's delay," Don Hyman, spokesperson for the Alliance to Preserve Peaceful Fairfield Neighborhoods, told Patch. The alliance is a grassroots group that opposes the proposal. "But we'll be at the next hearing."

During Tuesday's meeting, though commission Chair Thomas Noonan and other commissioners apologized to the crowd for the last-minute delay, residents angrily shouted that the postponement was not fair, and that the commission has had ample time to come to a decision.

The proposal calls for Spot On to open a facility that can house more than 70 dogs overnight at a site that once held a Hyundai dealership on the Post Road in Southport.

Dr. Philip Putter, owner of Spot On, which has a similar facility in Stamford, has made multiple changes to the Fairfield proposal to appease neighbors who worry about noise and odors, but opposition remains.

Neither Putter nor his representatives were at Tuesday's hearing.

"This has been one of the longest hearings we've been through," said Commissioner Kathryn Braun, adding that she agreed that more time was needed to review all the material related to the proposal.