A special use permit was recently approved for a small animal day care business north of the U.S. Highway 60 Superstition Freeway on the east side of South Stapley Drive in Mesa.
The Mesa Board of Adjustment on March 1 voted unanimously in a consent agenda with other items to approve the permit for Desert Pups in the limited commercial zoning district. Board members Adam Gunderson and Heath Reed were absent.
A 2,223-square-foot indoor dog day care business is planned. The zoning ordinance requires that it be an enclosed sound-attenuated facility, Staff Planner Emily Johnson said at a study session prior to the meeting.
“In the future the applicant also plans to have an outdoor dog area where they will be required to go through an administrative review,” she said.
Chris Ford of 4Line Studio LLC is the applicant. Stapley at 60 Investors LLC is the owner.
Suites 27 and 28 at 1455 S. Stapley Drive are to be converted to the dog day care facility. There will be a 24-hour security camera with a live feed to a website where owners can log in and check on their pups, according to a written project narrative.
“The only new work being proposed as part of this project, other than the change of use, is to install a new dog-washing station within suite 27 and install a new exterior enclosure to be used as a dog run on the backside of suite 28,” it states. “The intent of the day care facility is to utilize the indoor spaces as the primary areas of containment for the dogs. The majority of the suite walls are exterior (concrete masonry unit) providing excellent sound attenuation and all interior common walls will be lined with a secondary sound attenuating wall assembly at the time that adjacent suites are occupied per the building owner’s direction.”
The outdoor area is being proposed in a space that borders the freeway, according to the narrative.
“For the outdoor area, noise should not be an issue due to us being the furthest away from other businesses and their entrances. Nonetheless, we are working on plans on how to construct an outdoor area to help minimize the barking by basing our plans on how freeways are structured to help reduce their noise,” it states.
The seven-member Mesa Board of Adjustment conducts public meetings to hear and decide requests for variances, special-use permits and interpretations of the city of Mesa zoning ordinance and sign code. Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years, according to the city’s website.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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