A veterinary clinic will soon set up shop at a Boulevard location which has served an auto repair center for many decades.
The Hasbrouck Heights Zoning Board of Adjustment granted approval July 25 to local veterinarian Dr. Mia Frezzo who plans to renovate the building into a veterinary clinic which will cater to the medical treatment of small animals - mainly cats and dogs.
The recent hearing - originally planned for August but pushed up a month by request of the applicant - picked up from where it left off in June with testimony focused on some minor changes to the plans.
As neighboring property owners and Board members expressed concern previously about where trash and animal waste would be stored it was agreed that the dumpster outside the property for regular trash would be located 15 feet from the neighboring property. It was agreed that animal waste would be stored inside the building.
Changes to the plans also included moving the air conditioner and generator closer to the clinic building by reducing some of the proposed space for the outside dog run at the back of the property.
The center would operate six days a week - Monday to Saturday - operating from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Roger VeNiscia, the project's planner, testified that the 14 proposed spaces, which includes one handicapped space, is ample enough to accommodate staff members and patients with enough of a cushion leftover to accommodate if there were more than 3 patients at the clinic at one time. He claimed the clinic would see 3 patients per hour.
The center would have a boarding area restricted only to special needs patients who need to stay overnight for medical supervision for those who just had surgery or need to be monitored such as a diabetic pet in need of insulin while its owners are away. The number of cages in the boarding area for dogs was reduced to 10.
The clinic will be located on the Boulevard between Division and Walter avenues.
Click to see related story - Vet Seeks to Make Heights Home for New Clinic
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