Belleville planners OK animal hospital/dance studio

A veterinarian hospital that specializes in exotic animals and a dance studio will be able to share the building at 500 E. Huron River Dr. in the City of Belleville after action by the Belleville Planning Commission at its March 10 meeting.
Rick Rutherford, the DPW director who also handles building and planning, asked the commission to consider this land-use request so everyone will know the use was officially approved by the planning commission. He said the planning consultants said the vet should be considered medical and that there are no provisions anywhere in the ordinances for a vet clinic. Rutherford said it could be considered professional services with a medical service to it.
“There is no definition of ‘vet’ at all in our ordinances,” said Commission chairman Michael Hawkins.
“We have a veterinarian clinic in Davenport Plaza,” said Commissioner John Juriga. “How did that happen?”
“That goes with the second item on the agenda [Creation of Ordinance Review Subcommittee],” Chairman Hawkins said, adding he does not wish to hold up the procedure on the land-use item.
Architect Wayde Hoppe of Van Buren Township was present to show the drawing of the proposed use of the building, but Hawkins said this is not a site plan approval and that isn’t needed now.
Hoppe did say, as architect for Davenport Plaza, he has no information on how the veterinarian’s clinic there got approved.
The two-story building at 500 E. Huron River Dr., across from David C. Brown Funeral Home, is the former Katherine Rose flower shop built for $1.5 million in 2003 by Davenport Brothers. It has been vacant for a long time.
Commissioner Juriga said owner Jay Hartford wanted to give it to the library at one point for the library’s remote location, but that wasn’t possible because the satellite library had to be in Sumpter according to the district library agreement.
Commissioner Juriga said Hartford also tried to give it to the museum, but that transition fell through, which was confirmed by Commissioner Tom Fielder.
City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson said he looked at the building for a new city hall, but the lack of enough parking was a problem.
David C. Brown, who was present for the meeting, bought the property in 2016 and is the present owner with his wife Martha. The funeral home used the flower shop building for its services from 2012 to 2014 after a fire and lengthy rebuilding kept them from the funeral home.
Also present at the commission meeting was RE-MAX real estate agent Glenn Silvenis, former mayor of Belleville.
Veterinarian Heather Jones and her husband Joe Krulack of Van Buren Township attended the meeting and Dr. Jones explained she operated Animal Friends Veterinarian Hospital near the corner of Cherry Hill and Canton Center Road in Canton Township and needed extra space for surgery. She said she and her husband have lived in Van Buren Township for 18 years.
Dr. Jones said she does four to five surgeries a day and specializes in exotic animals, such as rabbits, rodents, reptiles, guinea pigs, and birds, but “no lions or tigers,” and then jokingly referred to the Belleville High School Tigers.
She said she plans to have a dance studio annexed to her business. She said a dance teacher her family used lost her studio through the COVID years and she plans to have this teacher run the studio.
Hoppe said the north half of the building would be a veterinarian hospital during the day and the south half would be a dance school in the evening. He said the dance class would be a professional service. They would have professional / administrative uses.
Commissioner Juriga asked if they would be using the upstairs for anything, since there is so much space. Hoppe said that presently is planned for utilities and storage.
Commissioner Randy Priest, who lives across the street from the location, asked if she would have a green area outside for the pets to “do their duty”?
“Dog crap on the sidewalk is unacceptable,” Commissioner Priest said.
Dr. Jones said the animals will be on anesthetics and drugs and wouldn’t be outside. She said the building, built as a flower shop, has a lot of drainage and she’s sure they can work it out in a clean way. She suggested she might even put in a green space outside for this.
“I would like to see your whole business move to Belleville,” Juriga said.
The commission then voted unanimously to approve the use.
Commissioner Becky Hasen, who seconded the motion for approval, said Dr. Jones is her vet and Jones is a wonderful veterinarian. She said Commissioner Juriga also takes his cat to her.
Dr. Jones thanked the planning commission for their action and said a lot of things have to fall into place before this becomes a reality.
In other business at the March 10 meeting, the commission:
• Stood to all be sworn in at once, since the city council had approved their mayoral appointments on March 7. All of their appointments had expired, except for one brand-new member, former mayor and councilman Tom Fielder. Since Henry Kurczewski resigned at the last meeting, there still is one vacancy on the commission;
• Created a subcommittee to review the city ordinances with Rutherford which is made up of chairman Hawkins, Becky Hasen, and Mike Renaud. Hawkins said they will do fact-finding and Renaud noted this is a large undertaking and will take a while to complete. Ideas from other planning commissioners and people in the community for ordinance items that need attention can be sent to Rutherford, who will provide them to the committee; and
• Heard Commissioner Hasen say she would like the minutes of the Dec. 9 meeting to be amended to reflect what she asked to be on the record: her question about curb cuts at the Moving the Mitten building. Assistant City Manager Tim McLean said he would amend the minutes and Hawkins said the amended minutes can be approved at the next meeting, expected to be at 7 p.m. April 14.