The Oceanside Animal Hospital is looking to expand, adding to their surgical and post surgery services.
To expedite the application, Parksville city staff are processing separate development permit and development variance permit applications concurrently and recommend council start the public notice process.
The addition to the building on Memorial Avenue in Parksville would accommodate post-operative care services including an indoor hydrotherapy pool.
The proposed addition is looking for a relaxed rear lot line setback from 4 to 0 metres which would follow the existing building. The requested variance is not directly related to the development permit area guidelines so they can be processed separately.
The proposal has been to the city’s Advisory Design Panel once and will be returned to them with minor stylistic revisions that do not affect the variance.
In the report to council, staff said the building’s parking is beside, instead of behind the building, so the four metre setback “does not appear to exist for a compelling reason.”
“It looks like the newspaper headlines are going to be that Parksville will get an animal hospital before it gets a hospital for humans,” said coun. Marc Lefebvre.
All of council supported the application and voted to send the item forward to the next meeting.