BACKGROUND:
Recently, the City received an inquiry from a Cathedral City doggie daycare and overnight boarding business concerning a relocation of their business to a property zoned Planned Community Commercial (PCC). The business is currently operating in Cathedral City on Perez Road in an Industrial (I-1) zoning district.
While the PCC zoning district permits animal clinics, which are defined in the code as those businesses where animals or pets are given medical or surgical treatment and where short-term boarding is allowed where it is incidental to the use, dog kennels are a prohibited use. Dog kennels are defined separately from animal clinics to specifically mean:
“Dog kennels” means any lot or premises on which five or more dogs over four months of age are kept or maintained for any purpose or reason.
1. “Commercial dog kennels” means any building, structure, enclosure, or premises whereupon, or within which, five or more dogs are kept or maintained primarily for financial profit for the purpose of boarding, breeding, training, marketing, hire or any other similar purpose.
2. “Noncommercial dog kennels” means any building, structure, enclosure, or premises whereupon, or within which, five or more dogs over four months of age are kept or maintained, but not primarily for financial profit.
The I-1 zoning district allows kennel land uses as a conditional use. Otherwise, the use is prohibited in all other zoning districts, including the PCC zoning district.
The effect of this is that kennels, including doggie daycare businesses, are largely restricted to those industrial zoned properties located off Perez Road north of the wash between Date Palm Drive and the auto dealerships. The use also requires a discretionary conditional use permit in the I-1 zoning district.
DISCUSSION:
In recent years, doggie daycare and overnight boarding uses have emerged stemming from rapid growth in the pet care industry and increased consumer demand for pet services. These uses are distinct from kennels that operated previously in more agricultural or industrial areas through a higher design aesthetic and more boutique and luxury services for both pets and pet owners. It is increasingly common to see doggie daycare land uses located in commercial areas and business parks, both in proximity to where their clients live or work. There are multiple national franchises that demonstrate many of these characteristics, including:
•Camp Bow Wow - https://www.campbowwow.com/
oLocation in Centennial, CO is in a commercial zoning district adjacent to a Walmart
oLocation in Greenwood Village, CO is located within the Denver Tech Center, a major employment center
•Dogtopia - https://www.dogtopia.com/
oLocation in Colorado Springs, CO is located within a shopping center anchored by a Home Depot
oLocation in Cary, NC is located within an inline shopping center oLocation in Overland Park, KS is located within the Corbin Park Retail Village, a mixed-use development with retail, department stores, grocery, and residential
•Houndstown USA - https://houndstownusa.com/
oLocation in Avondale, AZ is located within an inline retail shopping center Centennial, CO is a noteworthy case in the sense that the use is a limited use within their commercial zoning district, meaning that it is a permitted use when specific criteria are met. Those criteria are:
1. For kennels that are more than 300 feet from property that is zoned or used for residential purposes:
a. There are no outdoor dog runs on parcels that are less than one acre in area.
b. Dog runs will be used only during daylight hours.
c. Fences that enclose dog runs are not less than six feet in height, nor higher than the maximum permitted fence height for the underlying zone district.
2. For kennels that are within 300 feet of property that is zoned or used for residential purposes:
a. There are no outdoor dog runs; and
b. The building is soundproofed such that no noise generated by the use is perceptible from the property line.
The primary concerns in Centennial were the proximity of the use to a residential area and the location of any dog runs, both of which were addressed in their zoning code.
In addition to these national examples, there are several local businesses within the Coachella Valley:
•Barkingham Pet Hotel - https://www.pethotelcalifornia.com/ oOn Dinah Shore Drive in Palm Desert, the property is zoned Service Industrial (SI)
•The Village Pup - https://www.thevillagepup.net/
oLocation in Palm Desert is zoned Service Industrial (SI) oLocation in La Quinta is zoned Village Commercial (VC) •Doggie’s Day Out of Palm Springs - https://doggiesdayoutofps.com/ oOn Vella Road in Palm Springs, the property is zoned
Service/Manufacturing (M-1)
These local examples identify that La Quinta, Palm Desert, and Palm Springs consider kennels and doggie daycare in a similar way as Cathedral City. The definition of a kennel is similar to Cathedral City’s definition:
•La Quinta
o"Kennel" means any building, structure, enclosure or premises within which five (5) or more dogs are kept or maintained primarily for financial profit for the purpose of boarding, breeding, training, marketing, hire or any other similar purpose.
•Palm Desert
oKennel. Any lot where four or more dogs or cats over the age of four months are kept or maintained. The term “pet boarding” should be used interchangeably with “kennel.”
•Palm Springs
o“Kennel” means any lot or premises on which four (4) or more dogs or cats at least four (4) months of age, are kept, boarded or trained, whether in special buildings or runways or not.
o“Animal Day Care” means a facility where care, recreation, supervision, and/or training is provided for animals for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours.
Each allows the use, but in more of a business park or industrial zoning district. La Quinta allows kennels as a conditional use in their Commercial Park (CP) and Major Community Facilities (MC) zoning districts. Whereas Cathedral City requires Planning Commission approval of a conditional use permit to establish the use in an I-1 zoning district, Palm Desert requires approval of an administrative use permit by its Zoning Administrator, a process that is meant to streamline the review and approval of uses where some review of the specific impacts of a use is needed but short of a Planning Commission public hearing. Palm Springs permits animal day care as a permitted use in the M-1 zoning district with no discretionary review.
In terms of its options, there are generally three options Cathedral City could consider:
1. Continue to interpret doggie daycare uses as a kennel, a conditional use within the I-1 zoning district, a decision that would generally be consistent with how the use is interpreted in other cities within the Coachella Valley.
2. Modify the use table to remove the conditional use permit requirement from the I- 1 zoning district for a kennel or to create an administrative conditional use permit.
3. Modify the use table to allow a kennel land use as a permitted or conditional use in zone districts other than the I-1, including the PCC zoning district.
With respect to the option to remove the conditional use permit requirement for a kennel in the I-1 zoning district or to create an administrative conditional use permit, staff would suggest this be considered as part of a more comprehensive code amendment as there are other changes that should similarly be evaluated at the same time.
A decision to direct the modification of the use table to allow a kennel land use in a zone district other than the I-1, such as the PCC, should consider the change affects not only the business that has submitted an inquiry to the City but all similarly zoned properties.
As well, there are potential impacts of a kennel land use, including noise, outdoor dog runs, and pet waste, which may create conflicts with other uses in the same zoning district, such as potential conflict between a doggie daycare and a restaurant or other retail use.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Direction to initiate a zoning text amendment would incur staff time for the preparation of an ordinance, writing staff reports, and presenting it to Planning Commission and City Council.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Plan Action F-1: Complete the comprehensive update of the Cathedral City Municipal Code with initial emphasis on Chapter 9 (zoning) and Chapter 5 (business regulations).