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Dog hotel won't be opening in planned Southie location after all, but will emerge nearby
By adamg on Sun, 09/12/2010 - 9:03am
Fenway Bark has thrown in the towel and canceled plans to open in an abandoned printing plant on E. 1st Street. But instead it will open an even larger location nearby, owner Jane Fulton writes.
Scarred by endless battles with city officials (only the zoning board sided with her) and angry neighbors (complete with lawsuit), Fulton isn't saying yet where local dogs will go for massage therapy and poolside lounging, but adds:
Although we will still be within walking distance, is is likely that most people will drive simply because it isn't around the corner from people's homes. The NIMBYS want less traffic and yet prevent businesses from opening within walking distance.
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Comments
WOOF!
I understand the bitterness of the proponent of the dog kennel. The fact of the matter is that the abutters overwhelmingly opposed this. These people include a large number of new comers to the neighborhood. It's not just 'The Old Guard' NIMBY's that so many posters seem to have a problem with. I read her blog and it looks like she has an alternative location. There is a problem with dogs and their owners here about. This conflict has carried over into this dispute. i wouldn't want a kennel next door to me either. WOOF! WOOF!
Still, seems NIMBYish
I personally think that a dog spa and dog playgroups and whatnot is stupid, but this is a free market economy. I wouldn't mind if this moved in next to me (if I had moved onto a street that permitted commercial properties), provided they agreed to appropriate soundproofing, giving animals enough space between each other, etc. It wouldn't be any different than having a few neighbors with dogs, which isn't something we can make go away by complaining to a board.
Yes, because Southie is so....genteel
I'm sure if I had to choose living next door to a dog spa and living next door to say..Kelly's or the L Street Tavern, I'd take the dogs. At least dogs instinctively piss on the side of a building, and dogs are infinitely more careful with where they throw their cigarette butts.
not to mention the dog park
not to mention the dog park was slated for a pretty commercial / industrial area.
The housing down there is literally right on the edge of the industrial district. There's a reason 50K was knocked off you "luxury" triple decker condo or huge condo project people.
Deal with it.
Hell, the bus depot and repair facility just a few feet away is probably much more disruptive.
The worst part about living
The worst part about living in or near a building or block with a high concentration of dogs is the overwhelming stench of dog urine that comes from the constant soaking of the sidewalk and small patches of grass / gardens. The smell never seems to go away. I don't blame the residents one bit.
City neighborhoods are made up of a mix of residential and commercial property and there's nothing wrong with a little NIMBYism on the part of the residents. I'm sure there are plenty of places that would welcome a dog kennel, as eeka mentioned she wouldn't mind at at all, -- these neighbors however do.
The best part....
Your property values are directly proportional to the voluminous amount of dog feces.
Classic Example
Of why the area is so stagnant. Who the hell wants to build anything or open a small business here if this is what they can expect? It pretty much ensures that we get vacant lots - or holes in the ground courtesy of deep-pockets cronies.
If the zoning says you can build something in a certain location, that should be pretty much the end of it.
If you don't like the idea of what might be built someplace CHANGE THE FARKING ZONING! That's what my dad and his neighbors did - oh, but that takes forethought, imagination, and organizing? Perish the thought when somebody can catapult to city council on the lawsuit and "controversy" and there's treats to be extorted with delays!
All zoning seems to mean here is "just TRY to build something as of right and we WILL screw you over BIG TIME" - unless you have deep pockets and can make all the "concessions" er ... payoffs. Why even bother with zoning in the first place if it isn't some guarantee that you can actually, you know, build something there?
"If the zoning says you can
"If the zoning says you can build something in a certain location, that should be pretty much the end of it." That is pretty much the end of it. I don't live in the area and haven't really been following the proceedings but the fact that this business went before the zoning board is an indication that they were not proposing something they could build as of right. There is a misperception out there that objecting neighbors can easily keep people from building things which zoning allows. That almost never happens. In fact, the Boston Board of Appeal regularly approves projects which require variances from zoning requirements, regardless of the objections of neighbors.
zoning
Hi Theresa, The underlying zoning has kennel "as of right" because the existing zoning is M1. The IPOD, or "interim planning overlay district", which was intended as a 11 month interim zoning is now asking for an extension into its 12th year. The IPOD zoning, or Article 27p, says that any change of use in the IPOD has to go through the zoning board which takes months. In the case of Fenway Bark, the Inspectional Services Department advised my zoning attorney that the property was NOT in the IPOD and was an "as of right" and that is why, when we applied through Inspectional Services, they granted the permit in October 2009. We, the owners, and our attorneys were told on 4 occasions by Inspectional Services that it was "as of right" and they memorialized that positioned by providing a permit. Since they are the ultimate authority on zoning in the City of Boston, there would be no reason for us or our lawyers to question their input. I hope that clarifies what happened.