Opponents making case against Barrington Animal Hospital proposal
Opponents continued to make their case about noise and traffic concerns Tuesday night before the advisory Barrington plan commission on why an animal hospital's proposal to relocate in a vacant bank building should be denied.
Barrington Animal Hospital would renovate the 4,885-square-foot structure last occupied by Fifth Third Bank at 353 W. Northwest Highway. Established in the early 1900s at 216 S. Northwest Highway, the animal hospital wants village approval to have a full-service facility with more parking on the same street.
Plan commission members could hold the fifth session of the animal hospital's public hearing as soon as the next scheduled meeting Feb. 11. The hearing began in October and eventually will result in a plan commission recommendation to the village board.
"We'll certainly not conclude tonight," plan commission Chairwoman Anna Bush said at the top of Tuesday's fourth session. "There will be another meeting."
Under a revised plan, Barrington Animal Hospital proposes 74 dog kennels as part of a phased-in project reaching 12,570 square feet. An addition focusing on veterinary operations would be built first, followed by a second building for the kennel, dog day care, grooming and other services within three years.
In a continuation of the opponents' case that began Jan, 14, attorney William Graft represented Charles Van Fossan and questioned witnesses about concerns such as noise and parking Tuesday. Van Fossan is president of Van Fossan and Associates Inc. at 321 W. Northwest Highway near the animal hospital's proposed location.
Graft quizzed acoustical engineer Nathan Sevener on the issue of dog noise that's been raised by the opponents. Sevener, who works for Soundscape Engineering of Chicago, has been consulting on the animal hospital proposal.
Sevener, testifying over the telephone from Michigan, said sound of about six dogs from an animal hospital in Oswego were used to create a model showing there would not be noise problems from the Barrington proposal.
"We can put that sound level into our model and propagate it out to the community," Sevener said.
Michael Matthys, vice president of Orland Park-based Linden Group Architects, testified that 50 parking spaces planned for the relocated animal hospital would be enough.
"So, you're asking if (the parking) was difficult," Matthys said to Graft. "We optimized the parking for the site."
Joanna Krol, a veterinarian who works at Barrington Animal Hospital, is part of a team seeking to build the new location. Graft asked if she's concerned the animal hospital's proposed "big, large complex operation" is not being welcomed by the potential neighbors, which include Barrington Community Child Care Center.
"I hope you find that this is a great service," Krol said, "and that we're going to bring something really good to the community. I love the business model. I did it for 10 years in the city (of Chicago), and it's a wonderful service. People loved it."